Report of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response: making COVID-19 the last pandemic
In May, 2020, with COVID-19 affecting just about every country on the planet, the World Health Assembly requested the WHO Director-General to initiate an independent, impartial, and comprehensive review of the international health response to the pandemic. He asked us to convene an independent panel for this purpose. The members of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response have spent the past 8 months examining the state of pandemic preparedness before COVID-19, the circumstances of the identification of SARS-CoV-2 and the disease it causes, and responses globally, regionally, and nationally, particularly in the early months of the pandemic. The panel has also analysed the wide-ranging impacts of the pandemic on health and health systems, and the social and economic crises that it has precipitated.
Apparently, Noel reckons the most salient point is something about a fee increase, which seems to be missing and ignoring much …
Firstly; Noel, that article is from April 2020 (14 months is a long time in a pandemic), so quite out of date with its focus on what Trump and Bolton are doing.
Secondly, that is one of the things this report makes specific recommendations to address:
The World Health Assembly to give WHO both the explicit authority to publish information about outbreaks with pandemic potential immediately without requiring the prior approval of national governments and the ability to dispatch experts to investigate pathogens with pandemic potential with rapid and guaranteed right of access.
Do nothing, and all affected countries will separately pay as they go during the next pandemic.
Adopt the recommendations of this report to: "Establish a high-level Global Health Threats Council", and use the already established systems and resources (with admittedly extra funding to support the extra work) of the WHO to implement this.
Develop various regional Pandemic Preparedness Councils from scratch. Which will not have established systems or resources, and may not too work well together when the next Global Health Threat occurs.
Of the three options; 1 is just gambling with the lives and livelihoods of everyone in the world. Though within any single year it may be the cheapest, in the longterm; it is likely to be the most expensive. 3 would be better, in at least allowing some internationally coordinated preparation, and possibly more responsive to regional needs and cultures. However, there would likely be a lot of redundant duplication (which is good for resiliance, bad for expense), and in a Pandemic with a mutating virus; no one is safe until everyone is safe. 2 seems the cheapest and best of the three options.
Unless you just don't like Helen Clark, or the WHO; Noel? In which case, I am not willing to see more people die to assuage such petty concerns:
The message for change is clear: COVID-19 should be the last pandemic. If the global community fails to take this goal seriously, we will condemn the world to successive catastrophes.
Independent journalist Aaron Mate of The Gray Zone explains in this video how inspectors of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) went in person to investigate the alleged chemical attack in Douma, Syria but found that although people had been killed, it was not through a chemical attack. However, their findings were not included in the final report due to political pressure. They have since spoken out about this but to no avail.
Interesting piece. Demands discussion. Uncle Ashley and Aunty Nikki pretty much saying that despite vaccination, level 2.5 Public Health measures will need to be in place if the borders are opened to tourism.
On the back of Our Leader's address to the People That Matter most.
Dr Ashley Bloomfield is considering….in NZ Herald today
“Opening up the border to vaccinated tourists to resurrect this country's tourism industry could require Kiwis to return to life at Covid alert level 2.5.
Because it could provide the financial boom that Kiwi tourism operators need. Pre-Covid, the industry was worth $40.9 billion to the economy.”
This would mean New Zealanders are being asked to subsidise tourism because many New Zealand business and activities would be down-sized and restricted again eg: Gym class sizes restricted and funeral attendee limited etc. and all New Zealanders daily lives are again impacted in many small but very annoying ways by social distancing and mask wearing.
Tourism was already out of control and spoiling NZ and it is a fickle business – as covid has proven. I say no to returning to Level 2.5 to let tourists in.
Dr Ashley just told a part of our tourism industry to go away and grow up.
Tourism, and by that I mean the whole industry including domestic, wouldn’t be able to operate profitably at Level 2.5. Most businesses wouldn’t be able to trade for long. We know, we’ve been there, and a lot have been there several times.
But there’s some in the industry who can’t or won’t realise that the world has changed and won’t be going back the way it was. Hopefully they will depart the industry in a reasonably orderly fashion before they and those around them are too badly damaged.
Yes. The tourism industry is overated. Maybe its something like the 'new car assembly' industry, once it was gone with the high prices with it, we then wondered why 'it was a thing'.
Many of the 'industry' numbers include all local tourism and they count all hospitality spending 'as tourism'…. and they now moan as the tourists on longer visas themselves provide the staff.
In Australia they found they are 'nett Tourism exporter' as Aussies spend more on tourism overseas than it brings in.
We have more in bound tourists for our population size but are still big spenders offshore.
good post ghost. I have long thought that more money is taken out of NZ by kiwis touring overseas, than is properly bought in and spent here by foreign tourists. when proper costings are done, and things like environmental damage etc are factored in, as well as honest costings for cruise ship passengers(amounts claimed as spent by cruise ship passengers on day visits are wildly overstated), and foreign owned tourism businesses have there amounts honestly tallied(much of their revenue disappears straight back to country of business ownership, and all NZ gets is a portion of gst), tourism is NOT a silver bullet.
"Pre-Covid, the industry was worth $40.9 billion to the economy.”
That counts ALL local tourism and ALL hospitality spending, no way is it a loss of $40 bill to GDP ( which is $200 bill per year ?).
Takeaaway government spending from $200 bill ( which is around $115 bill) and you get supposedly Tourism is 40% of non government spending. Utter nonsense
The GDP bounceback shows its a tiny fraction of 'lost GDP'.
Total tourism expenditure was $40.9 billion, an increase of 4 percent ($1.6 billion) from the previous year.
International tourism expenditure increased 5.2 percent ($843 million) to $17.2 billion, and contributed 20.4 percent to New Zealand’s total exports of goods and services.
The number of short-term arrivals to New Zealand increased 1.3 percent over the same period.
Tourism generated a direct contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) of $16.2 billion, or 5.8 percent of GDP.
Tourism is our biggest export industry, contributing 21% of foreign exchange earnings.
The indirect value added of industries supporting tourism generated an additional $11.2 billion, or 4.0 percent of GDP.
229,566 people were directly employed in tourism (8.4 percent of the total number of people employed in New Zealand), an increase of 3.9 percent from the previous year.
Tourists generated $3.8 billion in goods and services tax (GST) revenue, with $1.8 billion coming from international tourists
I would have picked NZ to be net trade deficit regarding tourism. That, for me, explains why we only run trade surplus for brief times around domestic recessions (when the income taps stop flowing briefly). But could be convinced otherwise by comprehensive statistics. Though of course any such statistics say little about anything as your fundamentally comparing non-NZers who come here to NZers who go anywhere else.
roughly (pre covid) 3 million offshore trips each year by Kiwis as opposed to 3.8 million overseas travellers arriving here….duration and travel will be determining factors but would suggest that the net position is not huge either way, as borne out by trade balance numbers during covid.
From our viewpoint in the industry (very small retail that’s about 65% domestic and mid price point) a big indicator we’ve got a balance of payments issue in tourism is the effect a low NZD has on out turnover. Below .65 USD and the good times start, get below .60 and yipee. And most of the increase is domestic. International visitors, or at least the ones we deal with, tend to see New Zealand as good value at .75 USD or less.
I hope there’s some independent analysis of the balance of payments effects of tourism now there’s counter data from the border closure. It might make a few if the cocky buggers in the industry sit down and think about what they are doing to the country
Like I said , you cant rely on the ' tourism industry' to provide accurate numbers about the tourism industry.
Its absurdly over inflated by including any social/travel activity – probably include movie business – which will have the 'screen industry' up in arms.
Believe the stats will be drawn from arrival/departure declarations from Immigration/customs…as to income generated I would imagine there will be multiple sources including IRD but to what degree income is apportioned I couldnt say.
It is to be expected that the industry will present the most favourable (to itself) expression
Arrival/departure doesnt count spending. But lets look at that
Say 3.9 mill tourists and the $40 bill 'tourist industry would suggest the average spend inside NZ is $10,000 each . That would put a couple at $20k . Thats an average!
The 40 billion is total spend including support services …24 billion of that is internal/domestic tourism…the 7 billion figure is solely international holidaying tourists spend…..and then there is another 4 odd billion from business/family/other.
They attribute international tourism's share as 17 billion (approximately 42%)
Exactly, $40 billion my arse, the bullshit pisses me off. In the last few months the industry has been saying they will welcome back the Aussie tourists as they are 40% of the market at about 3.8 billion dollars of revenue. Thats the true figure which equates to about 8 billion for inbound tourism, it also includes assumed night stays on cruise ships so its still dodgy. Kiwis banked over 8 billion extra in 2020 which analysts put down to saved spending on overseas travel.
If you are going to bullshit people get your facts right because you will always be found out.
Small tours of wealthy people undertaking highly curated experiences are also best for track and trace.
So value-add and public health measures can possibly mesh.
Minister Nash needs some hard measures and processes to come out of that $200m industry funding announced last week, to step up to Bloomfield's stern advice.
