Open mike 16/02/2020
Written By:
- Date published:
7:00 am, February 16th, 2020 - 121 comments
Categories: open mike -
Tags:
Open mike is your post.
For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.
The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).
Step up to the mike …
121 comments on “Open mike 16/02/2020”
- Comments are now closed
- Comments are now closed
Recent Comments
- Rāhui day 4
The kids did surprisingly well today – meltdown count was about 3, and mostly fairly short ones. (And a fourth while I was writing.) Game-wise I had a go at Fell Seal: Arbiter’s Mark. It’s a fairly standard RPG with turn-based combat and what they call a “mature storyline” (it ...7 hours ago - Letter to a friend
by Don Franks Hi David, Nice hearing from you, I’m glad to hear you’re getting by okay in these grim times. You asked how’s it going for us back here in New Zealand. You would have heard that the whole country is locked down and with breaks for exercise and ...8 hours ago - Life in Lock Down: Day 3
. . Lock Down: Day 3 – A photo essay with observations . March 28: First day of the first weekend in Lock Down. It feels like it’s been weeks since only Level 3 was declared last Tuesday, only four days ago. Woke up this morning to RNZ; coffee; toast, ...16 hours ago - 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #13
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week, i.e., Sun, Mar 22, 2020 through Sat, Mar 28, 2020 Articles Linked to on Facebook Sun, Mar 22, 2020 In Just 10 Years, Warming Has Increased the Odds of Disasters by Chelsea Harvey, ...1 day ago - Rāhui day 3I’m here in lockdown with my flatmate and her two girls (6 and 2) and it. is. a time. They’re usually really active so to start with the only boardgame in the house is the copy of Guess Who that the 6 year old got for her birthday. Flatmate commented ...1 day ago
- A test of civil society.
The CV-19 (COVID) pandemic has seen the imposition of a government ordered national quarantine and the promulgation of a series of measures designed to spread the burden of pain and soften the economic blow on the most strategically important and most vulnerable sectors of society. The national narrative is framed ...2 days ago - Life in Lock Down: Day 2. . Lock Down: Day 2 – A photo essay with observations . March 27 – Day 2 of our Strange New World. The Park and Ride near my suburb, usually filled with hundreds of vehicles, had just… four; . . Another drive into Wellington City on a highway nearly ...2 days ago
- How Do You Feel? What Do You Think?
Fortune's Children: Under extraordinary pressure, the leader of the Government and the leader of the Opposition will each show us what they are made of. Have they been blessed with intelligence, grace, wit, poise, toughness, empathy and humour – and in what measure? More importantly, to what extent have they ...2 days ago - Landlords are NOT an essential service
2 days ago - A “new Society” post-COVID19 will definitely emerge. The question is: on what path?
Society-wise, aside from the specific morbidity shall we say of the medically-oriented aspects of this COVID-19 crisis, what is unfolding before the world is in more than one way an instructive study of humanity and reactions to a high intensity, high stress environment in real time. Friends, we are at ...2 days ago - Raise the Bar: Everything you need to know about the wage subsidy
Right now low waged and insecure workers are feeling the economic brunt of the looming #Covid19 Recession. In response legal advocate Toby Cooper* and hospitality and worker’s rights advocate Chloe Ann-King, are putting together a series of legal blogs about your employment rights: In this legal blog we outline some ...2 days ago - The massacre of prisoners in Modelo jail, Bogota, March 21
by Equipo Jurídico Pueblos and Gearóid Ó Loingsigh (25/03/2020) An escape plan in question On the night of March 21st and the early morning of the 22nd, the forces of the Colombian state stormed into the Modelo prison in Bogotá, murdering 23 prisoners and injuring 83, in response to the ...2 days ago - We are not America
When the government banned semi-automatic weapons in response to a terrorist atrocity, gun-nuts were outraged. Mired in toxic American gun culture, they thought owning weapons whose sole purpose was killing people was some sort of "constitutional right", a necessity for "defending themselves" against the government. Now, the Court of Appeal ...3 days ago - When will we know the lockdown is working?
Just before midnight on Wednesday March 25, Aotearoa New Zealand entered a countrywide alert level four lockdown. For at least the next four weeks, everyone who isn’t an essential worker is confined to their bubble. We are doing this to stop the explosive growth in people contracting and dying from ...3 days ago - Lock Down: Day 1. . Lock Down: Day 1 – A photo essay with observations . Day one of the Level 4 nationwide lock-down (or, DefCon 4 as I sometimes cheekily call it) started at 11.59PM on 25 March. For a moment, most of the nation held it’s collective breath. In that brief ...3 days ago
- A Compelling Recollection.Broad, Sunlit Uplands: How those words fired my young imagination! Or, perhaps, it is more accurate to say: how those words fused, in my young mind, with the image printed on every packet of Fielder’s Cornflour. Always fascinated by history, especially modern history, I cannot hear Churchill’s wonderfully evocative words, even ...3 days ago
- The Warehouse – where everyone gets a virus. . 24 March 2020 9.46AM Number of covid19 cases in Aotearoa New Zealand: 102 . As of 11.59 on Thursday, most of New Zealand will go into “lock down”. People will be expected not to travel to work; not to socialise; and to stay home. I will not be ...3 days ago
- Aggressive action to address climate change could save the world $145 trillionThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections A respected research group, Project Drawdown, finds that deploying solutions consistent with meeting the Paris climate targets would cost tens of trillions of dollars globally. But crucially, those outlays would also yield long-term savings many times larger than the up-front costs. The new 2020 Drawdown ...3 days ago
- After the PandemicIt will pass. What happens next? Not immediately, but longer term. There are many opinions, fewer certainties. Will it “change everything!” as many confidently, and contradictorily predict? In this post I look at how foresight can help bound some of the uncertainties so you can more objectively consider the future. ...4 days ago
- Coronavirus – Cuba shows the wayWe’ve been meaning t write something on Cuba and the coronavirus but have just discovered a very good article on the subject in the US left publication Jacobin. The article looks at how Cuba, a poor country but one where capitalism has been done away with, is leading the way ...4 days ago
- Using privacy law to prevent the death penaltyIn 2018, El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey - two British citizens who had purportedly been stripped of their citizenship by the British government - were captured while fighting for Isis in Syria. The British government then conspired to hand them over to the US, and agreed to provide evidence ...4 days ago
- It’s Time For Disaster Socialism.Transformers: The disaster of the Great Depression was transformed into a new and fairer society by the democratic socialism of the First Labour Government. The disaster of the Covid-19 Pandemic offers a similar transformative possibility to the Labour-NZ First-Green Government. Seize the time, Jacinda! You will never have a better ...4 days ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #12, 2020Tamper with The System? Well, we already are. But there's a difference between accidentally trickling sand into a precision gearbox versus formulating a plan to alter it on the fly with improvements in mind. One action is more or less innocently unscrupulous, the other amenable to earning an easy ...4 days ago
- Avoidable hospitalisations: Helping our health system get through COVID-19Associate Prof George Thomson, Louise Delany, Prof Nick Wilson While it is possible that New Zealand can use intense public health controls to eradicate COVID-19 from the country – we must also plan for other scenarios where thousands of New Zealanders are sick – including many urgently hospitalised.1 Better resilience ...5 days ago
- Raise the Bar: 10 questions to ask your employer proposing redundancy
Kia ora my name is Chloe Ann-King* and I am the founder of Raise the Bar, a campaign and non-profit that gives free legal aid, advocacy and tautoko to hospitality workers in Aotearoa. Right now all over our country hospo workers are being fired at will, having shifts cut or being ...5 days ago - An equitable way to support businessThe Herald reports that the government is planning to lend billions of dollars to large businesses to keep them operating during the pandemic. As with mortgage relief, this is necessary: we need companies to stay in business, to reduce the economic damage and help things get restarted again when this ...5 days ago
- Hard News: Together Alone
We're about to do something unprecedented as a nation. We hope that by taking this extraordinary action before a single life in New Zealand has been lost to the deadly novel virus we will save tens of thousands of lives. Our lives. We'll do it together, in households, in isolation ...5 days ago - Why timing is everything: ‘A time to refrain from embracing’ starts today
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.”So writes the author of Ecclesiastes, a book in the Old Testament that’s counted as a ‘wisdom’ book and written as if by an unnamed king of Jerusalem. But who would have thought there would be a time ...5 days ago - Dealing with the Covid-19 Tsunami.I was surprised when the prime minister described the Economic Response to Covid-19 package as the ‘largest peacetime government spend in New Zealand's history’. Reflecting – checking through history – I realised that the term ‘spend’ was crucial and the package had no income tax cuts. Even so, it has ...5 days ago
- What about renters?The government today announced the latest part of its pandemic relief package: a six-month mortgage holiday for people whose incomes have been affected by the pandemic. Which is great, because these people are going to need help, and that's what the government should be doing. At the same time, it ...6 days ago
- Living within our means.Years ago the Argentine sociologist Carlos Weisman wrote a book titled “Living within our Means.” It was a critique of Argentine society that focused on the paradoxical question of why, in a land of plenty, there was so much economic instability, inequality, corruption and political turmoil. His conclusion was basically ...6 days ago
- Transparency and the pandemicParliament will be leading by example and adjourning tomorrow after a special sitting to consider an epidemic notice and state of emergency. Day-to-day oversight of the government will be delegated to a select committee. But that's not the only overight mechanism. The OIA will still be law, and (so far) ...6 days ago
- ‘Overjoyed’: a leading health expert on New Zealand’s coronavirus shutdown, and the challengin...Michael Baker, University of Otago Overjoyed. That’s not a word epidemiologists normally use, but that’s how I felt after hearing Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s announcement about New Zealand’s COVID-19 shutdown of everything except essential services for at least four weeks from midnight on Wednesday. More than anything, I just ...6 days ago
- One way to solve the housing crisisHow much homelessness is caused by house hoarding? We're about to find out. The pandemic has destroyed tourism, which means that house hoarders who put their hoarded properties up as short-term tourist rentals are now offering them on the ordinary rental market:Property investors are pulling properties from Airbnb to offer ...6 days ago
- The pros and cons of planting trees to address global warmingThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bruce Lieberman It seems like such a simple, straightforward, empowering idea: plant trees – a lot of trees – all over the world, and watch the planet’s temperature fall. Who doesn’t love a tree or two, even far more – the right ...6 days ago
- Not a grand coalition, but a government of national salvation
According to Newshub, Simon Bridges is open to joining a “grand coalition” with Labour as we hunker down to go into a month long lockdown. The idea is sound. Before now, the role of the opposition was to scrutinise and oppose. In the context of what almost amounts to a ...6 days ago - Raise the Bar: hospitality workers & wage subsidy entitlements
Kia ora my name is Chloe Ann-King* and I am the founder of Raise the Bar, a campaign and non-profit that gives free legal aid, advocacy and tautoko to hospitality workers in Aotearoa. Right now all over our country hospo workers are being fired at will, having shifts cut or ...7 days ago - Lifting our game against COVID-19We need to be lifting our game against COVID-19. You and I need to help those working to prevent the spread of COVID-19 while they’re trying to lift the testing and treatment efforts. We don’t want to be playing this game running backwards. Best to play it solidly forward, from ...7 days ago
