Apprento is engaged by a company to assist not only in recruitment, but in training, and motivating frontline sales staff throughout their time in their new job.
…
Candidates complete a virtual assessment to identify their potential, before being matched with companies to employ them directly.
“We then stick around for 12-months to provide training and education to these sales and customer focused stuff. This includes ongoing online modules, interactive 'peer-to-peer support' sessions and access to experienced mentors,” says Freeman.
Freeman partnered with B2B sales specialist Alex McNaughten in 2020 to build the office-based apprenticeship, which is similar to models that have proved successful in the UK, USA, and Australia.
Very concerned about how the ministry of arts and culture have run roughshod over the locals, residents and other users of the Parnell Rose Gardens with their decision to erect a memorial to flight Te 901 in the middle of this haven. There is no pathway to understand how this decision was and who by. The plan showss a ghastly concrete and stainless steel monstrosity imposed upon a gentle and peaceful haven for no good reason except the bawling of some relatives of the boozers and junketeers who want more recognition than a busload of weekend boozers who bought the farm. This ghastly imposition is no more than a childish demand in the usual kiwi mawkish way to have the rest of the country involv ed in what should be a private matter. Phill Goff needs his head read for allowing this.
[I’ve changed your user name back to the one the system has stored]
the boozers and junketeers who want more recognition than a busload of weekend boozers who bought the farm.
Jesus that's ugly. In one short phrase you've convinced me you're not worth listening to and now I'm perfectly happy to see this monument built. (And yes I know the Rose Garden well, it's the perfect spot in my view.)
It's said that virtually every family in NZ knew someone on that plane – in our case my brother had just gotten some work done on his car by a panelbeater who he knew quite well. My brother said they'd talked about the flight and how much he was looking forward to something completely different and unique from his usual workday routine.
In short – fuck off. The bigger and flashier the monument the better in my book.
It sits quietly at one side of the reserve allowing the families, friends of those killed to reflect on their loss while looking over the beautiful harbour and inner gulf. It's the perfect place for such a memorial and will ensure the tragedy and its shameful aftermath is never forgotten.
Not only did 257 crew and passengers die in terrible circumstances but those who were left behind – and their supporters – had to endure a vendetta led by a former prime minister and some of his Air NZ lackeys.
The rose bedding out the front of the garden is rather ugly – too many modern hybrid teas in harsh colours planted en masse. Looks very dated actually. The use of old roses in the Nancy Steen garden behind the path is really wonderful, worth visiting for its own sake through spring/early summer. Sneak in the side gate to avoid having to avert your eyes from the ugly bedding roses – save your retinas. The grass slope down to the water is nice too, and I'm sure the monument will be sympathetically implemented and accepted over time. Hell, we Orks have even come to quite like an absurdity like the Sky Tower. And insulting dead people doesn't usually advance an argument.
to: R.P Mcmurphy…
Firstly–Thats not very nice. My friendly neighbour when I was a school kid was one on the ill fated flight, wife of a hard working builder who got her a special present.
Secondly–due process has been held. The memorial is tasteful and fits well, going by the artwork, in its proposed site in Dove Myer Robinson Park. I know the area personally and it is the city’s, not just Parnell residents territory.
Dr John Campbell has been a relentlessly calm and reasoned voice throughout the entire COVID debacle and was talking about the potential role of Vitamin D 12 months ago.
Well finally a (Edit: Link updated) well powered RCD trial is in pre-publish and the results are unequivocal. Campbell does an executive summary in the first few minutes so there in no need to watch the whole thing. In short once you have landed in hospital the correct dose of calcifediol (the fast acting metabolite of Vitamin D) will reduce your chances of landing up in ICU and/or dying by around a factor of 3 – 4.
(And this study does not include the now well demonstrated fact that adequate levels of VitD will reduce your chance of arriving at hospital by at least another factor of 2 in the first place.)
Critically he states that a failure by govt and medical authorities to act now must amount to a "breach of duty of care".
Yes. It's been very interesting watching the increasing frustration of 'Dr. John' as he presents yet another scrupulously scrutinized piece of research. He's a very conventional and middle of the road type chappy who strives to present the technicalities in plain and unemotional tones.
Seen him get a little rattled on a couple of occasions. Over Vitamin D and the complete denial/dismissal/disregard of health authorities of the positive impact of high dose Vitamin D on Covid outcomes, and the day he presented the research regarding similar for Ivermectin.