"Data from the vaccine trials indicate strong immunity at least months after vaccination, indicating possible long-term immunity"
Note: Indication and possible does not mean proven
"If I get a coronavirus vaccination, do I still have to wear a mask? Physical distance?
Yes. It may take time for everyone who wants a COVID-19 vaccination to get one. A vaccine that is 95% effective means that about 1 out of 20 people who get it may not have protection from getting the illness"
Getting scientist to make definitive statements that something is definitely proven, without further study being required, is like pulling teeth, FW. Especially with ascertaining immunity against a mutating virus – even if the vaccines give long-lasting immunity (they haven't existed for that long) against past strains, that does not necessarily mean that they will provide protection against new variants.
The problem is not just a vaccine's efficacy, but also the proportion of a population who are willing to take it for the good of all. A 95% effective vaccine taken by only half the population will not give that population herd immunity (depending on the Rate of Transmission) without a lot of dead people from the remainder being infected to acquire natural immunity. This Nature piece from last year gives some insight into the difficulties of calculating that moving target:
“Most of the herd-immunity calculations don’t have anything to say about behaviour at all. They assume there’s no interventions, no behavioural changes or anything like that,” he says. This means that if a transient change in people’s behaviour (such as physical distancing) drives the Rt down, then “as soon as that behaviour goes back to normal, the herd-immunity threshold will change.”
One of the best comments on this topic so far! Indeed, herd immunity depends on herd behaviour. Differences in behaviour were also underpinning different actions in/by different countries. Sweden is a case in point.
Changed behaviours and self preservation happened after the influenza pandemic and tuberculosis outbreak.
It led to gloves handkerchiefs no spitting except in spittoons brass door plates and handles, brass entry steps brass taps , brass did not allow a pathogen to live long.
In this pandemic we are seeing mask wearing on public transport better hand hygiene coughing into elbows social distancing and using technology to scan in as helpful. The herd develops helpful behaviours, but like the vaccine they are used when a threat is perceived.
ISTR that the report (Hendry?) that persuaded Cabinet of the urgent need for a L4 lockdown had an upper incidence and mortality estimates based on zero behaviour change. But it included other estimates for partial lockdowns and behaviour changes.
The only one that didn't end in overloaded ICU and crematoria was L4 ASAP.
looking for link but the wifi where I am is unreliable.
" A vaccine that is 95% effective means that about 1 out of 20 people who get it may not have protection from getting the illness"
Any sort of medical treatment mostly doesnt have even 95% effectiveness (19 in 20) especially in the area of drug therapy.
For the current flu vaccine which I have every year, if I dont then a bout of flu will lay me low for a week at least. With having the vaccine there may 1 or2 occasions I have very mild flu symptoms for a day or so.
With Covid 19 , there are existing people, could be 40% who have none or little symptoms, the vaccine pushes that up as well as some sort of immunity. Then there is the herd effect where it just doesnt spread widely because reproduction rate is so low.
All I am saying is that having the borders open for tourists poses a risk that I personally feel is under current circumstances not prudent.
It only takes one person going up and down the country, seeing al the sites etc. to potentially put us into lock down. The elderly, the ones with underlying conditions such as asthma, immune deficiencies of all kinds will not have much of a chance. The health system will not be able to cope at all given the current issues, let alone having an influx of covid patients.
Is it not utterly selfish to assume that a certain % of people can be sacrificed like collateral damage for those who want to open the borders?
Also, I like to see the list of those, in private and public sector who would be approving and influencing such a move, publicized.
OK, so infected people coming here would be a given. Just common sense for looking at the likely outcome, can't pretend it's impossible.
Two numbers in particular matter about whether vaccination will protect people: the population immunity level and vaccine efficacy. Those, together, tell us how safe we are as a society exposed to an infected person at a given vaccination rate.
If 80% of people need to be completely immune to get to the point that an infected person (on average – nuance #1) will infect less than one other person (R0<1), and we know that the vaccine has 95% efficacy for complete immunity (nuance #2), then out of 100 people about 85 would need to be vaccinated to be reasonably sure any outbreak would fade away without further intervention (nuance #3).
Nuance #1: if the tourist goes to weirdoville which is full of unvaxxed essential oilists, that community is screwed without other interventions. Not matter what they think about vitamin d.
Nuance #2: even if a vaccinated person gets covid, it's still a win if they are less infectious and less incapacitated. If we can keep them alive and out of hospital, the money wasn't wasted. If they isolate at home, they needn't infect anyone else.
Nuance #3: basically, if infectious tourist spreads it, that vulnerable locality would possibly need to go all the way to level 4.
Foreign Waka 1 in 20 who have been vaccinated may get Covid but may not be hospitalized because even those 1 in 20 most won't get severe or long covid.
If we get to 90% plus immunization rates the risk of transmission goes down so even better.
But new variants may still be transmissable by up to 40% of those vaccinated.
The good thing about NZ's envious position is we can watch what's happening in the rest of the world and adapt to the latest scientific knowledge.
389 000 people have been vaccinated, of those 120 000 had 2 doses, and this comprises 2.4% of the population. Is there an expectation that everybody just tries for herd immunity like the UK a year ago?
Foriegn Waka ,389,000 is 10% of NZ adults given the first dose which gives high immunity.
The Scare mongers are saying the role out is to slow .I say BS.
The UK a year ago didn't have a vaccine available or did it have a hard lockdown. We need to make sure countries like Brazil the US the UK India etc where people are dying the virus has mutated and continues to mutate in these populations. Until those populations are vaccinated we are not safe so for us to be safe we should not be selfish it may backfire.
We have options one is not to panic or pander to scare mongers.
I think we need to have at least 80% vaccinated before we think about opening the boarders. At least the people here, who have not just to cope with the consequences of that pandemic but also the next 2 generations paying back the 16 billion bill, ought to be reasonable protected.
Foreign Waka Compared to Australias $1.2 trillion .Our economy has rebounded so be thankful that the capital injection for without it our future generations would have to rebuild the economy as well as pay down this small amount of debt .When you look at our recent debt history inflation included it's around the debt National borrowed for the Canterbury rebuild.
I'm no supporter of Hamas but Netanyahu is the worst-ever Israeli state leader and fatally damaged its people. keeps getting elected over and over again.
The Wag The Dog of war is strong on both sides of this. Netanyahu certainly needs to shore up his electoral support after 3 hung elections. Same for Hamas who have elections next week.
But ground invasion is a bigger step than standard gaming.
there is a big difference between Israel and the Ghetto that is Gaza.
And there is a big difference between a home made rocket from Hamas, or even a donated small rocket from Syria and the weaponry that Israel has. And there is an even bigger difference between throwing these rockets on the open air prison that the Ghetto Gaza is then the defiance by the Palestianians to just roll over and die.
One has a state, and the other does not. That too needs to be looked at. What is going on is slaughter to remove some bad news of one of the most despicable figures global politics could have spawned.
The question now is can Hamas inflict a level of attrition on the IDF that prevents an Israeli ground victory. Hamas can easily trade 20 or 30-1 in lives and still "win" if they kill really significant numbers of Israeli soldiers – although the outcome is most likely to be simply a return to the antebellum stalemate where Israel can't defeat Hamas without inflicting a true genocide that'll weaken support even amongst their most sycophantic supporters in the Anglosphere political elites that they've worked so hard to lock in as unconditional supporters of Israel, and Hamas win a tactical victory by surviving, forcing the IDF to retreat but are incapable of a strategic victory that’ll force Israel to the table – like breaking the blockade or really carrying the fight into Israel itself.
Ultimately this latest war will be the third stalemate. The problem is Israel is now run by racist ultra-nationalist fanatics whose dehumanising rhetoric is dangerously similar the likes of stuff you can read in any number of rants from other certain nations who retained large, dehumanised populations in ghettoes, so this time they may try and reach a final solution to the Palestinian problem.
Deir Yasin being the unprovoked massacre of that Palestinian village by the Lehi (Stern gang) along with: The Irgun – the paramilitary (/terrorist) group that later became the Herut political party, which in turn became part of the Likud alliance.
On April 10, 1948, one day after the Deir Yassin massacre, Albert Einstein wrote a critical letter to the American Friends of Fighters for the Freedom of Israel (the U.S chapter of the Stern gang) refusing to assist them with aid or support to raise money for their cause in Palestine. On December 2, 1948, many prominent American Jews signed and published an op-ed article in NYT critical of… the massacre at Deir Yassin.
Some info about Israel elections. I needed to remind myself. FYI
Elections in Israel are based on nationwide proportional representation. The electoral threshold is currently set at 3.25%, with the number of seats a party receives in the Knesset being proportional to the number of votes it receives. Elections in Israel – Wikipedia
.
A total of 39 parties registered to contest the elections.
2021 Israeli legislative election – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › 2021_Israeli_legislative_…
Seems a good reason to keep a higher threshhold for parties to avoid proliferation of parties then splitting the vote and allowing people to slip in who are not a clear choice. We have 5% I don't think ever below 4% would be wise.