- The maths and ethics of minimising COVID-19 deaths in NZProf Tony Blakely, Prof Michael Baker, and Prof Nick Wilson The NZ Government must do more to clearly articulate its COVID-19 strategy: eradication or ‘flattening the curve’ mitigation. But to do so means understanding the maths and ethics of both these strategies. In this blog, we adapt our work for ...7 days ago
- All aboard the Covid Train
A few days ago I was starting to write something about the pandemic, which now seems unconscionable. It took the form of a letter to an agony aunt:“Dear Deidre, I have an ugly confession. I am quite excited by Covid-19.”This is how the piece went:“I’m not a psychopath, honest. Although the ...7 days ago - 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #12Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Climate Feedback Article Review... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Claim Reviews... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week... Story of the Week... In Just 10 Years, Warming Has Increased the Odds of Disasters The likelihood of extreme events ...7 days ago
- We are all socialists nowLast week, the government announced a $12 billion initial package to support people during the pandemic. Today, the Reserve Bank is buying government bonds - effectively printing money - to keep up the money supply during the crisis. Normally such moves would have the right apoplectic. Instead, the National Party ...7 days ago
- A plea to experts: safeguard your role in public life
I am a pundit, somebody who opines and comments on the news. There are no real qualifications to punditry though having a rudimentary way with words and good general knowledge helps. That is one reason there is a constant oversupply of would-be pundits and why it is quite hard to ...1 week ago - Enlightenment when?I recently encountered the following prescription from a Faculty of Education at a leading New Zealand University. At first I wondered if it was another product of the postmodern generator (http://www.elsewhere.org/journal/pomo/), designed to create gibberish in the postmodern form, but I’m told it is real: The “schooled” society: Towards the ...1 week ago
- What the Crisis Can teach Us
The coronavirus pandemic has of course had a major impact on individual lives and on societies as a whole. But, long after the crisis has passed (assuming it does), we will begin to realise that its real and lasting significance lies in the lessons it has taught us, if only ...1 week ago - Hammering home measures to stop COVID-19
COVID-19 has plunged Aotearoa New Zealand (indeed, the world) into territory that, while maybe not totally unprecedented, certainly hasn’t been seen during the lifetimes of most of us here today. Our borders are closed to non-citizens, we’re being told not to gather in groups of more than 500 outside/100 inside, ...1 week ago - What does ‘level two’ mean – and why does it matter?For the last few weeks, I’ve been urging you to prepare yourself, your family, business, and community for Covid-19. Now it’s time for real action. Yesterday the director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield announced another 13 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand, bringing our total to date to 52. ...1 week ago
- 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #12A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week, i.e., Sun, Mar 15, 2020 through Sat, Mar 21, 2020 Editor's Pick Now Isn’t the Time to Forget About Our Climate Change Efforts Tasha Tilberg, Lindsey Wixson, and Liu Wen photographed ...1 week ago
- Is the Guardian becoming a real newspaper again?by Jan Rivers The article has been corrected to show that it was Ewen MacAskill, former Guardian journalist and not Luke Harding who travelled to meet Edward Snowden with journalist Glenn Greenwald and filmmaker Laura Poitras. Some of the Guardian’s well-known journalists who did not sign the protest letter are ...1 week ago
- Life asserts itself regardlessby Cultural Worker Late March 2020 amidst the virus. With gigs crashing and burning all around it was without much hope that I called a long standing rest home booking: “ Hi, I’m supposed to be entertaining at your place this afternoon – is it still on?” “”If you don’t ...1 week ago
- Politics, the possible, and the pandemicWhenever people demand real change from their politicians, we're told that "politics is the art of the possible". The implication is that change isn't possible, so we'd better just get used to the sucky status quo. But now that there's a pandemic, a lot of things we were previously told ...1 week ago
- The Only Way Through This Crisis Is Together.Together: In leading New Zealand through the Covid-19 Pandemic, the Prime Minister could do a lot worse than allow herself to be guided by the spirit of collective sacrifice and co-operation that animated the New Zealanders of 80 years ago. Most Kiwis alive today have had no opportunity to prove their ...1 week ago
- GFC vs Covid-19It is said that generals fight the last war. In the case of the early stages of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) they had learned from the Great Depression of the 1930s and they fought intelligently and successfully. Later their advice would be ignored in favour of the Austerians who ...1 week ago
- Nobody Left Behind.1 week ago
- Rebuilding a truly “Democratic” counter, or a “moderate Republican” bolt-hol...
Looking across the various arguments for/against the leading candidates to take the Democratic Nomination, you might honestly be very hard pressed to tell. There are a number of things that have now started happening since Amy Klobuchar and “Mayor Pete” Buttigieg both threw the towel in and immediately (and ...1 week ago - Abortion law reform a win for womenby Daphna Whitmore Abortion is no longer in the Crimes Act in New Zealand. The law reform passed yesterday and now abortion is a medical matter between a woman and her doctor. Many women’s groups and progressive people have campaigned for reform for decades. The women’s liberation movement and some ...1 week ago
- How to spot bogus science stories and read the news like a scientistDoug Specht, University of Westminster and Julio Gimenez, University of Westminster When fake news, misreporting and alternative facts are everywhere, reading the news can be a challenge. Not only is there plenty of misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic, climate change and other scientific topics floating around social media, you also ...2 weeks ago
- Why New Zealand needs to continue decisive action to contain coronavirusMichael Baker, University of Otago and Nick Wilson, University of Otago With some of the toughest border restrictions and a newly-announced NZ$500 million boost to health services, New Zealand is among a small number of countries with a strategy to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. New Zealand is also fortunate in ...2 weeks ago
- Parliament and the pandemic IIAs expected, the government has introduced a sessional order to allow Parliament to operate during the pandemic. You can read it on the Order Paper here, but the short version is that questions and motions can be filed electronicly, select committees can work remotely, and the the Business Committee can ...2 weeks ago
- When a virus goes viral: pros and cons to the coronavirus spread on social mediaAxel Bruns, Queensland University of Technology; Daniel Angus, Queensland University of Technology; Timothy Graham, Queensland University of Technology, and Tobias R. Keller, Queensland University of Technology News and views about coronavirus has spread via social media in a way that no health emergency has done before. Platforms like Twitter, Facebook, ...2 weeks ago
- How to survive 14 days of self-isolation2 weeks ago
- Abortion Legislation Bill passes third reading
Some fave speeches: ...2 weeks ago - Why Leadership Matters – More Than Anything.Our Good Fortune: Precisely because she has never been an ideologue (she calls herself a “pragmatic idealist”) Jacinda Ardern has a political nimbleness and spontaneity which, when infused with her exceptional emotional intelligence, produces spectacular demonstrations of leadership. Jacinda's empathic political personality contrasts sharply with the less-than-sunny ways of her ...2 weeks ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11, 202046 Articles Physical science of global warming & effects Global pattern of short‐term concurrent hot and dry extremes and its relationship to large‐scale climate indices Opposite spatial variability of climate change‐induced surface temperature trends due to soil and atmospheric moisture in tropical/subtropical dry and wet land regions ...2 weeks ago
- 68-51The Abortion Legislation Bill has just passed its third reading, 68-51. NZ First MPs bailed because their referendum amendment didn't pass, but there were plenty of MPs to provide a majority without them. The bill is a long way from perfect - most significantly, it subjects pregnant people who need ...2 weeks ago
- The ‘herd immunity’ route to fighting coronavirus is unethical and potentially dangerousAs most of the world tries to suppress the coronavirus spread, some countries are going it alone – trying to manage the pandemic through so-called “herd immunity”. Herd immunity means letting a large number of people catch a disease, and hence develop immunity to it, to stop the virus spreading. ...2 weeks ago
- Eight new COVID-19 cases today. It’s no surprise when you look at some numbersSo, as I sit at home with a very, very slight headache (i.e. not at work when I would otherwise be so), the now familiar figure of Ashley Bloomfield reports eight new confirmed cases of COVID-19 including two in Waikato. A surprise, given that we had just twelve yesterday? No. ...2 weeks ago
- The WINZ Paradox versus the new COVID-19 Reality: Get real people, seriously…
Many who advocated for, and voted for, the current Coalition – particularly those who voted Labour and the Green Party – expected to see a sea change in the reality of social services. A real, deep change of attitude, approach of process through which the system negotiates the difficult and ...2 weeks ago - The Air New Zealand bailoutStuff reports that the government is going to have to throw $2 - 3 billion at Air new Zealand to get it through the pandemic. Good. While international routes are basicly closed, Air New Zealand is a strategic asset which is vital to our tourism industry, not to mentioning airfreight. ...2 weeks ago
- Why NZ’s tough coronavirus travel rules are crucial to protecting lives at home and across the Pac...New Zealand’s border restrictions will come with significant job and business losses in the tourism sector, both at home and in the Pacific. But the new travel rules are absolutely necessary to protect the health of New Zealanders and people right across Pacific Islands, because New Zealand is a gateway ...2 weeks ago
- The tiniest of teethBack in early 2018, as a shoddy legal tactic to try and avoid the prisoner voting ban being formally declared inconsistent with the BORA by the Supreme Court, Justice Minister Andrew Little floated the idea of greater legal protection for human rights. When the Supreme Court case didn't go the ...2 weeks ago
- One simple, common factor to success against COVID-19Professor Philip Hill and Associate Professor James Ussher Most infectious diseases have an Achilles heel, the secret is to find it. The question is if we don’t have a drug or a vaccine for COVID-19, is there something else we can do to beat it? Some people estimate that, without ...2 weeks ago
- National should isolate Simon BridgesThe Coalition Governments $12.1 billion economic package to help combat the financial effects of COVID-19 was generally well received across the board, even amongst many business leaders who would normally be critical of a Labour led Government.However there was one glaringly obvious exception, Simon Bridges. The so-called leader of the ...2 weeks ago
- How testing for Covid-19 worksWith confirmed cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand up to 12, many influential people are writing open letters and opinion pieces and doing press conferences asking why we aren’t pulling out all the stops and testing thousands of people a day like they are in South Korea. The thing is, ...2 weeks ago
- The COVID-19 package and the limits of capitalismby Daphna Whitmore The willingness to put human life before business shows that sometimes capitalism is capable of suspending its relentless drive for profit. For a short time it can behave differently. Flatten the curve is the public health message since COVID-19 suddenly overwhelmed the hospital system in northern Italy. ...2 weeks ago
- Week That Was: COVID-19 Alert Level 4
The COVID-19 situation in New Zealand is moving fast - and to avoid what we've seen overseas - the Government's response must be to move fast too. We're committed to keeping New Zealanders safe and well-informed every step of the way. ...2 days ago - SPEECH: Green Party Co-leader James Shaw – Ministerial statement on State of National Emergency an...