Not really that many parties win seats between 3.25 and 5%. ( I think NZ should have a minimum seats of 5 or around 4.1%)
They just have so many parties between 5 and say 12%. Likud is at 25% or so , which is around what National got in election here, and yet they are the biggest party.
They definitely need a waka jumping law as that is a 'full pandemic' of splitting and creating new parties/ member sharing deals.
(in reply to the MICKYSAVAGE piece ..but possibly off topic so I'll dump it here…)
"I watched the video and my initial reaction was concern that Jacinda was showing human weakness and frailty in trying to address a very complex issue with compassion. My second reaction was admiration that Jacinda was showing human weakness and frailty in trying to address a very complex issue with compassion."
…eh? What?…is life for Labour supporters getting that desperate and cultish we need to start babbling this sort of meaningless rhetoric? Praising our PM for "human weakness and frailty" in Parliament … and in a time of a massive housing crisis and an economy increasingly built on inequality and exploitation requires something with a bit more backbone…what with Jacindas "human weakness and frailty" and "incremental change"…at this rate, before you know it we'll be dealing with Labour Leaders on par with Starmer …
STARMER: This is not a question of left or right*. It’s a question of whether we’re facing the country. We have changed as a party, but we’ve not made a strong enough case to the country. We’ve lost that connection, that trust, and I intended to rebuild that and do whatever is necessary to rebuild that trust.
BBC: But what does change mean in, say, policy terms?
STARMER: It means stopping, as a party, quarreling amongst ourselves, looking internally, and facing the country, and setting out that bold vision for a better Britain . . .
BBC: Sorry, Sir Keir, what is that vision?
STARMER: . . . changing the things that need changing, and that is the change that I will bring about.
…which would be funny……except this sort of lack of vision, and lack of action, is one of the factors that leads to Progressives and Centrists standing by while the Right takes power…I am increasingly worried, as we all should be, that the only reason Labour might get in next election is if National can manage to keep up their internal implosion…
*.and I know the idea of "not Left or Right" has a certain appeal to many on The Standard
(groans inwardly)..yep…back to blaming their coalition partner for the lack of actual progress ..you have to wonder if the disaffected masses will buy into that narrative a second time around…
Heck if the dog needs the tail to get to the food bowl, then yes, the tail is wagging the dog, or else the dog goes hungry and goes no where.
MMP is very decent system, if the Parties have a bit of respect for ech other. But if two parties think that the smaller parties are there to wipe their bums and put them into seats and other then that shut up, both Parties should not be surprised to find out one day that neither of them have friends left.
The Standard really has degenerated significantly recently into an axe grinding shop for any number of the terminally bitter, single issue fanatics, and intolerable whiners.
Look, I get it that being wild eyed, bitter and demanding a peoples revolution or something is a luxury reserved for those in society who for whatever reason have never (yet?) got to taste the heady elixir of responsibility and Byzantine combinations that characterise complex institutions.
But if you could refrain from constantly favouring those of us who perhaps may have had something of a sip from the Sisyphean cup of organisational intricacy with that uninformed and fevered opinion then that would be just splendid.
…rather presumptuous there sanctuary ..I don't actually recall sending you my CV…but that's neither here nor there…you do realise that people can come into power and actually change things ..almost overnight…should they have that clarity of vision and determination one would hope for in a Politician that desires to rule the land?
No one with an interest in NZ politics will forget the Fourth Labour government ( for better or worse) or the First Labour government for that matter…they are reference points to us all for various issues…I suspect Jacindas 6th Labour Governments legacy will be how nice she was after the Mosque shootings ..and how that was the moment horrendously expensive dystopic motel/slum style housing ghettos became normalised …
quite correct sanctuary. the Standard has unfortunatley degenerated into a near constant whinge session, mostly by three or four of the terminally bitter, who have driven many thoughtful posters away.
This isn't quite as insane as the headline promises, but the video footage of a marine food web in action is quite fascinating. The krill eat the plankton, and in turn are gobbled up by fish and a whale, with the fish then chomped up by a swarm of sharks, with gulls hovering to snatch the scraps:
Yeah, your trickledrown theory is pretty much what I was going for. "Whales" being a dehumanising term used by videogame execs for bigspending/ addicted players. I was going to put in a line about; the faeces falling down to the nourish bottom-feeders, as well, but couldn't get the phrasing right.
Mostly I was just a bit miffed that it was just a drone filming oceanic predators, rather than some robotic submarine cage actually capturing a whale-shark. That would have been insane!
He is a holocaust denier
Put Netanyahu on the fryer
Make John Kerry stoke the fire
Coz he’s a fuckin liar
Yea, he says, he is a holocaust denier
Israel stole Hitlers mantle
And imprisoned the Palestinians
Walled them in with the blessings
Of western politicians,
The Jewish State will always rank
As a land of terror
Born by terrorist deeds
The British turned a blind eye
The U.S. sowed the seeds
Why shouldn't he be a holocaust denier
Whenever he saw the phosphorus fire
Hearing Palestinian voices through the smoke
The cries of infants as they choke
American weapons of mass destruction
Vice President firms
Used for reconstruction
Yea, he says, I’m a holocaust denier
Coz that's the only way,
To provoke their fuckin ire.
Colonial Pipeline reportedly shut fuel distribution down after last week’s cyberattack, not for safety reasons, but because its compromised systems couldn’t keep track of customer bills.
"How does the government not know this? They put this policy in place two years ago. It will have been under development for a year before that. You would expect that in that development process someone would have asked how big the problem was, so they would know how much it was going to cost."
But I guess that, like school maintenance, knowing means having to pay to fix it, which for an agency under constant budget pressure from a government still dedicated to austerity means a strong incentive to ignore problems and not know things until forced to.
and that is the same with leaking roofs, rotten class rooms to over crowding and / or no heating at all.
"An estimated 1150 state schools burn fossil fuels to heat classrooms, but the Government doesn’t have an exact figure, or a full list of affected schools.
This suggests the Government’s funding to date – $55 million to convert 90 schools to green fuels – will cover a small fraction of the problem."
"But failing to switch would also carry costs. Climate Change Minister James Shaw confirmed that any offsets for ongoing emissions would need to be purchased out of existing budgets. However, he expects clean heating for schools to be arranged before 2025.
“I'm pretty confident that at the very least we will have funded the replacements of all of those boilers in schools by 2025 [although] the actual work may not be fully complete by then.”
“I'm pretty confident that at the very least we will have funded the replacements of all of those boilers in schools by 2025 [although] the actual work may not be fully complete by then
I don't want to be an iconclast here but nurses start on $57,000PA, I know graduate lawyers and architects who have started on less than that. Pay then rises through eleven automatic pay scales to a maximum of around 80K. That is pretty good money, especially when you consider nursing is a not particularly difficult three year degree and offers enormous flexibility to stay in the workforce if you choose to have a family somewhere along the line.
On top of that base rate there is over-time pay that can seriously bump the salary of the industrious, and ambitious nurses can by dint of specialisation earn a six figure sum.
Nurses work hard, but they are not particularly badly paid in the context of NZ Salaries.
the nurse or nurse aid, will if you need it, wash you, feed you, put your poop away, bring your medication, and do everything else to keep you alive, and happy.
Na not really confused, just pointing out that bum wiping in hospitals is an underpaid task, while drafting a house is something that can earn you money over and over again.
but yeah, lets feel sorry for underpaid architects. 🙂
i have needed nurses way more often then i ever needed an architect. Also consider that the house i have was build many many years ago, a Ministry of Works house. Not sure if that architect at the time did not earn more then a nurse.
And besides, if the architect is any good, he / she / they will earn way more money later in life then a good nurse would ever be able too.
So excuse me if i don't have any issues with a nurse to be better paid for a few years then some architect, who may or may not is able to draft a decent house.
An architect can design a good or bad house for living in and then that design can be built repeatedly and the houses should not need constant maintenance.
While a nurse deals directly with people who need careful constant maintenance, and may have to lift the person involving their muscles in physical work. Nurses are vulnerable looking after vulnerable people. An architect works at a desk usually, either designing onto a screen or onto paper.
An architect and a nurse are doing very different jobs, both important but one with numerous tiring and sometimes unpleasant and intimate tasks as part of the job; that is the nurse.
"You have relied on an architect if you live in a house."
Utter rubbish
Most of the houses that exist in the country have been built without the need for an architect. The house we built in the 80s that our 4 children were raised in was built without the need of an architect; we designed and built it ourselves and yes it was fully compliant with government and local council domestic building by-laws.
All my contemporaries either built their houses themselves or employed one of the construction companies common at the time e.g. Keith Hays, Reidbuilt etc. These houses weren't designed by architects but by Architectural Draughtspersons. I know I was one.
It was the architecture draughtperson who made sure the plans were correct and the builder who ensured the building was built to those specifications.
Where the design fell outside the scope of NZS 3604 an engineer was employed. Not an architect. They draw pictures, that's all.
"…they are not particularly badly paid in the context of NZ Salaries."
Correct – these are actually middle class salaries. But some points in mitigation:
middle class salaries no longer buy middle class lifestyles. This is mostly due to house price inflation and the knock-on effects. But NZ also feels like a high cost of living country generally – such as healthcare where the rich with private insurance get seen quickly by the best private specialists and the rest of us wait and wait
public sector nurses seem to be perpetually overworked because of staff-patient ratios designed to squeeze every cent of value out of DHB budgets through a process of finding éfficiencies'
as a female occupation with a high social value they observe other, more male occupations that are paid more without comparably greater skill or responsibility, and (arguably) with lower value outputs
I can't participate in this forum any more where openly racist comments are excused by moderators. Racism AND gaslighting is a pattern, and some get pissed off and then banned for their returning salvos aimed at haters, frustrated after being repeatedly brushed aside/mansplained/gaslit after the issue is pointed out. This has been going on, intermittently, for the few years I've intermittently frequented TS.
Some here think butter wouldn't melt in their mouth. That is because they are dead inside.
Good luck to all the good folks. Racism is not free speech.
That was really good Robert. Getting words sorted out for meanung rather than thrown like confetti is a good job done.
Also Robert a long while back I talked about a book where somone grew into a tree – very imaginative science fiction. I couldn't remember where at the time but have found it.
It was Phillip Mann's The Fall of the Families series and is in Part Two of the Story of the Gardener. If you would like to read it I have ended up with two copies and can send it to you at Riverton. So if you want it just say here.
Thanks so much, greywarshark – I would be delighted to receive your 2nd copy and am happy to pay the courier fee 🙂 I'm eagerly looking forward to reading it. You might email me at rguy10@actrix.co.nz and we can arrange… 🙂
Does that mean ageism is a system designed by young people to keep old people subjugated? If so, how come old people in NZ generally get a much better deal than younger people?
… how come old people in NZ generally get a much better deal than younger people?
Ageism is a system put in place by older people to keep the youth subjugated?
What’s behind New Zealand’s shocking youth suicide rate? New Zealand has by far the highest youth suicide rate in the developed world. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-40284130
Maybe racism cuts ‘both ways’ in NZ, but some cuts are deeper than others – indeed, some wounds are fatal.
The Pain of Youth
How ageism harms young people in our society Ageism is one of the most rampant, yet least spoken of, forms of prejudice in our society. The prejudice against and discrimination of people based on their age may not be as big a problem as capitalism. But we’re going to need to address our ongoing and systemic domination of the youth eventually.
According to your logic then there can be no charges of Ageism labelled against younger people acting against older people.
Sorry Gosman, I can't follow your reasoning. Are you saying that according to my logic younger people cannot hold ageist attitudes towards older people? If so then you may have misinterpreted my words – people of almost any age can hold ageist views, and people of almost any age can be targets of ageism. Individual consequences of ageism will vary tremendously.
Some may consider the 7-year disparity between the average life expectancy of Māori and non-Māori to be (at least partly) an outcome of systemic racism.
And some sensitive souls will perceive the 'pale, stale, male' epithet to be racist, ageist and sexist.
But one example cuts deeper than the other. Being non-Māori is definitely the healthy 'choice' in NZ, and that’s notchoice, imho.
Contribution of smoking to the life expectancy gap—Māori Among Māori men, 2.1 years (28.4%) of the 7.4 year gap in life expectancy was attributable to the higher mortality rates from smoking attributable deaths. Among Māori women, the contribution from smoking attributable deaths was 2.3 years (32.9%) of the 7.0 year gap.
Drivers of inequity Factors contributing to the pervasive and persisting ethnic health inequities are multifaceted and complex. Three main pathways have been identified: (i) differential access to the determinants of health or exposures leading to differences in disease incidence, (ii) differential access to healthcare and (iii) differences in quality of care received. These pathways are driven by different levels of racism, particularly institutionalised and personally mediated or interpersonal racism.
Please let me know what you are seeing WTB. Unfortunately if it's another author there is not a huge amount that can be done, more possible with commenters. Either way I'd like to know.
Fortune 500 just ranked Jacinda Ardern as their pick for Number 1 of world's greatest leaders this year, with the commentary:
"Jacinda Ardern had already sealed her position as a great leader early in her premiership of New Zealand, by empathetically steering her country through the aftermath of a terror attack and the deadly eruption of a volcano. Then the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and Ardern targeted not just suppression of the virus, but its complete elimination. Though there have been a few scares, her strategy largely proved successful; New Zealand, a nation of nearly 5 million people, has seen fewer than 2,700 cases and only 26 deaths. Ardern and her cabinet ministers took a six-month, 20% pay cut in 2020 to show solidarity with people who had lost their livelihoods owing to the pandemic.
Ardern’s party won landslide reelection in October, fueled by her star power, her straight talk, and the fact that her government’s heavy restrictions on international travel made it possible for life to continue with relative normality within New Zealand’s borders. She has also adopted world-leading climate and gender-equity policies. In March, New Zealand became the first country to require that banks, investment managers, and insurers disclose the effects of climate change on their businesses. And last year, Ardern’s administration made it easier for women to negotiate with their employers for more equitable pay."
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
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Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
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Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
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Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
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Two-thirds of the country think that “New Zealand’s economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful”. They also believe that “New Zealand needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful”. These are just two of a handful of stunning new survey results released ...
In today’s digital world, screenshots have become an indispensable tool for communication and documentation. Whether you need to capture an important email, preserve a website page, or share an error message, screenshots allow you to quickly and easily preserve digital information. If you’re an Asus laptop user, there are several ...
A factory reset restores your Gateway laptop to its original factory settings, erasing all data, apps, and personalizations. This can be necessary to resolve software issues, remove viruses, or prepare your laptop for sale or transfer. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to factory reset your Gateway laptop: Method 1: ...
“You talking about me?”The neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hall’s “Glide Time” caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
Roger Partridge writes – When the Coalition Government took office last October, it inherited a country on a precipice. With persistent inflation, decades of insipid productivity growth and crises in healthcare, education, housing and law and order, it is no exaggeration to suggest New Zealand’s first-world status was ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In 2022, the Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education employed 308 staff, according to an Official Information Request. Earlier this week it was announced 202 of those staff were being cut. When you look up “The New Zealand Curriculum” on the Ministry of ...
Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
The allure of sport transcends age, culture, and geographical boundaries. It captivates hearts, ignites passions, and provides unparalleled entertainment. Behind the spectacle, however, lies a fascinating world of financial investment and expenditure. Among the vast array of competitive pursuits, one question looms large: which sport carries the hefty title of ...
Introduction Pickleball, a rapidly growing paddle sport, has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions around the world. Its blend of tennis, badminton, and table tennis elements has made it a favorite among players of all ages and skill levels. As the sport’s popularity continues to surge, the question on ...
Abstract: Soccer, the global phenomenon captivating millions worldwide, has a rich history that spans centuries. Its origins trace back to ancient civilizations, but the modern version we know and love emerged through a complex interplay of cultural influences and innovations. This article delves into the fascinating journey of soccer’s evolution, ...
Tinting car windows offers numerous benefits, including enhanced privacy, reduced glare, UV protection, and a more stylish look for your vehicle. However, the cost of window tinting can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article provides a comprehensive guide to help you understand how much you can expect to ...
The pungent smell of gasoline in your car can be an alarming and potentially dangerous problem. Not only is the odor unpleasant, but it can also indicate a serious issue with your vehicle’s fuel system. In this article, we will explore the various reasons why your car may smell like ...
Tree sap can be a sticky, unsightly mess on your car’s exterior. It can be difficult to remove, but with the right techniques and products, you can restore your car to its former glory. Understanding Tree Sap Tree sap is a thick, viscous liquid produced by trees to seal wounds ...
The amount of paint needed to paint a car depends on a number of factors, including the size of the car, the number of coats you plan to apply, and the type of paint you are using. In general, you will need between 1 and 2 gallons of paint for ...
Jump-starting a car is a common task that can be performed even in adverse weather conditions like rain. However, safety precautions and proper techniques are crucial to avoid potential hazards. This comprehensive guide will provide detailed instructions on how to safely jump a car in the rain, ensuring both your ...
Graham Adams writes about the $55m media fund — When Patrick Gower was asked by Mike Hosking last week what he would say to the many Newstalk ZB callers who allege the Labour government bribed media with $55 million of taxpayers’ money via the Public Interest Journalism Fund — and ...
Note: this blog post has been put together over the course of the week I followed the happenings at the conference virtually. Should recordings of the Great Debates and possibly Union Symposia mentioned below, be released sometime after the conference ends, I'll include links to the ones I participated in. ...