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The scale of what we face right now is unlike anything we have ever seen before. Overcoming it is our common purpose. ...5 days ago - Winston Peters urging New Zealanders overseas to stay put
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is encouraging New Zealanders overseas to stay where they are amid the COVID-19 pandemic. "We are reaching a point where the best option for most New Zealanders offshore is to shelter in place, by preparing to safely stay where they are.” "This includes following the instructions ...6 days ago - New Zealanders overseas encouraged to shelter in placeRt. Hon. Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Foreign Minister Winston Peters is encouraging the tens of thousands of New Zealanders travelling overseas to consider sheltering in place, in light of COVID-19. “Since 18 March, we have been warning New Zealanders offshore that the window for flying ...6 days ago
- Ground-breaking abortion law passes, giving NZers compassionate healthcareGround-breaking law has passed that will decriminalise abortion and ensure women and pregnant people seeking abortions have compassionate healthcare. ...2 weeks ago
- Package supports Kiwis to put collective health firstThe Green Party says that the measures announced by the Government today will help families and businesses to prioritise our collective health and wellbeing in the response to COVID-19. ...2 weeks ago
- Winston Peters: COVID-19 rescue package ‘more significant’ than any worldwideAs New Zealanders brace for a global downturn due to Covid-19, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters says his Coalition Government’s rescue package "more significant" than any other he's seen around the world. The Coalition is to reveal a multi-billion-dollar stimulus plan on Tuesday afternoon designed to cushion the economic blow ...2 weeks ago
- Our response to COVID-19We know some people are feeling anxious about COVID-19. While the situation is serious, New Zealand has a world-class health system and we’re well-prepared to keep New Zealanders safe. ...2 weeks ago
- ‘Demerit Points System’ will address youth crimeDarroch Ball MP, Spokesperson for Law and Order A New Zealand First member’s bill drawn from the ballot today seeks to overhaul the youth justice system by instigating a system of demerit points for offences committed by young offenders. “The ‘Youth Justice Demerit Point System’ will put an end to ...3 weeks ago
- Investment in kingfish farmingHon. Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund is investing $6 million in a land-based aquaculture pilot to see whether yellowtail kingfish can be commercially farmed in Northland, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. A recirculating land-based aquaculture system will be built and operated ...3 weeks ago
- 1BT grants for Northland plantingHon. Shane Jones, Minister for Forestry Forestry Minister Shane Jones has announced two One Billion Trees programme grants of more than $1.18 million to help hapu and iwi in Northland restore whenua and moana. “Many communities around Aotearoa have benefited from One Billion Trees funding since the programme was launched ...3 weeks ago
- New Zealand reaffirms support for Flight MH17 judicial processRt. Hon. Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahead of the start of the criminal trial in the Netherlands on 9 March, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has reaffirmed the need to establish truth, accountability and justice for the downing of Flight MH17 ...3 weeks ago
- PGF investment in green hydrogenRt. Hon. Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister The Government is investing $19.9 million through the Provincial Growth Fund in a game-changing hydrogen energy facility in South Taranaki, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters announced today. “The development of alternative energy initiatives like this one is vital for the Taranaki region’s economy. ...3 weeks ago
- Coronavirus support for PacificRt. Hon. Winston Peters, Minister for Foreign Affairs Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says New Zealand is partnering with countries in the Pacific to ensure they are prepared for, and able to respond to the global threat of Coronavirus (COVID-19). “There are currently no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the ...3 weeks ago
- Green Party passes landmark law to ensure deaf and disabled voices heard equally in democracyChlöe Swarbrick's Members Bill to support disabled general election candidates has passed into law. ...3 weeks ago
- Tariff concessions on COVID-19 related products
New Zealand will temporarily remove tariffs on all medical and hygiene imports needed for the COVID-19 response. Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Kris Faafoi said today that the New Zealand Customs Service will apply tariff concessions to all diagnostic reagents and testing ...2 days ago - Clarification of modification to wage subsidy schemeMinister of Finance Grant Robertson has clarified that the changes to the wage subsidy scheme announced yesterday mean that employers should be passing on the full subsidy to workers, except in the case where the person’s normal income is less than the level of the subsidy. “We still want employers ...2 days ago
- Face masks flowing to DHBsMedical face masks from the national reserve supply are now being distributed to District Health Boards, while at the same time local production is being ramped up. Yesterday more than 640,000 masks were sent to DHBS – that is an immediate two week supply, with more to follow in coming ...2 days ago
- COVID-19: Further steps to protect New Zealanders’ jobsThe Government has made modifications to the wage subsidy scheme to ensure people don’t lose their jobs during the national lockdown. These changes will soften the impact of COVID-19 on workers, families and businesses, and position them to exit the lockdown and look to recovery, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. ...3 days ago
- Tax relief for Mycoplasma Bovis farmersFarmers whose herds were culled in response to the outbreak of Mycoplasma bovis will be able to minimise the tax treatment of their income in some circumstances. Revenue Minister Stuart Nash says Cabinet has agreed to change the law. It means farmers may be eligible to spread their income over ...3 days ago
- $27 million for NGOs and community groups to continue providing essential servicesA $27 million dollar package, effective immediately, is being provided to social sector services and community groups to ensure they can continue to provide essential support to communities as we stay at home as a nation to stop the spread of COVID-19, Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni announced. “At ...4 days ago
- Statement on guilty plea of March 15 terrorist“The guilty plea today will provide some relief to the many people whose lives were shattered by what happened on March 15,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. “These guilty pleas and conviction bring accountability for what happened and also save the families who lost loved ones, those who were injured, ...4 days ago
- COVID-19 updatesThe Prime Minister is holding daily press conferences to update New Zealanders on the Government's response to COVID-19. Links to videos and transcripts of these updates below. These transcripts also include All of Government press conferences led by Director Ministry of Health's Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield. 25 March: Live update from the Prime ...4 days ago
- Police numbers break through 10,000 markFrontline Police numbers have broken through the 10,000 mark for the first time in history as officers step forward to keep the community safe during the COVID19 lockdown. “Two Police graduations in Auckland and Wellington in the past week have been conducted in unprecedented circumstances,” Police Minister Stuart Nash said. ...4 days ago
- Urgent tax measures for economic recoveryUrgent legislation has been passed to support the package of economic and social measures needed to recover from the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. “The COVID-19 Response (Taxation and Social Assistance Urgent Measures) Bill will cushion New Zealanders from the worst economic impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak,” said Revenue Minister ...4 days ago
- Further support for farmers and growers as drought persistsFrom tomorrow, Government support for farmers and growers affected by drought will be expanded and extended across the country, with access to Rural Assistance Payments (RAPS) available throughout the North Island, parts of the South Island and the Chatham Islands, Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni announced. “These challenging conditions have ...4 days ago
- COVID-19: Temporary changes to Education ActParliament has passed amendments to legislation that give the Secretary of Education stronger powers to act in the fight to limit the spread of COVID-19, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “They are part of a suite of changes passed under the COVID-19 Response (Urgent Management Measures) Legislation Bill,” Chris ...4 days ago
- Canada, Australia, Chile, Brunei and Myanmar join NZ and Singapore in committing to keeping supply a...Canada, Australia, Chile, Brunei and Myanmar have joined forces with New Zealand and Singapore by committing to keep supply chains open and remove any existing trade restrictive measures on essential goods, especially medical supplies, in the face of the Covid-19 crisis. Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker today welcomed ...4 days ago
- COVID-19: Rent increase freeze and more protection for tenantsImmediate freeze on rent increases Tenancies will not be terminated during the lock-down period, unless the parties agree, or in limited circumstances Tenants who had previously given notice can stay in their if they need to stay in the tenancy during the lock-down period Tenants will still be able to ...5 days ago
- Working together to protect businesses and workersAs New Zealand unites to lock-down in the fight against COVID-19, the Finance Minister is urging all businesses and workers to stay connected over the next four weeks. “We understand the extreme pressure many businesses are under right now. I know most business owners think of their workers as family ...5 days ago
- State of National Emergency declared to fight COVID-19A State of National Emergency has been declared across the country as the Government pulls out all the stops to curtail the spread of COVID-19. “Today we put in place our country’s second ever State of National Emergency as we fight a global pandemic, save New Zealanders’ lives and prevent ...5 days ago
- Prime Minister’s statement on State of National Emergency and Epidemic NoticeMr Speaker I wish to make a Ministerial Statement under Standing Order 347 in relation to the recent declaration of a State of National Emergency. Having considered the advice of the Director Civil Defence Emergency Management, the Minister of Civil Defence declared a State of National Emergency for the whole of ...5 days ago
- Deadline for domestic travel extendedPeople needing to travel on domestic flights, trains and Cook Strait ferries to get home before the country moves into level 4 lock-down tomorrow night will be able to continue using the passenger services until midnight on Friday, Transport Minister Phil Twyford said today. Domestic passenger services, particularly ferries, have ...5 days ago
- Mortgage holiday and business finance support schemes to cushion COVID impactsThe Government, retail banks and the Reserve Bank are today announcing a major financial support package for home owners and businesses affected by the economic impacts of COVID-19. The package will include a six month principal and interest payment holiday for mortgage holders and SME customers whose incomes have been ...6 days ago
- Government working to keep air freight movingMinister of Transport Phil Twyford has today announced details of the Government’s support package to keep key air freight moving and ensure New Zealanders retain access to essential goods during the four-week level 4 lockdown. “The Government is working with airlines and air freight operators to ensure New Zealand’s key ...6 days ago
- New Zealand moves to COVID-19 Alert Level 3, then Level 4 in 48 hoursNew Zealand moved up to COVID-19 Alert Level 3 – Restrict New Zealand to move up to COVID-19 Alert Level 4 – Eliminate, in 48 hours Two-staged approach to give people and businesses time to prepare Level 3, from tomorrow Non-essential businesses must close All events and gatherings must be ...7 days ago
- Prime Minister: COVID-19 Alert Level increasedGood afternoon The Cabinet met this morning to discuss our next actions in the fight against COVID-19. Like the rest of the world, we are facing the potential for devastating impacts from this virus. But, through decisive action, and through working together, do we have a small window to get ...7 days ago
- Govt takes significant economic decisions as NZ readies for Alert Level 4 in COVID-19 fightThe Government is announcing significant further support for the economy, workers and businesses as the country unites to prepare for Alert Level 4 in the fight against COVID-19. Cabinet today agreed to remove the cap on the Government’s wage subsidy scheme, which will inject a further $4 billion into the ...7 days ago