The following was my submission made on the “Fast Track Approvals Bill”. This potential law will give three Ministers unchecked powers, un-paralled since the days of Robert Muldoon’s “Think Big” projects.The submission is written a bit tongue-in-cheek. But it’s irreverent because the FTAB is in itself not worthy of respect. ...
One Could Reduce Child Poverty At No Fiscal CostFollowing the Richardson/Shipley 1990 ‘redesign of the welfare state’ – which eliminated the universal Family Benefit and doubled the rate of child poverty – various income supplements for families have been added, the best known being ‘Working for Families’, introduced in 2005. ...
Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing “on why Melissa is mute”. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Lee’s ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
1. What was The Curse of Jim Bolger?a. Winston Peters b. Soon after shaking his hand, world leaders would mysteriously lose office or shuffle off this mortal coilc. Could never shake off the Mother of All Budgetsd. Dandruff2. True or false? The Chairman of a Kiwi export business has asked the ...
Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
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And above all member nations fees increase.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01095-3/fulltext?rss=yes
From Noel’s link:
Report of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response: making COVID-19 the last pandemic
Apparently, Noel reckons the most salient point is something about a fee increase, which seems to be missing and ignoring much …
Ahh maybe your right. its claimed China got bang for it's buck.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/04/world-health-organization-blame-pandemic-coronavirus/609820/
Firstly; Noel, that article is from April 2020 (14 months is a long time in a pandemic), so quite out of date with its focus on what Trump and Bolton are doing.
Secondly, that is one of the things this report makes specific recommendations to address:
Right about what? About you writing a non-intelligible context-free clickbait
headlinecomment with a non-descriptive link?Yes, I guess I would be right about that. Maybe you can avoid this in future, yes? That would grand, thanks.
There seem to be three options:
Of the three options; 1 is just gambling with the lives and livelihoods of everyone in the world. Though within any single year it may be the cheapest, in the longterm; it is likely to be the most expensive. 3 would be better, in at least allowing some internationally coordinated preparation, and possibly more responsive to regional needs and cultures. However, there would likely be a lot of redundant duplication (which is good for resiliance, bad for expense), and in a Pandemic with a mutating virus; no one is safe until everyone is safe. 2 seems the cheapest and best of the three options.
Unless you just don't like Helen Clark, or the WHO; Noel? In which case, I am not willing to see more people die to assuage such petty concerns:
Independent journalist Aaron Mate of The Gray Zone explains in this video how inspectors of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) went in person to investigate the alleged chemical attack in Douma, Syria but found that although people had been killed, it was not through a chemical attack. However, their findings were not included in the final report due to political pressure. They have since spoken out about this but to no avail.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTB6yM69KpA
The New Normal.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/covid-19-coronavirus-how-will-new-zealand-open-up-to-the-world/A4WBL7TU2PWGDPAPYEJN5H7ZHA/
Interesting piece. Demands discussion. Uncle Ashley and Aunty Nikki pretty much saying that despite vaccination, level 2.5 Public Health measures will need to be in place if the borders are opened to tourism.
On the back of Our Leader's address to the People That Matter most.
Bloomfield meant to say "1.5"
Who knows what the rest of your stuff even means… if it was a firm or public body it would be categorized as ‘personal micro-aggressions’
Bloomfield meant to say "1.5" Link please.
As for the rest of your reply…did you read the Herald article I linked to?
Ardern spoke to the Business NZ with hints at opening up to tourism…
Anyone with eyes and ears wold have figured out by now that Our Leader stands for Business and maybe on a kind day the Middle.
The poor and the homeless can just fucking wait.
Nothing fucking micro with my contempt.
Oh, and here's what you're talking about…https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-coronavirus-would-nz-return-to-alert-level-25-for-tourism-jacinda-ardern-clarifies-ashley-bloomfields-comments/LUR4IDSM6KVK2332UOFI6UD2TM/
Name calling is the punch line for teenage movies is that how you want to be compared?
As for the correction, you alluded to in your name calling so no need to ask but for other readers its here
Dr Ashley Bloomfield is considering….in NZ Herald today
“Opening up the border to vaccinated tourists to resurrect this country's tourism industry could require Kiwis to return to life at Covid alert level 2.5.
Because it could provide the financial boom that Kiwi tourism operators need. Pre-Covid, the industry was worth $40.9 billion to the economy.”
This would mean New Zealanders are being asked to subsidise tourism because many New Zealand business and activities would be down-sized and restricted again eg: Gym class sizes restricted and funeral attendee limited etc. and all New Zealanders daily lives are again impacted in many small but very annoying ways by social distancing and mask wearing.
Tourism was already out of control and spoiling NZ and it is a fickle business – as covid has proven. I say no to returning to Level 2.5 to let tourists in.
Dr Ashley just told a part of our tourism industry to go away and grow up.
Tourism, and by that I mean the whole industry including domestic, wouldn’t be able to operate profitably at Level 2.5. Most businesses wouldn’t be able to trade for long. We know, we’ve been there, and a lot have been there several times.
But there’s some in the industry who can’t or won’t realise that the world has changed and won’t be going back the way it was. Hopefully they will depart the industry in a reasonably orderly fashion before they and those around them are too badly damaged.
Ashley Bloomfield meant to say level 1.5, the MoH has confirmed this morning.
Fourth paragraph
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/125119588/covid19-well-need-to-lift-our-game–jacinda-ardern-explains-reopening-the-border-is-up-to-everyone
Yes. The tourism industry is overated. Maybe its something like the 'new car assembly' industry, once it was gone with the high prices with it, we then wondered why 'it was a thing'.
Many of the 'industry' numbers include all local tourism and they count all hospitality spending 'as tourism'…. and they now moan as the tourists on longer visas themselves provide the staff.
In Australia they found they are 'nett Tourism exporter' as Aussies spend more on tourism overseas than it brings in.
We have more in bound tourists for our population size but are still big spenders offshore.
good post ghost. I have long thought that more money is taken out of NZ by kiwis touring overseas, than is properly bought in and spent here by foreign tourists. when proper costings are done, and things like environmental damage etc are factored in, as well as honest costings for cruise ship passengers(amounts claimed as spent by cruise ship passengers on day visits are wildly overstated), and foreign owned tourism businesses have there amounts honestly tallied(much of their revenue disappears straight back to country of business ownership, and all NZ gets is a portion of gst), tourism is NOT a silver bullet.
"Pre-Covid, the industry was worth $40.9 billion to the economy.”
That counts ALL local tourism and ALL hospitality spending, no way is it a loss of $40 bill to GDP ( which is $200 bill per year ?).
Takeaaway government spending from $200 bill ( which is around $115 bill) and you get supposedly Tourism is 40% of non government spending. Utter nonsense
The GDP bounceback shows its a tiny fraction of 'lost GDP'.
https://www.tourismnewzealand.com/about/about-the-tourism-industry/#:~:text=the%20same%20period.-,Tourism%20generated%20a%20direct%20contribution%20to%20gross%20domestic%20product%20(GDP,or%204.0%20percent%20of%20GDP.
None of which shows the net position which appears to be roughly balanced by Kiwis offshore travel
I would have picked NZ to be net trade deficit regarding tourism. That, for me, explains why we only run trade surplus for brief times around domestic recessions (when the income taps stop flowing briefly). But could be convinced otherwise by comprehensive statistics. Though of course any such statistics say little about anything as your fundamentally comparing non-NZers who come here to NZers who go anywhere else.
roughly (pre covid) 3 million offshore trips each year by Kiwis as opposed to 3.8 million overseas travellers arriving here….duration and travel will be determining factors but would suggest that the net position is not huge either way, as borne out by trade balance numbers during covid.
From our viewpoint in the industry (very small retail that’s about 65% domestic and mid price point) a big indicator we’ve got a balance of payments issue in tourism is the effect a low NZD has on out turnover. Below .65 USD and the good times start, get below .60 and yipee. And most of the increase is domestic. International visitors, or at least the ones we deal with, tend to see New Zealand as good value at .75 USD or less.
I hope there’s some independent analysis of the balance of payments effects of tourism now there’s counter data from the border closure. It might make a few if the cocky buggers in the industry sit down and think about what they are doing to the country
Like I said , you cant rely on the ' tourism industry' to provide accurate numbers about the tourism industry.
Its absurdly over inflated by including any social/travel activity – probably include movie business – which will have the 'screen industry' up in arms.
Believe the stats will be drawn from arrival/departure declarations from Immigration/customs…as to income generated I would imagine there will be multiple sources including IRD but to what degree income is apportioned I couldnt say.
It is to be expected that the industry will present the most favourable (to itself) expression
Arrival/departure doesnt count spending. But lets look at that
Say 3.9 mill tourists and the $40 bill 'tourist industry would suggest the average spend inside NZ is $10,000 each . That would put a couple at $20k . Thats an average!
MBIE puts 'true' holiday spending from international tourists at $7 bill ( 2019) Thats 3.5% of GDP
We know 1 mill are 'friends and family' visitors so likely kiwis resident offshore and such. Only 2 mill are 'holiday's others are on business etc.
From your link
Total expenditure ($ millions) $11,310 2%
Average expenditure per person per trip $3,350 2%
Median expenditure per person per trip $2,390 9%
Holiday / vacation $7,029 0%
Visiting friends / relatives $2,151 -5%
Business $759 -11%
Other $1,371 53%
No spending figures for outbound but that difficult to gather
Excluding 'friends and family' we get $7 bill. To coin a phrase, I've have sent the $40 bill claim 'packing'
tears are shed in Queenstown from the highly geared airBNB rental owners
The 40 billion is total spend including support services …24 billion of that is internal/domestic tourism…the 7 billion figure is solely international holidaying tourists spend…..and then there is another 4 odd billion from business/family/other.
They attribute international tourism's share as 17 billion (approximately 42%)
Exactly, $40 billion my arse, the bullshit pisses me off. In the last few months the industry has been saying they will welcome back the Aussie tourists as they are 40% of the market at about 3.8 billion dollars of revenue. Thats the true figure which equates to about 8 billion for inbound tourism, it also includes assumed night stays on cruise ships so its still dodgy. Kiwis banked over 8 billion extra in 2020 which analysts put down to saved spending on overseas travel.
If you are going to bullshit people get your facts right because you will always be found out.
Adrian 40% of the numbers of tourists Australians don't spend as much as the other 60% .
It helps balance the billions the Aussie banks take out of our economy.
Small tours of wealthy people undertaking highly curated experiences are also best for track and trace.
So value-add and public health measures can possibly mesh.
Minister Nash needs some hard measures and processes to come out of that $200m industry funding announced last week, to step up to Bloomfield's stern advice.
Ad
Re: $40 billion odd, over 50% is internal.
This must be the quintessential test of how greed can override the health of an entire population.
We could have just thrown 16 Billion dollars out the window and now another 16 billion are to follow?
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccine-what-you-need-to-know#protection
"Data from the vaccine trials indicate strong immunity at least months after vaccination, indicating possible long-term immunity"
Note: Indication and possible does not mean proven
"If I get a coronavirus vaccination, do I still have to wear a mask? Physical distance?
Yes. It may take time for everyone who wants a COVID-19 vaccination to get one. A vaccine that is 95% effective means that about 1 out of 20 people who get it may not have protection from getting the illness"
Getting scientist to make definitive statements that something is definitely proven, without further study being required, is like pulling teeth, FW. Especially with ascertaining immunity against a mutating virus – even if the vaccines give long-lasting immunity (they haven't existed for that long) against past strains, that does not necessarily mean that they will provide protection against new variants.
The problem is not just a vaccine's efficacy, but also the proportion of a population who are willing to take it for the good of all. A 95% effective vaccine taken by only half the population will not give that population herd immunity (depending on the Rate of Transmission) without a lot of dead people from the remainder being infected to acquire natural immunity. This Nature piece from last year gives some insight into the difficulties of calculating that moving target:
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02948-4#:~:text=The%20formula%20for%20calculating%20the,immune%20to%20reach%20herd%20immunity.
One of the best comments on this topic so far! Indeed, herd immunity depends on herd behaviour. Differences in behaviour were also underpinning different actions in/by different countries. Sweden is a case in point.
Changed behaviours and self preservation happened after the influenza pandemic and tuberculosis outbreak.
It led to gloves handkerchiefs no spitting except in spittoons brass door plates and handles, brass entry steps brass taps , brass did not allow a pathogen to live long.
In this pandemic we are seeing mask wearing on public transport better hand hygiene coughing into elbows social distancing and using technology to scan in as helpful. The herd develops helpful behaviours, but like the vaccine they are used when a threat is perceived.
ISTR that the report (Hendry?) that persuaded Cabinet of the urgent need for a L4 lockdown had an upper incidence and mortality estimates based on zero behaviour change. But it included other estimates for partial lockdowns and behaviour changes.
The only one that didn't end in overloaded ICU and crematoria was L4 ASAP.
looking for link but the wifi where I am is unreliable.
" A vaccine that is 95% effective means that about 1 out of 20 people who get it may not have protection from getting the illness"
Any sort of medical treatment mostly doesnt have even 95% effectiveness (19 in 20) especially in the area of drug therapy.
For the current flu vaccine which I have every year, if I dont then a bout of flu will lay me low for a week at least. With having the vaccine there may 1 or2 occasions I have very mild flu symptoms for a day or so.
With Covid 19 , there are existing people, could be 40% who have none or little symptoms, the vaccine pushes that up as well as some sort of immunity. Then there is the herd effect where it just doesnt spread widely because reproduction rate is so low.
All I am saying is that having the borders open for tourists poses a risk that I personally feel is under current circumstances not prudent.
It only takes one person going up and down the country, seeing al the sites etc. to potentially put us into lock down. The elderly, the ones with underlying conditions such as asthma, immune deficiencies of all kinds will not have much of a chance. The health system will not be able to cope at all given the current issues, let alone having an influx of covid patients.
Is it not utterly selfish to assume that a certain % of people can be sacrificed like collateral damage for those who want to open the borders?
Also, I like to see the list of those, in private and public sector who would be approving and influencing such a move, publicized.
OK, so infected people coming here would be a given. Just common sense for looking at the likely outcome, can't pretend it's impossible.
Two numbers in particular matter about whether vaccination will protect people: the population immunity level and vaccine efficacy. Those, together, tell us how safe we are as a society exposed to an infected person at a given vaccination rate.
If 80% of people need to be completely immune to get to the point that an infected person (on average – nuance #1) will infect less than one other person (R0<1), and we know that the vaccine has 95% efficacy for complete immunity (nuance #2), then out of 100 people about 85 would need to be vaccinated to be reasonably sure any outbreak would fade away without further intervention (nuance #3).
Nuance #1: if the tourist goes to weirdoville which is full of unvaxxed essential oilists, that community is screwed without other interventions. Not matter what they think about vitamin d.
Nuance #2: even if a vaccinated person gets covid, it's still a win if they are less infectious and less incapacitated. If we can keep them alive and out of hospital, the money wasn't wasted. If they isolate at home, they needn't infect anyone else.
Nuance #3: basically, if infectious tourist spreads it, that vulnerable locality would possibly need to go all the way to level 4.
Foreign Waka 1 in 20 who have been vaccinated may get Covid but may not be hospitalized because even those 1 in 20 most won't get severe or long covid.
If we get to 90% plus immunization rates the risk of transmission goes down so even better.
But new variants may still be transmissable by up to 40% of those vaccinated.
The good thing about NZ's envious position is we can watch what's happening in the rest of the world and adapt to the latest scientific knowledge.
How many people in NZ are vaccinated right now and what progress are we making (stage 1-4)?
https://www.google.com/search?q=What+is+the+progress+of+covid+vaccination+in+nz&rlz=1C1GCEA_enNZ927NZ927&oq=What+is+the+progress+of+covid+vaccination+in+nz&aqs=chrome..69i57j33i22i29i30l7.14292j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
According to the last reading
389 000 people have been vaccinated, of those 120 000 had 2 doses, and this comprises 2.4% of the population. Is there an expectation that everybody just tries for herd immunity like the UK a year ago?
Foriegn Waka ,389,000 is 10% of NZ adults given the first dose which gives high immunity.
The Scare mongers are saying the role out is to slow .I say BS.
The UK a year ago didn't have a vaccine available or did it have a hard lockdown. We need to make sure countries like Brazil the US the UK India etc where people are dying the virus has mutated and continues to mutate in these populations. Until those populations are vaccinated we are not safe so for us to be safe we should not be selfish it may backfire.
We have options one is not to panic or pander to scare mongers.
I think we need to have at least 80% vaccinated before we think about opening the boarders. At least the people here, who have not just to cope with the consequences of that pandemic but also the next 2 generations paying back the 16 billion bill, ought to be reasonable protected.
Foreign Waka Compared to Australias $1.2 trillion .Our economy has rebounded so be thankful that the capital injection for without it our future generations would have to rebuild the economy as well as pay down this small amount of debt .When you look at our recent debt history inflation included it's around the debt National borrowed for the Canterbury rebuild.
[spurious letters removed from user name]
With the IDF now rolling ground troops etc into Gaza, this is now a full lopsided war.
I'm no supporter of Hamas but Netanyahu is the worst-ever Israeli state leader and fatally damaged its people.
Nothing good comes from this.
I'm no supporter of Hamas but Netanyahu is the worst-ever Israeli state leader and
fatally damaged its people.keeps getting elected over and over again.Some say that all this started to hide the fact that he is up on corruption charges and has a court case for it.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/05/world/middleeast/netanyahu-on-trial-israel.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-56606223
The Wag The Dog of war is strong on both sides of this. Netanyahu certainly needs to shore up his electoral support after 3 hung elections. Same for Hamas who have elections next week.