- Govt backs RBNZ move to support economy with lower interest ratesThe Government is backing the Reserve Bank’s latest action to support the economy by reducing longer-term interest rates, meaning lower costs for businesses and mortgage holders, and a lower currency to help our exporters. The Minister of Finance has signed a memorandum of understanding and a letter of indemnity with ...7 days ago
- Government statement on commercial cooperation during COVID-19The Government has asked the Commerce Commission to take account of the exceptional circumstances created by COVID-19 when monitoring business behaviour in coming weeks. “The purpose of my request to the Commerce Commission is to make sure businesses can work together in ways that will allow them to provide ...1 week ago
- New Zealand temporarily closes diplomatic posts in Barbados and Myanmar due to COVID-19The New Zealand Government has temporarily closed its High Commission in Bridgetown, Barbados and its Embassy in Yangon, Myanmar due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Due to the increasing scarcity of air links in and out of Bridgetown and Yangon, and the pressure COVID-19 is placing ...1 week ago
- Supporting Māori communities and businesses throughAssociate Health and Whānau Ora Minister Peeni Henare has today announced the Government’s plan to support Māori communities and businesses in the face of COVID-19. “Our Government’s $12.1 billion economic package will help many Māori whānau, workers and businesses, whether it’s through wage subsidies, income support and worker redeployment, or ...1 week ago
- Guidelines for hospitality establishments releasedThe Government and the hospitality industry have worked together to produce guidelines to assist with managing and reducing transmission of COVID-19, Health Minister David Clark announced today. The guidelines developed between the Government, Hospitality New Zealand and SkyCity Entertainment Group, set out how the new restrictions on physical distancing and ...1 week ago
- Nation steps up to COVID-19 Alert Level 2Four stage Alert System for COVID-19 announced New Zealand moved up to COVID-19 Alert Level 2 – Reduce Contact New Zealanders over 70 and those with certain medical conditions told to stay at home as much as they can to reduce risk of contact with the virus Workplaces to implement ...1 week ago
- PM Address – Covid-19 UpdateKia ora koutou katoa I’m speaking directly to all New Zealanders today to give you as much certainty and clarity as we can as we fight Covid-19. Over the past few weeks, the world has changed. And it has changed very quickly. In February it would have seemed unimaginable to ...1 week ago
- NZ and Singapore commit to keeping supply and trade links open, including on essential goods and med...New Zealand and Singapore have jointly committed to keep supply chains open and to remove any existing trade restrictive measures on essential goods, especially medical supplies, in the face of the Covid-19 crisis. Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker welcomed the commitment. “This is an important collective response, and ...1 week ago
- Joint Ministerial Statement by Singapore and New Zealand -Covid-19 situationJOINT MINISTERIAL STATEMENT BY SINGAPORE AND NEW ZEALAND AFFIRMING COMMITMENT TO ENSURING SUPPLY CHAIN CONNECTIVITY AMIDST THE COVID-19 SITUATION The COVID-19 pandemic is a serious global crisis. As part of our collective response to combat COVID-19, Singapore and New Zealand are committed to maintaining open and connected supply chains. We ...1 week ago
- Transit between Australia and New ZealandTravel restrictions, closing our border to almost all travelers came into force from 23:59 on Thursday 19 March 2020 (NZDT). All airlines were informed of these restrictions before they came into force. Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says “The transit of passengers between Australia and New Zealand has been agreed upon and ...1 week ago
- $100 million to redeploy workersThe Government has allocated $100 million to help redeploy workers affected by the economic impact of COVID-19, with the hard-hit region of Gisborne-Tairāwhiti to be the first helped, Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford, Forestry and Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Employment Minister Willie Jackson announced today. Phil Twyford ...1 week ago
- More support for wood processingThe Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is ramping up support for Tairāwhiti’s wood processing sector to bolster the region’s economy at a time of heightened uncertainty, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. Following earlier announcements today of a regional support package for Tairāwhiti, Minister Jones has also announced a ...1 week ago
- Govt steps in to protect Air New ZealandThe Coalition Government has stepped in to protect Air New Zealand with a significant financial deal that protects essential routes and allows the company to keep operating. The Government and Air New Zealand have agreed a debt funding agreement through commercial 24-month loan facilities of up to $900 million*. The ...1 week ago
- Stronger border measures to protect NZers from COVID-19The Government has taken further measures to protect New Zealanders from the COVID-19 virus, effectively stopping all people from boarding a plane to New Zealand from 11:59pm today, except for returning New Zealanders, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. New Zealanders’ partners, legal guardians or any dependent children travelling with ...1 week ago
- Action on indoor gatherings and events to protect public healthThe Government has reinforced its commitment to protecting the health of New Zealanders from COVID-19 through the cancellation of indoor events with more than 100 people. “Protecting the health of New Zealanders is our number one priority, and that means we need to reduce the risks associated with large gatherings,” ...2 weeks ago
- New Zealanders advised not to travel overseasThe New Zealand Government is advising New Zealanders not to travel overseas due to COVID-19, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “We are raising our travel advice to the highest level: do not travel,” Mr Peters said. “This is the first time the New Zealand Government has advised New Zealanders ...2 weeks ago
- Govt announces aviation relief packageTransport Minister Phil Twyford today outlined the first tranche of the $600 million aviation sector relief package announced earlier this week as part of the Government’s $12.1 billion COVID-19 economic response. The initial part of the aviation package aims to secure the operators of New Zealand’s aviation security system, and ...2 weeks ago
- Public gatherings restricted to two people and all foreign investment proposals scrutinised, in new ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra No more than two people are to gather together in public spaces, and playgrounds will be closed in the latest restrictions in the coronavirus crisis. Meanwhile the government will now scrutinise all foreign investment proposals ...4 hours ago - Give people and businesses money now they can pay back later (if and when they can)Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Linda Botterill, Professor in Australian Politics, University of Canberra The novel coronavirus sees Australia facing major unprecedented health and economic crises. The key to preventing a downward spiral of the economy is to avoid a collapse in incomes of newly laid-off workers ...6 hours ago
- How Ardern’s coronavirus kindness theme can become contagiousThe South African ‘Don’t Panic Buy’ jingle. Video: ENCA/PickNSave PACIFIC PANDEMIC DIARY: By David Robie, self-isolating in Auckland under New Zealand’s Covid-19 lockdown as part of a new Pacific Media Watch series. A South African celebrity jingle that has gone viral at the end of this week could easily ...8 hours ago
- Government says Australia’s coronavirus curve may be flatteningSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The federal government says there are signs the coronavirus curve may be flattening in Australia. Scott Morrison told a Sunday news conference the rate of increase in cases had fallen to about 13-15% a day ...10 hours ago
- Broadband and data usage surges as New Zealanders reach out
Whether to connect with friends and colleagues, catch up on news, or stave off the boredom with bingeable TV, we’ve all been on our devices a lot more than normal.Vodafone has released a summary of its traffic stats for the past six days, which compares phone calls, broadband, and mobile ...12 hours ago - Rushed Vaping Bill During Covid-19, Grossly Unfair
New Zealand vaping representatives have joined forces to condemn the Government continuing with its plan to rush legislation through Parliament to regulate vaping despite the Covid-19 lockdown. The Vaping Trade Association of New Zealand (VTANZ), ...12 hours ago - Locked down and locked out in Australia
Celebrated Kiwi author and expat Ian Brodie adds his voice to pleas for the Australian government to relax welfare rules and help more than half a million vulnerable New Zealanders, writes Jill Herron. Brothers in arms, we are not. That’s the call from award-winning Kiwi author, photographer and film tourism ...13 hours ago - Review: Netflix’s addictive Tiger King will leave you feeling grubby for watchingThe new true crime documentary sensation shares many of the flaws of its own subject, writes Sam Brooks.Joe Exotic, the man at the centre of Netflix’s new documentary series Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, is a star. There’s an unnerving charisma that burns through the tattooed eyeliner, the sickly ...13 hours ago
- NZ lockdown – Day 4: First death in New Zealand from coronavirusBy RNZ News New Zealand’s Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern have confirmed the country’s first death from the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. Dr Bloomfield said New Zealand had its first death today, after a woman who was initially diagnosed with influenza died. The woman ...13 hours ago
- Covid-19 in NZ – Sunday’s numbers charted
How is Covid-19 spreading within the country? Newsroom is collating information as it's available to paint a picture of what's happening. There were 63 new cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand, down from the previous day's 83 new cases. Details of how many tests have been completed are now being released ...13 hours ago - PNG’s Health Minister Jelta Wong ‘sidelines’ Kramer in virus briefingsPapua New Guinea will have only one press release in the afternoons at 4:00pm daily to give updates on the Covid–19 in the country in a reshuffle of information briefings. Health Minister Jelta Wong announced this when visited the office of the PNG Nurses Association accompanied by his department’s ...14 hours ago
- First Covid-19 death in New Zealand
New Zealand has had its first death linked to Covid-19. The patient, a woman in her 70s on the West Coast, was admitted to hospital with what was thought to be influenza complicated by underlying health conditions. She was later diagnosed with Covid-19. The woman's family has asked for privacy ...15 hours ago - President Lú-Olo declares Timor-Leste state of emergency over coronavirusPacific Media Watch The President of Timor-Leste, Francisco Guterres Lú-Olo, has declared a state of emergency to enable the government to address the global Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. The state of emergency started last night at midnight and it will run until the night of April 26. Timor-Leste’s National Parliament ...15 hours ago
- Cut Traffic Speeds To Reduce Pressure On Hospitals, Say Cycling AdvocatesIt’s time to lower traffic speeds to reduce crashes and free up hospital beds, say cycling advocates. "This will reduce harm and ease the burden on our health workers and emergency services," says Patrick Morgan from Cycling Action Network. ...15 hours ago
- Pacific coronavirus: French Polynesia Covid-19 tally rises to 34By RNZ Pacific The number of people testing positive for Covid-19 in French Polynesia has risen by four to 34. The update from the government said the hospitalisation rate is unchanged with one person in care. Last night a curfew was declared for the first time, forcing residents across ...16 hours ago
- Ohura Medieval Market Day, and the fight to keep a small town standingIt’s a town where people often feel the rest of the country has given up on them, in the middle of a region where every place feels isolated. So how did Ohura become an unlikely centre of Medieval Combat sports in New Zealand? Alex Braae spent three days there finding ...17 hours ago
- Coronavirus – analysing the data makes you think we could do with more of it
If you want to understand some of the thinking behind the policy response to the spread of coronavirus, you might want to read the paper from the Imperial College COVID-19 Response Team, which is credited with accelerating the introduction of the current lockdown measures in the UK. The paper builds ...17 hours ago - The Pink Jumpsuit: An essay about the bubbles we live in‘It seems like someone else’s dream of my past.’ For Emma Neale, the painting ‘Wanderlust’ by Dunedin artist Sharon Singer stirs memories of her childhood, and new understandings of guilt and forgiveness.There were gifts from my father when he came home from overseas trips. Love offerings; a bit like those ...17 hours ago
- Māori Party delay launch to fight Covid-19
The Māori Party is delaying the launch of its new-look party to fight Covid-19 in Māori communities. ...18 hours ago - Resuscitating a virus-ravaged economy – the answer lies in the soil and the exports it generates
Westpac is forecasting 200,000 jobs will be lost in NZ as a result of the response to the coronavirus pandemic. Chief economist Dominick Stephens estimates economic activity during the four week lock-down would decline by a third, despite the government and the Reserve Bank having “done a lot to calm ...19 hours ago - Renée, the Lockdown Letters #3: Help yourself to my rhubarbIn our new series The Lockdown Letters, some of New Zealand’s best writers tell us what they’ve been up to in the days of Covid-19 alert level four. Today, Ōtaki author Renée.I have a wild tomato flopping all over the path down the back of the veg garden. I picked a ...19 hours ago
- Covid-19 live updates, March 29For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level four. The country is shut down, apart from essential services. For updated official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this ...21 hours ago
- Covid-19 scams: Here’s what you need to look out forOnline criminals have been making the most of Covid-19 by preying on people’s fear and doubt. Here are some of the calling cards of these con artists.With most New Zealanders tucked up at home, digital devices are proving to be critical tools for staying connected with each other, making good ...21 hours ago
- A visit to the supermarket
Author and illustrator Sarah Laing draws a rite of passage in The Lockdown. Reprinted with the permission of the author from Let Me Be Frank, Sarah Laing's blog devoted to "Reading. Writing. Parenting. Angsting." Let Me Be Frank is also the ...21 hours ago - Life on paws: How to deal with your pets during lockdownAs New Zealand adjusts to a month of lockdown, many pet owners have questions about their furry friends. Alex Casey had a chat with the SPCA – here’s what she learned. AC: My cat had a disgusting abscess on his tail and now has to get his stitches out. ...21 hours ago
- No shops, no launches – but the NZ book scene is finding new ways to reach people under lockdownBooks editor Catherine Woulfe takes an energising walk around the lockdown block of New Zealand books. When the bubbles settled over us they settled over the books too. Libraries were the first to shut down, then the physical bookstores and finally, the hammer blow: online sales and indeed any notion of ...22 hours ago
- Fiji: A paradise under pandemic rules
Convincing its citizens to take lockdown seriously will be a major challenge for Fiji’s government, writes Mandy De Vries. My husband, Howie, and I are lucky enough to live on the beautiful Coral Coast in Fiji. We started a tourism operation here two years ago which was, until recently, booming. ...22 hours ago - We’re better placed now than GFC or 1987
New Zealand’s businesses and government are far better prepared for the rapidly escalating global health and economic crisis than they were for the Global Financial Crisis in 2008-09 or the stock market crash in 1987, says Rob Campbell, one of the country’s most experienced corporate leaders. “Executive teams and boards ...22 hours ago - Gavin Ellis: Time for adversity journalism
Journalism commentator and former editor Gavin Ellis says media organisations play a vital role in keeping the community informed and, if possible, safe. They also have a crucial part to play in the maintenance of public order and morale, just as they did in the 1940s. With the country in ...22 hours ago - We’ve been forgotten: midwife
The country has millions of protective gowns, gloves and eyewear – midwives ask: Where are they? David Williams reports Two days into a national lockdown some midwives didn’t have any protective equipment, adding to concerns about safeguards for frontline health workers. On Friday, announcements were made by the Health Ministry ...22 hours ago - What lockdown could do for your business idea
Covid-19 lockdown provides valuable time for planning a new business, as Dr Mary-Ellen Gordon explains You have a great idea for a business. You’ve been working to get it up and going. Then, just as you were starting to gain traction, the entire country and much of the rest of ...23 hours ago - Covid-19: A catch-22 for our most vulnerable
Low-income workers whose jobs have disappeared thanks to Covid-19 will increasingly need to access benefit income. When this happens, however, they lose a tax credit for their children. As a direct result of the Covid-19 crisis, the Government has improved its rescue policies for business. We now need to see urgent ...23 hours ago - First boredom, then fearThe strange energy of preparing for level four is over, now the dystopian reality has kicked in. Danyl Mclauchlan writes an essay about home life during a ‘cosy catastrophe’.We start by setting up our home workspaces, covering the kitchen table with such a thick mass of black cables and USB ...23 hours ago
- All Australians will be able to access telehealth under new $1.1 billion coronavirus programSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Scott Morrison will unvieil on Sunday a $1.1 billion set of measures to make Medicare telehealth services generally available during the coronavirus pandemic and to support mental health, domestic violence and community services. The “Medicare ...1 day ago
- Covid-19 in NZ – Saturday’s numbers charted
How is Covid-19 spreading within the country? Newsroom is collating information as it's available to paint a picture of what's happening. There were 83 new cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand, down from the previous day's 85 new cases. Details of how many tests have been completed are now bing released ...1 day ago - NZ lockdown – Day 3: PM Ardern chats with followers on FacebookBy RNZ News New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern spoke to her followers on Facebook today from her office in Premier House. Her chat lasted about 15 minutes and garnered more than 310,000 views. She discussed wage subsidies for full-time and part-time workers, personal protection equipment (PPE) supplies for ...1 day ago
- Effective coronavirus messages and fake news: Can we do better?COMMENTARY: By Bob Howarth (self-isolating in Australia after his latest trip to Timor-Leste) After days of web surfing for Covid-19 coronavirus news around the Asia-Pacific, two areas that appear to need improving in some countries are official communication and fact checking. So here’s my two cents, rupiah, kina or ...1 day ago
- The best binges on NEON for these extraordinary timesWhether it’s a robot uprising, a woman catfishing into the publishing world or a bunch of lovestruck islanders, NEON has you covered. Here’s what we’re bingeing on NEON for the foreseeable future.WestworldJust in time for lockdown, there’s a buzz-worthy show with endless discussion points coming out on a weekly basis. ...1 day ago
- Covid-19: Who really needs to be wearing protective gear?There’s been a lot of talk about PPE of late – do we have enough, is it getting to the right people, and who exactly are the right people, anyway? Here’s the latest official advice.The Ministry of Health has now circulated updated advice on the appropriate use of PPE (personal ...1 day ago
- The face of the Covid-19 response: Who is Ashley Bloomfield?A month ago, not many had heard of Ashley Bloomfield. But as the Covid-19 response has ramped up, the director-general of health has become a calm, reassuring presence in a time of uncertainty and fear. Rachel Thomas profiles him, in a piece first published on RNZ.Today, Saturday, director-general of health ...1 day ago
- To fish or not to fish – that is the question
Jim Kayes tests the waters of social media to see how people are coping with being told to avoid their favourite pastime. “There is something ridiculously exhilarating about catching a fish. The thrill might have faded for the salty angler, but for this rookie, the novice still snagging fish hooks ...2 days ago - New PPE plan leaves community care workers without masks
The Government yesterday reassured us there are plenty of masks for front line staff dealing with the public. Yet it seems home care workers, who provide up-close personal care for tens of thousands of people every day, won’t be given them. Yesterday two documents hit my inbox. One was a ...2 days ago - Don’t fret, folks – Hone’s sweet with the mayor so long as he sets up checkpoints and doesn’...
Hobson’s Choice spokesman Don Brash (a former leader of the National and ACT Parties) is not alone in challenging the justification for tribes claiming to have closed roads to protect their people against Covid. Deputy Prime Minister and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters – his remarks apparently ignored by ...2 days ago - Manaaki Key For Getting Though COVID-19Preliminary results from a survey investigating how well-equipped Māori whānau in the South Island are to stay at home for extended periods show that the majority are prepared to manage their short-term needs, but have increasing anxiety about ...2 days ago
- Parliamentary Monitoring And Reporting Is Critical In Dealing With COVID-19 Responses"The risk of fraud and corruption is compounded during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic. When quick decisions are necessary to move vast amounts of resources, bribery, fraud and corruption abound," says Suzanne Snively, Chair of Transparency International ...2 days ago
- Pacific coronavirus: Guam still region’s hot spot with 51 plus casesBy RNZ Pacific Guam remains the Pacific pandemic hot spot with the number of Covid-19 coronavirus cases climbing above 50. On Friday six people tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the total to 51. Thirteen of the cases are currently in hospital. READ MORE: Al Jazeera live updates – ...2 days ago
- Outrage after Indonesian politicians get priority testing for Covid-19By Mong Palatino Many Indonesian internet users have expressed anger over the decision of the House of Representatives (DPR) to test its 575 members for Covid-19. Indonesia has a population of more than 260 million. As of today, the country has 913 Covid-19 positive cases with 87 deaths. But ...2 days ago
- Latest numbers: 83 new cases, two in ICU
New Zealand has 78 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 and five probable cases, the Government has announced today, taking the total to 451. Civil Defence Emergency Management director Sarah Stuart-Black said 12 people are in hospital and two are in intensive care, including one on a ventilator. Twelve are in ...2 days ago - Covid-19: Total tops 450New Zealand has 78 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 and five probable cases, the Government has announced today, taking the total to 451. Civil Defence Emergency Management director Sarah Stuart-Black said 12 people are in hospital and two are in intensive care, including one on a ventilator. Twelve are in ...2 days ago
- ‘We’re ready,’ says NCD chief Parkop with Port Moresby locked downBy Michelle Steven in Port MoresbyPacific New Guinea’s National Capital City Covid-19 Task Force team is preparing ahead should there be a possible coronavirus case during the 14-day lockdown. NCD Governor Powes Parkop told a media conference that the capital city would be in total lockdown with no public ...2 days ago
- Automatic 3-month Visa Extension Granted For Every MigrantLeading immigration lawyer Aaron Martin assesses the impact of the announcement of the epidemic notice for migrants. Immigration New Zealand announced that the government epidemic management notice relating to immigration matters comes into effect on 2 ...2 days ago
- Government rules magazines and community newspapers aren’t an essential serviceJust a tiny handful of print publications will continue through the lockdown, with only daily newspapers specifically identified as being able to continue. Duncan Greive spoke to publishers of magazines and community newspapers about the impact on them and their communities.Publishers of magazines and community newspapers are reeling, after a ...2 days ago
- Magazines and community papers aren’t an essential service, leaving some small towns and elderly w...Just a tiny handful of print publications will continue through the lockdown, with only daily newspapers specifically identified as being able to continue. Duncan Greive spoke to publishers of magazines and community newspapers about the impact on them and their communities.Publishers of magazines and community newspapers are reeling, after a ...2 days ago
- Coronavirus: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says no change in Australia’s stance to New Zealand...Jacinda Ardern has pleaded with the Australian Prime Minister to make an exception to the rule that bars many of the 650,000 New Zealanders there from receiving a benefit. ...2 days ago