But ground invasion is a bigger step than standard gaming.
there is a big difference between Israel and the Ghetto that is Gaza.
And there is a big difference between a home made rocket from Hamas, or even a donated small rocket from Syria and the weaponry that Israel has. And there is an even bigger difference between throwing these rockets on the open air prison that the Ghetto Gaza is then the defiance by the Palestianians to just roll over and die.
One has a state, and the other does not. That too needs to be looked at. What is going on is slaughter to remove some bad news of one of the most despicable figures global politics could have spawned.
So people can compare Gaza with 2 mill people and NY city
I think I predicted this 😉
The question now is can Hamas inflict a level of attrition on the IDF that prevents an Israeli ground victory. Hamas can easily trade 20 or 30-1 in lives and still "win" if they kill really significant numbers of Israeli soldiers – although the outcome is most likely to be simply a return to the antebellum stalemate where Israel can't defeat Hamas without inflicting a true genocide that'll weaken support even amongst their most sycophantic supporters in the Anglosphere political elites that they've worked so hard to lock in as unconditional supporters of Israel, and Hamas win a tactical victory by surviving, forcing the IDF to retreat but are incapable of a strategic victory that’ll force Israel to the table – like breaking the blockade or really carrying the fight into Israel itself.
Ultimately this latest war will be the third stalemate. The problem is Israel is now run by racist ultra-nationalist fanatics whose dehumanising rhetoric is dangerously similar the likes of stuff you can read in any number of rants from other certain nations who retained large, dehumanised populations in ghettoes, so this time they may try and reach a final solution to the Palestinian problem.
I reckon they've had that solution in mind since before Ariel Sharon was minister of agriculture.
David Ben Gurion had in mind expulsion of Palestinians and he was 1st PM.
'Ben-Gurion said that "without Deir Yasin there would be no Israel."
Deir Yasin being the unprovoked massacre of that Palestinian village by the Lehi (Stern gang) along with: The Irgun – the paramilitary (/terrorist) group that later became the Herut political party, which in turn became part of the Likud alliance.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deir_Yassin
Well, he is in deep legal ca-ca.
But also, some successful rocket impacts make the expense of "Iron Dome" a perceived waste and boondoggle.
"getting elected over and over again"
Its his coalition deals , hes been losing seats for some time ( their MMP is all list) for his Likud party in parliament of 120
2021 -7 seats to have 30
2020 +4
2019 Sept -6
2019 Apr +5
2015 +12 to get 30 or 25%
Yes. and that is what gets him elected again and again. And everyone that goes into coalition with him supports him and his ideas.
Netanyahu deliberately set this off as he is being prosecuted and in the process of trying to form a minority coalition.
Wars set off a rise in Nationalism.
Some info about Israel elections. I needed to remind myself. FYI
Elections in Israel are based on nationwide proportional representation. The electoral threshold is currently set at 3.25%, with the number of seats a party receives in the Knesset being proportional to the number of votes it receives.
Elections in Israel – Wikipedia
.
A total of 39 parties registered to contest the elections.
2021 Israeli legislative election – Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › 2021_Israeli_legislative_…
Seems a good reason to keep a higher threshhold for parties to avoid proliferation of parties then splitting the vote and allowing people to slip in who are not a clear choice. We have 5% I don't think ever below 4% would be wise.
Not really that many parties win seats between 3.25 and 5%. ( I think NZ should have a minimum seats of 5 or around 4.1%)
They just have so many parties between 5 and say 12%. Likud is at 25% or so , which is around what National got in election here, and yet they are the biggest party.
They definitely need a waka jumping law as that is a 'full pandemic' of splitting and creating new parties/ member sharing deals.
Oh thanks. I don't like what has happened in Israel politics so if you say stop waka jumping is good I agree.
(in reply to the MICKYSAVAGE piece ..but possibly off topic so I'll dump it here…)
…eh? What?…is life for Labour supporters getting that desperate and cultish we need to start babbling this sort of meaningless rhetoric? Praising our PM for "human weakness and frailty" in Parliament … and in a time of a massive housing crisis and an economy increasingly built on inequality and exploitation requires something with a bit more backbone…what with Jacindas "human weakness and frailty" and "incremental change"…at this rate, before you know it we'll be dealing with Labour Leaders on par with Starmer …
…which would be funny……except this sort of lack of vision, and lack of action, is one of the factors that leads to Progressives and Centrists standing by while the Right takes power…I am increasingly worried, as we all should be, that the only reason Labour might get in next election is if National can manage to keep up their internal implosion…
*.and I know the idea of "not Left or Right" has a certain appeal to many on The Standard
The best the country can hope for is for Labour to lose its majority and be forced to create a coalition.
(groans inwardly)..yep…back to blaming their coalition partner for the lack of actual progress ..you have to wonder if the disaffected masses will buy into that narrative a second time around…
Yes. Its a small section of minor parties who think that with under 10% the tail should wag the dog.
Heck if the dog needs the tail to get to the food bowl, then yes, the tail is wagging the dog, or else the dog goes hungry and goes no where.
MMP is very decent system, if the Parties have a bit of respect for ech other. But if two parties think that the smaller parties are there to wipe their bums and put them into seats and other then that shut up, both Parties should not be surprised to find out one day that neither of them have friends left.
The Standard really has degenerated significantly recently into an axe grinding shop for any number of the terminally bitter, single issue fanatics, and intolerable whiners.
…deep breaths Sanctuary, deep breaths…atleast we'll be after you with sharp axes…quick and clean…
Look, I get it that being wild eyed, bitter and demanding a peoples revolution or something is a luxury reserved for those in society who for whatever reason have never (yet?) got to taste the heady elixir of responsibility and Byzantine combinations that characterise complex institutions.
But if you could refrain from constantly favouring those of us who perhaps may have had something of a sip from the Sisyphean cup of organisational intricacy with that uninformed and fevered opinion then that would be just splendid.
…rather presumptuous there sanctuary ..I don't actually recall sending you my CV…but that's neither here nor there…you do realise that people can come into power and actually change things ..almost overnight…should they have that clarity of vision and determination one would hope for in a Politician that desires to rule the land?
No one with an interest in NZ politics will forget the Fourth Labour government ( for better or worse) or the First Labour government for that matter…they are reference points to us all for various issues…I suspect Jacindas 6th Labour Governments legacy will be how nice she was after the Mosque shootings ..and how that was the moment horrendously expensive dystopic motel/slum style housing ghettos became normalised …
quite correct sanctuary. the Standard has unfortunatley degenerated into a near constant whinge session, mostly by three or four of the terminally bitter, who have driven many thoughtful posters away.
Yes Woodart. 100%
This isn't quite as insane as the headline promises, but the video footage of a marine food web in action is quite fascinating. The krill eat the plankton, and in turn are gobbled up by fish and a whale, with the fish then chomped up by a swarm of sharks, with gulls hovering to snatch the scraps:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/300307221/it-was-insane-drone-captures-whale-sharks-off-australias-coast
I don't mean to drone on but your above post mirrors Wall st.The peasants get eaten by the middle classes who get gobbled up by the ruling classes.
Yeah, your trickledrown theory is pretty much what I was going for. "Whales" being a dehumanising term used by videogame execs for bigspending/ addicted players. I was going to put in a line about; the faeces falling down to the nourish bottom-feeders, as well, but couldn't get the phrasing right.
Mostly I was just a bit miffed that it was just a drone filming oceanic predators, rather than some robotic submarine cage actually capturing a whale-shark. That would have been insane!
This rap from a few years back still relevant.
Holocaust Rapper. (read it in rap)
He is a holocaust denier
Put Netanyahu on the fryer
Make John Kerry stoke the fire
Coz he’s a fuckin liar
Yea, he says, he is a holocaust denier
Israel stole Hitlers mantle
And imprisoned the Palestinians
Walled them in with the blessings
Of western politicians,
The Jewish State will always rank
As a land of terror
Born by terrorist deeds
The British turned a blind eye
The U.S. sowed the seeds
Why shouldn't he be a holocaust denier
Whenever he saw the phosphorus fire
Hearing Palestinian voices through the smoke
The cries of infants as they choke
American weapons of mass destruction
Vice President firms
Used for reconstruction
Yea, he says, I’m a holocaust denier
Coz that's the only way,
To provoke their fuckin ire.
oh heck but this is funny.
https://www.mediaite.com/news/colonial-pipeline-shut-down-distribution-because-it-couldnt-bill-customers-report/
WTF?
"How does the government not know this? They put this policy in place two years ago. It will have been under development for a year before that. You would expect that in that development process someone would have asked how big the problem was, so they would know how much it was going to cost."
http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2021/05/how-does-government-still-not-know-this.html
from your link
and that is the same with leaking roofs, rotten class rooms to over crowding and / or no heating at all.
Yes…but that dosnt explain how a policy can be formed and implemented without bothering to acquire the fundamental information needed.
oh yes, it can.