- Morgan Godfery, The Lockdown Letters #2: I’m never sleepingIn our new series The Lockdown Letters, some of New Zealand’s best writers tell us what they’ve been up to in the days of Covid-19 alert level four. Today, political commentator and essayist Morgan Godfery.I’M TWEETING AT 2AM.The responsible part of my brain is sending sleep signals. Inconvenient yawns. The ...2 days ago
- A review of Attraction, the road trip novel we need right nowTake a vicarious roadie via Attraction, the novel by Ruby Porter that was longlisted for the country’s biggest fiction prize. Released last year, it’s now a slightly eerie snapshot of Aotearoa as we were. Attraction is a New Zealand road trip novel with a heavy dose of postcolonial guilt. Whitewashing, cultural ...2 days ago
- Iwi do their thing: helping those in need
Iwi everywhere put support plans into action, focusing on their kaumātua, writes Kayne Ngātokowhā Peters. Iwi are ramping up support services to assist their people in need following the closure of Ministry of Social Development offices and the move to online and phone assistance from Work and Income. Central North Island ...2 days ago - Remembering RumblemaniaIt’s been 10 years since the release of Dane Rumble’s solo album The Experiment. Josie Adams looks back on why New Zealand fell so hard and fast.At The Experiment’s launch, a decade ago yesterday, Dane Rumble had only one wish: “I just want to write the best album that I ...2 days ago
- Short story: Party Games, by Emma Neale
"She blindfolded each of the children with a scarf, saying, ‘There’s going to be a surprise!'": a horror story set at a children's birthday party, by Dunedin writer Emma Neale. As soon as the last child arrived at Bevan’s ninth birthday party, the bashing began. Allan walloped Bevan with a ...2 days ago - What happens when breakfast radio enters the lockdown era?As New Zealand adjusts to our new normal, one thing from the old world remains – commercial breakfast radio. We tuned into the first morning of lockdown on the airwaves. In a time when the world seems completely upside-down, you can thankfully still count on commercial breakfast radio to be there ...2 days ago
- Pure As: Jane Watson
Dynamic Silver Ferns defender Jane Watson shares her heartrending and brave story in the final episode of the Pure As documentary series. The fading scar just below Jane Watson's left shoulder is the only clue to her until-now untold story, of the challenges that have tormented the netball world champion. The dynamic, tenacious ...2 days ago - Take it from these ocean safety experts: don’t head out to the water this weekendBy now, everybody should know about staying in their bubble and leaving the house only for essential services and exercise, provided social distancing rules are followed. Does this mean people can still take the boat out, or go surfing? “Staying at home will save lives,” said Jacinda Ardern in a question ...2 days ago
- Covid-19 live updates, March 28: Boris Johnson has the virus; One in 10 NZers plan to flout lockdownFor all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here.New Zealand is currently in alert level four. The country is shut down, apart from essential services. For updated official government advice, see here.The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The ...2 days ago
- Survival of the fittest and other cruel logic
Donald Trump and Boris Johnson's response to coronavirus has revealed some disturbing attitudes towards segments of the population As New Zealand enters a period of indeterminate lockdown in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, we (and I mean us as a global population) have learned a lot about the importance of ...2 days ago - How are we feeling about Covid-19? The first opinion poll since NZ locked downAs New Zealand entered national lockdown, The Spinoff commissioned social media polling company Stickybeak to measure the mood of the nation. Stickybeak co-founder David Brain reveals what the poll results show.As soon as the PM made her Monday afternoon announcement that the country was going to alert level three and ...2 days ago
- Hotel quarantine for returning Aussies and “hibernation” assistance for businessesSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra All Australians arriving from overseas will be quarantined in hotels or other facilities under strict supervision for a fortnight, under the latest crackdown in the battle against the coronavirus. Announcing the measure after Friday’s meeting ...2 days ago
- NZ lockdown – day 2: More cases, demand for protective clothingBy RNZ News As the number of Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic cases in New Zealand increases, daily demand for protective clothing for medical workers has come under pressure. On the second day of the country’s lockdown, the number of New Zealand’s Covid-19 cases has jumped by 85, with a man ...2 days ago
- How Covid-19 has shocked the global economy
Kiwibank Chief Economist Jarrod Kerr and Bernard Hickey 'Zoom' out to talk about the once-in-a-lifetime shock to the global economy this week and what it means for businesses and investors. Just as many other businesses are adjusting to the lockdown, so too are Kiwibank and Newsroom. Chief ...2 days ago - Tracking your location and targeted texts: how sharing your data could help in New Zealand’s level...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jon MacKay, Lecturer, Business Analytics, University of Auckland New Zealand and much of the world is now under an unprecedented lockdown. Public health experts say this is the best way to suppress the spread of the virus. But how long will such ...2 days ago
- What is orthohantavirus? The virus many are Googling (but you really don’t need to worry about)Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Allen Cheng, Professor in Infectious Diseases Epidemiology, Monash University According to Google Trends, the top globally trending topic this week is “orthohantavirus”, as spurious sites claim it’s the next pandemic on the horizon. Take it from me: it’s not. This baseless claim ...2 days ago
- Photo essay: Life under lockdown
As soon as the Prime Minister announced that the country had moved to a Level Three alert and would then move to a full Level Four lockdown, the only thing on most people's minds in downtown Wellington was how to prepare for living and working from home for at least ...2 days ago - Covid-19: Business leaders step up
Two Cents' Worth hosts Bernard Hickey, Nikki Mandow and Gyles Beckford reflect on the most turbulent week in New Zealand’s economic history. They look at two new tools for business and online working advice that were built over a weekend to help deal with the Covid-19 crisis. They also talk ...2 days ago - MyGov’s ill-timed meltdown could have been avoided with ‘elastic computing’Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Erica Mealy, Lecturer in Computer Science, University of the Sunshine Coast These past few weeks have shown the brittleness of Australia’s online systems. It’s not surprising the federal government’s traditionally slow-moving IT systems are buckling under the pressure. On Sunday, the federal ...2 days ago
- Why New Zealand’s coronavirus cases will keep rising for weeks, even in level 4 lockdownSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arindam Basu, Associate Professor, Epidemiology and Environmental Health, University of Canterbury The number of New Zealanders testing positive for COVID-19 will continue to rise despite the strict conditions of the four-week lockdown that began this week. As of today, there are 368 ...2 days ago
- Lockdown leads to ‘super-exploited’ migrant workers
Advocates say they’re drowning in complaints of exploitation brought on by the lockdown, Dileepa Fonseka reports Migrant associations and unions have been swamped with allegations that some employers have abused the Government’s wage subsidy scheme or skirted their obligations. Indian Workers Association spokesman Mandeep Bela said he had been “flooded” ...2 days ago
https://i.stuff.co.nz/environment/119089844/polluters-making-windfall-gains-from-scheme-to-reduce-emissions
More proof the ets is a failure.
Beijing has released evidence that Xi JinPing was on the corona virus case much earlier than anyone suspected.
Now why, oh why does that remind me of Winston Smith's task to 'update' history in 1984?
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/15/world/asia/coronavirus-china-live-updates.html
Or am I just being too cynical?
I wonder what wonderful things Winstons fan base of twitter bots will say about him today ?
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/02/swarm-of-apparent-twitter-bots-claim-admiration-of-winston-peters-after-difficult-week.html
[I have asked you a few times to back up your accusations and allegations. Alwyn tried to save your butt but you ignored my other requests: /daily-review-14-02-2020/#comment-1684990 and /daily-review-13-02-2020/#comment-1684709. You simply continue with your shit stirring here without adding anything to the debate. Give us a break and take three weeks off – Incognito]
James,
It seems that you largely come onto this site principally to gloat. It is not such a good look.
There are a few of us basically from the centre-right who come on to the site to debate. A fair few of those who are obviously on the left engage in the debate, that is actually respond to to the points. Most (though not all) don't go full feral. Otherwise The Standard would be just a left echo chamber.
But do you want to actually debate?
Thank you, Wayne.
James only comes here to mass debate
See my Moderation note @ 8:28 AM.
Jacindas continues to say nothing about Winston and it’s going to cause damage.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/119518952/prime-minister-silent-on-winston-peters-covert-photo-controversy
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/119531489/snooping-on-journalists-is-an-attempt-to-silence-and-shut-them-down
and of course this opens up for nice adverts like this one:
https://www.facebook.com/183355881680015/posts/3451669638181940/?vh=e
Why? Leader of another party does something stupid and may have been involved in posting of photo on a blog of ill repute. This is nowhere close to bring down the Government territory.
I guess since he is Deputy PM and a minister you could male the case he isn't upholding the ethical standards required of the role…
Then you are left with does the PM act or let it slide, thats where some political risk sits but as you say not enough to bring down the govt….
Yes, but I would say he wasn't upholding the ethical standards required of the role before he was elected, so this is largely on NZF voters. I agree it is a dilemma for Ardern though.
True. Imagine if people could be blocked from becoming Ministers for not exhibiting good enough character beforehand to be trusted to uphold the Cabinet Manual. Would save some anguish and arseholery.
Cough. John Key.
Jacinda Ardern is sensible enough to allow the SFO to do their job.
She also has no role in scrutinising the behaviour of an MP outside Parliament, when there is no actual proof that he took the photo in question. His statement was probably a Royal "We" meaning A NZ First member.
Our Prime Minister has real problems to deal with, this is similar to other storms in tea cups.
Having announced the election date in 7 months, and therefore 4 months of practical government before the campaign proper starts, isn't the basic answer "that's a matter for the electorate to decide" ?
Of course – but as we all know there are two main purposes of this manufactured scandal: drive NZF under 5% and tarnish Ardern (albeit at one remove).
That said, the whole donations regime IS scandalous and National is donkey deep in it as Simon's phone call to Jamie shows. Perhaps Labour could front-foot it by a clear policy to end anonymity in donations, require that donations come only from named individuals not corporations, trusts, unions etc., and cap annual donations at something affordable by someone on the median wage.
One wonders if Certain Folks are now contemplating the wisdom of having sold what might have passed for their soul in signing the Pact with Winston.
Has it been Worth It In the Long Run?
Some of us have seen little other than SSDD.
And the Pretty Pony Tax of course.
Hark!
Is that the sound of the Wheels Falling Off?
"Hark! Is that the sound of the Wheels Falling Off?" – hope not; sounds painful.
I understand where you’re coming from Rosemary. Many of us who are activists on the left have had to grapple with disappointment at how NZ First has been a handbrake on the rate of transformation our Labour-led coalition has been able to achieve. Deceased rodents have been swallowed, to be sure. What needs to happen now, is a mobilisation for progression. We musn’t sucuumb to negativity and bitterness and become enemies of ourselves. I have a background in the health and disability sector. I may even have met you sometime and somewhere. We’re allies. We must mobilise this year to increase the majority for Labour, so we can improve the material well-being of those whom this dysfunctional economy has left behind. I urge anyone here, if you’re involved in political membership or campaigning, get involved. Start now. We need numbers. We need hands, feet, arms, legs, voices, moving whatever muscles we have, from whatever positions we may be in, to ensure this next term we, the left are in power and have the room and majority to be truly transformative.
Of course it isn’t. But neither is it just “another leader of another party”. This is the deputy PM, the leader of Labours coalition partner in government. Worse than that perhaps, the timing of all of this is making Bridges decision to cut NZF loose look righteous.
Almost as if he'd been given the heads-up…
I reckon Simon knew this was about to hit the media else would have announced not working with NZF about a month before election. How did he know? The mind boggles.
One final link before heading off to Meatstock for the day
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/15/jacinda-ardern-new-zealand-election-vote-disillusioned
“ “Labour may struggle to mobilise their fanbase come the next election; people are beginning to suspect this government is more interested in style over substance. And the gloss has definitely come off Ardern.”
that “year of delivery” may be a term jacinda wished she never muttered.
Wasn't that an incompetent spin doctor, not her?
Excuse me James but what is meatstock.
just curious.
I also wondered what it was and here is what I found – a music and BBQ festival in Auckland this weekend at the ASB showgrounds …
https://meatstock.nztix.co.nz/Default.aspx?Event=109192
Meatstock is a music festival for non-vegetarian audiences where the sauces are hot but the music is not.
Bands playing there this year include the Poor Cribs, the Mutton Chops, the Lampton Quay Minces, Supersized, and the Burger Boys with their hit, "Do You Want Fries With That?"
Opposition Leader Simon Bridges will be drumming for the Crusty Piemen which is why James is going. 🙂
I wonder if producers of plant-based 'meat' products are welcome to exhibit there…
Yip one was on tv saying they were going
You get what you ask for! I had no idea what Meatstock was, so I made it all up…….. and found out I was right. Truth is indeed stranger than fiction.
https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2017/meatstock/auckland/epsom
Yep. Some here. Tried it. Not bad,not great
Katchafire played last night and were excellent
Glad you enjoyed the band and that they were on fire. Nothing like live music, said the live musician….. Also glad the music was on fire and not the sauces (too much) or the BBQs.
Music brings us together like little else. One of my little conundrums is figuring out how such great music as country can be is loved and played by rednecks. Really confronts the stereotypical approach to politics and beliefs.
I suggest you set your sights more towards alt country, mac1. Go check out Drive-by Truckers latest, The Unraveling.
Thanks for that, riffer. 🙂
You're in my thoughts and prayers!
"jacinda" / james; "jacinda" / james – who to believe? Have fun at Meatstock, james.
Bill Gates (not to mention Peter Jackson) being that well known investor in ‘Impossible Foods‘.
C'mon james, it's not too late to ‘get with the programme‘
Don't imagine you are going to wind any of us up by mentioning 'Meatstock'. It might give you a trembly little thrill and a snigger to imagine you are – but it's a fail, mate. Last night I ate fish I had caught, killed (iki), and prepared myself. A few days earlier I barbecued lamb chops on a charcoal grill (the only way) getting some good smokey flavours by adding green rosemary sprigs to the coals. Most of us on the left are very well-rounded, tough and smart – completely unlike the idea of us you seem to have in your head.
Given the hysterical responses from some on the left when mentioning meat previously would indicate that some views of the left are reasonable to hold.
You surely don’t know what you’re talking about James if you think ‘the left’ are universally outraged by meat eating
I dunno, it seems meateaters get riled whenever vegetarianism is brought up.
It's a bit like redheads or an Irishman being told stereotypically that they're prone to flying off the handle; then people use the way that the redheads and the Irish react, by getting riled, to this characterisation as proof!
Tell me often enough that I am ruining the planet by eating meat and I might start reacting to this form of over-simplification.
Thanks for your concern, James, but not to worry – from your linked article:
True dat.
Ardern doesn't have a winning card, just a joker.
Maybe Facebook isn’t the demon we think it is. Certainly there are major differences between us and the UK when it comes to media consumption, but this article from the Guardian makes a good read.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/15/reports-of-social-media-influence-on-voters-are-greatly-exaggerated?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
It will be very interesting (though probably not at all surprising) to see who gets unmasked during this Dem election cycle…
Elites Turn to Bloomberg and Remove Their Masks
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/panicked-over-sanders-elites-turn-to-bloomberg/
The past footage of Bloomberg now appearing is very interesting for someone outside the US – he looks like a billionaire Republican who as mayor of New York was viciously racist and authoritarian. Also there's some laughable footage where he is spouting the meritocratic myth/lie that the way to get ahead is to be the first to arrive at work, the last to leave and don't take a lunch break – in a way spookily anticipating the systems of control and surveillance that have subsequently emerged in workplaces like Amazon warehouses.
With Biden seemingly tanking, it seems that Bloomberg's purpose is to get enough delegates to ensure Sanders doesn't get a majority. That results in a brokered Democratic convention where a 'centrist' could be given the nomination, even though Sanders has a plurality. Popcorn time if they try that – and tragically, yet another gift to Trump.
"viciously racist and authoritarian"
That describes the Democrat Party very well.
Well Bloomberg was actually a Republican – who endorsed Dubya twice.
For a few giggles – watch Bloomberg telling you not to use the bathroom
Here is another good piece from FAIR on the Bloomberg bullshit spewing forth from most liberal media…
"Pundits Look to Bloomberg as Their Anti-Sanders Savior"
https://fair.org/home/pundits-look-to-bloomberg-as-their-anti-sanders-savior/
Still I guess it will be an super interesting battle if it ends up being Sanders/Bloomberg running directly against each other, you couldn't ask for a more clearer cut ideological battle to be waged out in the open..if Sanders can take on Bloomberg's billions, the establishment DNC and 99% of liberal media and still take the nomination, then we know he has a very real chance of defeating Trump.
Joe Hildebrand
I'd not endorse all of this particular column, but this para in particular stands out as indisputably true.
Yes I like that take too, it is so similar to the position the Republicans ( in their own twisted universe that is) found themselves during the last Rep nomination cycle that is is almost bizarre
Yup !
Your dream ticket, Adrian! Mikey and Hillz!
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/15/michael-bloomberg-hillary-clinton-vp-115407
The Misery Struggle of National
As James and Friends sprinkle nonsense about the demise of Jacinda Ardern the more stupid and useless their words and predictions look. James has every support of every low mouth journo and rag ever produced here or abroad.
However, Prime Minister Ardern is in fact the most illustrious and sure – footed person in the world's political arena.
James knows that. His mentors know that. New Zealanders know that. James is delivering lies. As is Simon Bridges.
In the meantime, in the past 3.5 yrs, the mess that goes by the name "United Kingdom" has produced nothing like the Delivery of the NZ Coalition. Weight for Weight our Coalition is a five decades ahead of a crippled UK.
Let's not compare ourselves to the UK an pat ourselves on the back…
Maybe instead look at our homelessness, prison population, child poverty, affordable housing etc Judge the govt on the progress they are making on those stats.
or perhaps "look at our homelessness, prison population, child poverty, affordable housing etc"…. Judge the previous govt on that.
Nz did that's why we had a change of govt…
It's up to the new Govt to follow through on its promises and like it or not that's what they'll be judged on…
James and his ilk are imho jealous of Jacinda’s popularity. Simple as that. And so they try to denigrate her at every opportunity. What nasty mean-minded people they are. At least Wayne from the right tries to show some balance with his comments and doesn’t come over as bitter and twisted.
Yeah that must be it. If fact she’s so popular she’s heading (on the latest poll) do be our first single term PM for a long time
And the reason I comment on her is that I think she is doing a terrible job as pm. Over promising and under delivering on a grand scale.
You should be happy because what she promised and under-delivered you didn't want anyway!
Some items yes – others no.
James, here's where you detail what items 'yes' and what items 'no'. Briefly if you like. Something, anything!
If you want to be taken seriously, that is.
Hmm, what has the government actually delivered?
Yes, they have increased the minimum wage and increased some welfare and family tax credit increases. These things are easy. Literally just the stroke of a pen.
But not so well on things that require actual delivery. Such as houses, operations, child poverty, promises on light rail, etc. These require Ministers to constantly monitor progress, and ensure that targets and objectives are actually met. Labour has a serious problem around the competency of delivery. Way too many people across the political spectrum don't think they can.
It explains why the centre-right vote has held up. If the government was solidly delivering and looking competent, they would be doing much better. Labour was doing so in 2002 and National was in 2011, both dates being the same point in the electoral cycle. The fact that this election looks to be competitive in quite an indictment. In 1975 a few months out from the election, the then Labour government looked incompetent. Which is why Rob Muldoon won.
Competency was the issue in 1975. Is it also going to be the case in 2020?
No MMP in 1975 so issues of competency could be directed at the one party government.
I agree this government could be one term. The next government will be a Labour Green government which will get things done.
That's where the race is.
So MMP hides a lack of competency in the Govt?
It explains the increased difficulty in gaining the consensus required to get major reform implemented.
Testosterone poisoning in one coalition partner, yes.
All government is done with the stroke of a pen. Twyford didn't promise to build all the damned houses himself.
A thousand more state houses every year.
The trees that the nats scoffed at are well on schedule.
First year tertiary education now free.
Single-use plastic bags nixed.
Migration compact ratified.
Saw that govt needed a chief technology person (hopefully reducing odds of another novopay).
Healthy homes rquirements.
Railway lines reopening.
Abortion being decriminalised and laws made more sensible.
McFlock,
I have had enough experience of government to know what you are asserting is not true.
Changing a tax rate is something done one a piece of legislation that can be passed in a couple of hours. Same as simply banning something.
But building houses according to a schedule is a management challenge. Requires buying land, letting contracts (and the whole tendering process that goes with this). Then the contracts have to be monitored, people kept to task. all has to be done with high managerial competence.
This has not been obviously always present.
The minister doesn't negotiate and purchase for each plot of land any more than a minister individually analyses the economic impacts and revenue projections on a proposed tax change.
If you were handling your portfolios to that level of detail, you:
You are deliberately misinterpreting what I have said. Obviously Ministers don't actually let contracts, etc. But they are responsible for the systems, the monitoring of progress, trouble shooting (such as getting in experts to assist the Ministry) and keeping people to task.
All very different to changing a tax or benefit rate.
So what do they do if the projections from the change in rate don't match reality?
Wayne at least she fucking admitted their is a housing problem not like old smile and rave key . You should be ashamed you were part of a do nothing government
You'll never get Wayne to admit or concede anything.
"I have had enough experience of government to know what you are asserting is not true"
He does all that 'I know best' stuff in a very modest and considered sort of way – probably why the media still see him as some fair and balanced sort of sage, enabling him to keep milking it as a rent-a-voice for a bit longer.
By the way – it's Dr. to you
That's what makes him a dangerous mofo.