We have funds for 90 schools. So that is what the policy covers.
"An estimated 1150 state schools burn fossil fuels to heat classrooms, but the Government doesn’t have an exact figure, or a full list of affected schools.
This suggests the Government’s funding to date – $55 million to convert 90 schools to green fuels – will cover a small fraction of the problem."
https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/125082069/is-your-school-burning-fossil-fuels-even-the-government-may-not-know
"But failing to switch would also carry costs. Climate Change Minister James Shaw confirmed that any offsets for ongoing emissions would need to be purchased out of existing budgets. However, he expects clean heating for schools to be arranged before 2025.
“I'm pretty confident that at the very least we will have funded the replacements of all of those boilers in schools by 2025 [although] the actual work may not be fully complete by then.”
and the cover ones backside phrase here is
From memory there's only one boilermaker of scale in New Zealand now. It's unlikely to go faster than that.
Next target is the Fonterra boilers; Fonterra makes up about 20% of our emissions by itself, and 10% of their total is in manufacturing.
I am sure the rest of the world has some boiler makers too?
Timelapse to production and arrival here might surprise you.
Nothing complex is fast.
Of course.
T'was ever so, nothing much could be done about it, and why even bother or try. 🙂
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/125130360/dhb-nurses-vote-to-strike-over-pay-horrific-and-unsafe-staffing
I don't want to be an iconclast here but nurses start on $57,000PA, I know graduate lawyers and architects who have started on less than that. Pay then rises through eleven automatic pay scales to a maximum of around 80K. That is pretty good money, especially when you consider nursing is a not particularly difficult three year degree and offers enormous flexibility to stay in the workforce if you choose to have a family somewhere along the line.
On top of that base rate there is over-time pay that can seriously bump the salary of the industrious, and ambitious nurses can by dint of specialisation earn a six figure sum.
Nurses work hard, but they are not particularly badly paid in the context of NZ Salaries.
Let me put it this way,
the nurse or nurse aid, will if you need it, wash you, feed you, put your poop away, bring your medication, and do everything else to keep you alive, and happy.
will you ever need an architect?
Nurse Aid is not the same as qualified Nurse.
You are confused with RN's.
Na not really confused, just pointing out that bum wiping in hospitals is an underpaid task, while drafting a house is something that can earn you money over and over again.
but yeah, lets feel sorry for underpaid architects. 🙂
You have relied on an architect if you live in a house.
They may not wipe your bum, but they stop the roof falling in on you.
i have needed nurses way more often then i ever needed an architect. Also consider that the house i have was build many many years ago, a Ministry of Works house. Not sure if that architect at the time did not earn more then a nurse.
And besides, if the architect is any good, he / she / they will earn way more money later in life then a good nurse would ever be able too.
So excuse me if i don't have any issues with a nurse to be better paid for a few years then some architect, who may or may not is able to draft a decent house.
An architect can design a good or bad house for living in and then that design can be built repeatedly and the houses should not need constant maintenance.
While a nurse deals directly with people who need careful constant maintenance, and may have to lift the person involving their muscles in physical work. Nurses are vulnerable looking after vulnerable people. An architect works at a desk usually, either designing onto a screen or onto paper.
An architect and a nurse are doing very different jobs, both important but one with numerous tiring and sometimes unpleasant and intimate tasks as part of the job; that is the nurse.
I know that Grey, it seems that Ad has an issue with it.
"You have relied on an architect if you live in a house."
Utter rubbish
Most of the houses that exist in the country have been built without the need for an architect. The house we built in the 80s that our 4 children were raised in was built without the need of an architect; we designed and built it ourselves and yes it was fully compliant with government and local council domestic building by-laws.
All my contemporaries either built their houses themselves or employed one of the construction companies common at the time e.g. Keith Hays, Reidbuilt etc. These houses weren't designed by architects but by Architectural Draughtspersons. I know I was one.
It was the architecture draughtperson who made sure the plans were correct and the builder who ensured the building was built to those specifications.
Where the design fell outside the scope of NZS 3604 an engineer was employed. Not an architect. They draw pictures, that's all.
"…they are not particularly badly paid in the context of NZ Salaries."
Correct – these are actually middle class salaries. But some points in mitigation:
Are they particularly badly paid in the context of dhb ceos?
Three year nursing degrees arent easy. They’re basically an academic degree and an apprenticeship at the same time.
I can't participate in this forum any more where openly racist comments are excused by moderators. Racism AND gaslighting is a pattern, and some get pissed off and then banned for their returning salvos aimed at haters, frustrated after being repeatedly brushed aside/mansplained/gaslit after the issue is pointed out. This has been going on, intermittently, for the few years I've intermittently frequented TS.
Some here think butter wouldn't melt in their mouth. That is because they are dead inside.
Good luck to all the good folks. Racism is not free speech.
Again, this will help 🙂
https://www.facebook.com/puncharella/videos/10222053463978027
That was really good Robert. Getting words sorted out for meanung rather than thrown like confetti is a good job done.
Also Robert a long while back I talked about a book where somone grew into a tree – very imaginative science fiction. I couldn't remember where at the time but have found it.
It was Phillip Mann's The Fall of the Families series and is in Part Two of the Story of the Gardener. If you would like to read it I have ended up with two copies and can send it to you at Riverton. So if you want it just say here.
Thanks so much, greywarshark – I would be delighted to receive your 2nd copy and am happy to pay the courier fee 🙂 I'm eagerly looking forward to reading it. You might email me at rguy10@actrix.co.nz and we can arrange… 🙂
Right Robert got that – will get onto it soon – email you first.
Does that mean ageism is a system designed by young people to keep old people subjugated? If so, how come old people in NZ generally get a much better deal than younger people?
Ageism is a system put in place by older people to keep the youth subjugated?
Maybe racism cuts ‘both ways’ in NZ, but some cuts are deeper than others – indeed, some wounds are fatal.
New campaign says ‘give no voice to racism’
https://www.hrc.co.nz/news/new-campaign-says-give-no-voice-racism/
https://voiceofracism.co.nz/
According to your logic then there can be no charges of Ageism labelled against younger people acting against older people.
Sorry Gosman, I can't follow your reasoning. Are you saying that according to my logic younger people cannot hold ageist attitudes towards older people? If so then you may have misinterpreted my words – people of almost any age can hold ageist views, and people of almost any age can be targets of ageism. Individual consequences of ageism will vary tremendously.
Some may consider the 7-year disparity between the average life expectancy of Māori and non-Māori to be (at least partly) an outcome of systemic racism.
And some sensitive souls will perceive the 'pale, stale, male' epithet to be racist, ageist and sexist.
But one example cuts deeper than the other. Being non-Māori is definitely the healthy 'choice' in NZ, and that’s not choice, imho.
Well, according to the video about racism that you're distracting from, in that case the word you're looking for is prejudice.
According to the video, ~ism is systemic, prejudice is individual bias, which seems a reasonable and simple distinction you are trying to avoid.
Don't be silly, Gosman.
Can you give examples of this racism ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9n_UPyVR5s&ab_channel=NZHumanRightsCommission
Please let me know what you are seeing WTB. Unfortunately if it's another author there is not a huge amount that can be done, more possible with commenters. Either way I'd like to know.
Fortune 500 just ranked Jacinda Ardern as their pick for Number 1 of world's greatest leaders this year, with the commentary:
"Jacinda Ardern had already sealed her position as a great leader early in her premiership of New Zealand, by empathetically steering her country through the aftermath of a terror attack and the deadly eruption of a volcano. Then the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and Ardern targeted not just suppression of the virus, but its complete elimination. Though there have been a few scares, her strategy largely proved successful; New Zealand, a nation of nearly 5 million people, has seen fewer than 2,700 cases and only 26 deaths. Ardern and her cabinet ministers took a six-month, 20% pay cut in 2020 to show solidarity with people who had lost their livelihoods owing to the pandemic.
Ardern’s party won landslide reelection in October, fueled by her star power, her straight talk, and the fact that her government’s heavy restrictions on international travel made it possible for life to continue with relative normality within New Zealand’s borders. She has also adopted world-leading climate and gender-equity policies. In March, New Zealand became the first country to require that banks, investment managers, and insurers disclose the effects of climate change on their businesses. And last year, Ardern’s administration made it easier for women to negotiate with their employers for more equitable pay."
https://fortune.com/worlds-greatest-leaders/2021/jacinda-ardern/
We don't know how lucky we are.
She's a treasure alright.
We don't know the extent of the changes being wrought 🙂
They don't even mention mycoplasma bovis, the banking reforms, and just now Kiwi Saver Default scheme overhaul. Yes Jacinda Ardern is a gem.
A collection of egregious media depictions of the Israeli assault on Palestine
Radio NZ's dismal parroting of Israeli government talking points, and the simply laughable TVNZ "news" coverage, should be added to this thread…..
https://twitter.com/AlanRMacLeod/status/1392143635769081857