/agree
But he's not alone by any means. Aside from Mrs Wayne, he's got his own enterage of hero worshippers. Sorry to say many of them misrepresent themselves as being members of the 4th Estate. Others are fellow talking heads that sit there dripping with fashion, jewelery and wisdom telling us all what we’re supposed to know if we want to be aspirational and in with the in-crowd.
Personally I think they’re hideous specimens.
(Shit! did I say that out loud?)
By the way, I realise I might be sailing close to the wind, in as much as I realise I could be accused of attacking the messenger rather than the message. But when it's constant, it kind of goes to the legitimacy of the message.
I was kind of hoping Wayne might be bestowed with some other sort of honour – such as a knighthood. There'd be a better chance of his slinking into obscurity, honour and marbles intact; Mrs Wayne being allowed her pride (not sure if she's particularly "fat and cuddly" or good on the Elna); and the 4th Estate being forced to look for another talking head (going forward)
Yes, you’re close to the wind.
Nothing like a trade wind blowing, flittering and fluttering to give an exilarating feeling..
I'll step back @Cogs, and just watch (like I think I promised myself I would do as a NY resolution). I appreciate your job is hard enough having to deal with it all.
Best of the British old bean
Mayor Pete.. amazing human being…
Yes Cricklewood
The Wealthy Nationals have done nothing that you commend.
They developed the homeless, prison population, child poverty, affordable housing etc
Judge this govt on the great progress they are making while the Wealthy play tennis and ping pong.
While you are at it, have a look at the Disgusting Cost of Housing you guys have thrown at the Common man.
Observer,
Most off the things you cite have actually got worse in the last 2 years. That is not the fault of National. The current government has to own responsibility for those things.
That's momentum. It's difficult to turn 9 years of neglect around in two years. The John Key and Bill English governments have to own responsibility for that.
Very true but I would argue that charging families stuffed into dive motels is not a step in the right direction.
Why not? Families are charged way more stuffed into dive private tenancies.
If motels are being used in the short to medium term as more than emergency housing then it's right to have them contribute what state house tenants contribute until such time they can be found a community to live in.
Slum landords need to be dealt with no doubt… but thats a poor example for the state to follow…
Perhaps you are eight and there should some cintribuition but shurly it should be considerably less than what you would pay in a state house… maybe 10 percent?
Paying $55 weekly for a motel room that is costing MSD $1500 is a real bargain. Not to mention free power / fresh towels and linen daily.
The surge in motel use began under a National government. When it started people were receiving benefit advances to pay for them which meant for many debts into the tens of thousands. Then, still under National, around 2014, a new category of grant was introduced especially for emergency housing. No government has addressed the issue of a significant number of people still repaying big debts back, $30k, $40k, $50k – John Campbell on Checkpoint reported one at $80k. About a year ago the Social Security Appeal Authority remitted one which was $10k. This government has said they will not go back and remit these hideous debts for those who were caught up in that complete mess. The irony is that the meet the criteria to receive the recoverable advance the person must be in dire financial straits, so by meeting that test they end up with a debt for $50k.
Thankfully this government is.
They have formed an entire measurement framework around budget outcomes, so that there is total transparency about what effect public investment is having under each budget line.
And of course they've continued that in December 11 2019, outlining the broad areas that they will focus on in the upcoming May budget.
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1912/S00093/priorities-for-2020-wellbeing-budget-outlined.htm
This government is shying away from nothing. Sure, criticize them for not delivering fast enough, by they are following a clearly forecast course and a framework within which to hold them to account.
Geez Wayne,
Bridges announcement just cost them 5 points.
On TVNZ1's Q+A, he told host Jack Tame he would reverse Labour's changes to ring-fencing losses, which no longer lets landlords offset residential property deductions against other income.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/simon-bridges-pledges-changes-housing-and-renting-rules
Wow, reversing ring fencing. Is that part of the 'Bold Moves' strategy along with tax cuts for the rich?
Hard to see what part of the electorate Bridges is targeting, lol.
It was part of the trade off (along with extended brightline test) for the non inclusion of cgt.
The fly in the ointment is the constraint enacted by the RBNZ for bank lending to investors (borrowing limits) the rbnz will have to increase the investor equity requirement to constrain investor growth (and housing inflation).
What things are you referring to that the current government is responsible for which have worsened homelessness, the prison population, child poverty and affordable housing?
Interesting one from former News of the World reporter Andrea Vance.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/119531489/snooping-on-journalists-is-an-attempt-to-silence-and-shut-them-down
She, like other National Party bloggers, complains Labour and the Greens aren't doing enough in condemnation of NZF for photos of Lester Grey with reporters appearing on Whale Oil 2.0.
In her article she links to a piece she wrote in 2013 on the GCSB illegal spying scandal. The very first image, and before one word appears, is one of the beleaguered Hugh Wolfensohn BEING DOOR-STEPPED presumably by Vance and her photographer.
How's that for intimidation?
Then I found a 12 questions story on Vance done by the Horrid in 2017. Question 2:
I guess what's really happening is that journalists do not like it one bit when the tables are turned, even for a moment…do they really believe they are beyond reproach?
PS. Here’s the long history of the News of the World which was shut down for hacking the phone of a dead teenager. It’s also the paper at which Vance claims she had so much fun and presumably leaned all she knows.
Well Wayne given some of these projects are very large and require exhaustive planning and execution, it is understandable they are not all up and running right now.
With a housing deficit that National refused to accept, it obviously is taking a while to get up to speed with building more homes. What did National achieve in their last 9 years other than leave a huge problem for our current government.
Likewise the run down hospitals and schools and environmental vandalism mess that National left in their wake (with farmers allowed to have cows wading in rivers and streams).
The government readily acknowledges there is more to be done. National just adopted a nothing to see here, move on, let’s have a tax cut and raise GST.
Oh and apparently Natz are promising more of running down services and infrastructure if they are reelected. (translation – more tax cuts!!)
This is a recycling of Bill English's failed election campaign promises. Tax cuts for the rich will serve to motivate Labour's base more than ever, I suspect.
Indeed.
How to tackle decades of infrastructure deficit in Auckland made particularly acute in recent times after huge and unmanaged immigration increases?
Growth at 4% built on importing bodies isn't a sensible plan.
How to tackle housing affordability, dropping home ownership rates and the class separation and community health this inevitably affects.
Labour has not been able to turn the ship around yet it's true. Part of that is inexperience, but most of it is having a right wing coalition partner, a hostile Public Service and a middle class addicted to free house price gains and reluctant to give that up for the good of all.
Surprise, Surprise. Nats to promise their usual tax cuts for the coming election. that's it folks, same old, same old.
good good. The longer they remain mediocre and unimaginative, the better.
And Bridges said today that they will pretty much reverse all the changes the government has made to the rental housing and they will allow foreigners back into the housing market.
The Nats have no problem with 'delivery' because they seldom attempt anything worthwhile or difficult. They can quite reliably deliver windfall cash into the pockets of their supporters – that's their whole purpose.
On ya Phil 😀
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12308954
Was good eh? The only snag is that Hosking isn’t going anywhere unfortunately. In Sydney or LA he’d be just another deadbeat nobody.
And in Queenstown there's plenty of people who would take him for a ride and spend his money for him
Fighting for their right to exploit:
Landlord organisations mount challenge to new rental rules
I hope the Coalition don’t “do a CGT” on this one too.
Only the best people.
Downing Street has hired an adviser who compared women's sport to the paralympics as part of Dominic Cummings’ hiring drive for “misfits and weirdos”.
In one tweet, seen by The Times, Andrew Sabisky, a writer and researcher who calls himself as a “super-forecaster” said: "I am always straight up in saying that women’s sport is more comparable to the Paralympics than it is to men’s.”
According to the paper, the researcher also deleted tweets mocking people for “wetting themselves” over female Labour politicians including Yvette Cooper, Angela Rayner and Rebecca Long Bailey, all of whom he dismissed as “dim”.
https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/dominic-cummings-weirdos-hiring-downing-street-1742024
Wow. I had these all over my succulents in Spring. I noticed quickly that something was attacking them and upon inspection at night the plants were crawling with these things. The damage was like nothing I'd see before.
I tried looking online to see if there was a known issue but nothing until now.
I eradicated them with Pyrethrum over several nights.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2020/02/new-zealand-scientists-working-to-stop-spread-of-brown-marmorated-stink-bugs.html
If it really was brown marmorated stink bugs, then MPI really really want to know about it. If there's any still around or they come back, get in touch with MPI.
https://www.mpi.govt.nz/protection-and-response/responding/alerts/brown-marmorated-stink-bug
Ok, Thanks. Could have been a Brown Shield Bug or Brown Soldier Bug.
https://tomsaunders.co.nz/bmsb-vs-nz-stink-bugs/
Have a read far more likely it was a native version.
We do have something that looks similar but smaller. I think you are OK
Bribery by any other name
Offering free money to National voters smacks of Bribery. To do it when there is an ongoing holocaust rampaging through ordinary men and women of Aotearoa is scandalous beyond pity.
Sir William English gave huge offers to the very Wealthy and much lesser amounts to the lowly Nationals. Unfortunately, Bill scummed himself. in front of his entire family.
Kia Ora The Am Show.
There you go national plans to stop mimimum wage increase that will just create more of a mess in Aotearoa.
She is someone who caused you to grab a box of tissues.????????.
I think the amount of people with autism is much higher than that especially when there were stats of high percentage of adult people with reading levels of a 12 year old.????.
I would ride a electric bike it would be cool and great for the environment low carbon transport.
Ka kite Ano.
Kia Ora Newshub.
I say that New Zealand handled the Covid virus people quite good actually. Some people don't know how to be thankful.
PEE is very dangerous crap.
The Tongan Comedy film will show some more of Aotearoa humour I will be keen to watch it.
The Coalition Government did not make this mess it was your government———-.
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
I seen some of his statements on Maori TV not good at all.
Maori tangata need to talk to New Zealanders f health help line it's a pain in the you know what when the person you are talking to don't understand what you're problem is and what you want.
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora The Breakfast Show.
There you go PEE equates to more violence.
Racist people using Racism to grab power. New Zealand is in denial that most people are discriminatory.
Trade training is the best education most people can get it will be their backstop in life.
Billy T James was using his Comedy projecting what people's Attitude to Maori was in his time I know I had that attitude heaped on me and it still is.
Ka kite Ano
Some Eco Maori Music For The Minute.
Kia Ora Newshub.
I don't think that the Government new tenants law will cause negative effects for the tenants.
That's good for the tamariki free school lunches in schools.
That stop and frisk was a stupid racist law in New York.
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
Kai in Kura is cool.
That's is cool a Maori Carving on the state highway in Te Tairawhiti.
Australians and New Zealand indigenous cultures have a lot in common.
That's a good idea E Sports fund rising for Heart foundation .
Ka kite Ano