If the anti vaccine hesitant brigade(you know who you are) want to find one of the root causes of distrust in the very new and novel and largely untested (in any meaningful way) vaccines it is because a vaccine has from day one been presented as the ONLY hope for those vulnerable to this virus. There Is No Treatment!!! has been the constant and consistent narrative and anyone presenting any alternative view has been written off as an anti-vaxxer conspiracy theorist.
My 'vulnerable' partner has been on the Vit D3 since this time last year (as an adjunct to his usual zinc and Vit C) as chemo 10 years ago left him very prone to sunburn. I have been taking it for the past month or so since its been simply too hot to be out in the sun.
Been recommending same to dark skinned friends.
Damn to hell our Ministry of Health who persists in failing to recommend/fund supplements considering…
Around 5% of adults in New Zealand are deficient in vitamin D (Adult Nutrition Survey 2008/09). A further 27% are below the recommended blood level of vitamin D.
And the official recommended levels are usually pretty low. From my reading the desirable range is 30 – 80 ng/l. Anything less than 20 can be considered deficient and less than 30 suboptimal. This seems a well balanced article on the topic.
I got my levels checked a few weeks back after taking 4000 IU (the upper limit I'd regard as reasonable) for almost a year (and working outdoors a fair bit) and came back at 50ng/l. Because everyone does vary a fair bit I'd recommend to be on the safe side to ask for a VitD test to be included when you have the opportunity – it's free here in Aus, but I don't know about NZ.
One of the big factors I didn't realise until recently is that as we age the efficiency of the UVB/skin route drops quite a lot. And given that older people tend to avoid outdoor skin exposure for all sorts of reasons – it makes sense to start compensating with supplements at our age. (Then there are all the other good reasons around bone and muscle health that fully justify it.)
There Is No Treatment!!! has been the constant and consistent narrative and anyone presenting any alternative view has been written off as an anti-vaxxer conspiracy theorist.
Yes. Personally I'll line up for my shot (I hope to be able to choose the J&J version) when the time comes – but I agree the official narrative that the vaccines were the only hope is not only wrong, but possibly unrealistic as well.
The number of MSM reports and articles on a wide range of potential treatments for the prevention and/or minimisation of Covid-19 symptoms must number in the thousands – actually probably more like tens of thousands.
The contention that information about potential Covid-19 treatments has been suppressed is incredible.
I’d be really interested in any evidence suggesting that there was/is an “official narrative that the vaccines were the only hope”. In the absence of evidence, such a suggestion is at best mischievous, and could actually undermine confidence in public health initiatives. Not what’s needed right now, imho.
I’d be really interested in any evidence suggesting that there was/is an “official narrative that the vaccines were the only hope”.
Well if nothing else it's the only narrative you seem to support – where did that come from do you think? You’ve certainly been very consistently taking the position that discussion of anything else other than vaccines is something you’re going to challenge. And I'm fairly sure you regard yourself as a defender of the conventional wisdom in this regard.
And here in Australia for example if there is any media discussion on treatment options, it's completely overwhelmed by the far greater attention given to the prospect of vaccine herd immunity.
And concerning that blood test I got a few weeks back, my doc thought 4000IU per day a bit high at the first appointment so I asked him what he'd consider the right dose. He said around 2 – 3000 per day is what he is taking – and then he said "but I'm not allowed to officially recommend that".
So far COVID has claimed around 2.4m lives globally – even in the worst case interpretation of the data we've seen so far – if universal and effective VitD supplementation could have reduced that death toll by even just 10 – 20% that would have amounted to a hell of lot of lives saved.
It's not like any of this is complicated, yet for some reason you think even discussing this is mischievous.
I’d be really interested in any evidence suggesting that there was/is an “official narrative that the vaccines were the only hope”.
Well if nothing else it's the only narrative you seem to support – where did that come from do you think?
Dear RL – so you've got nothingother than your fabrication that the only narrative I seem to support is that Covid-19 vaccines are/were the only hope.
What you forget (rather conveniently imho) is that not so long ago we were on the same page in questioning just how effective Covid-19 vaccination initiatives might be.
Your response ("Well if nothing else…") also dodges my query, so I'll ask one more time, without any real expectation of a straight answer.
I’d be really interested in any evidence suggesting that there was/is an “official narrative that the vaccines were the only hope”.
In touting various potential treatments for Covid-19 infections/symptoms, the very least you could do would be to acknowledge that these treatments are all well known to frontline medical professionals treating Covid-19 patients, rather than insinuating some sort of conspiracy to deprive patients of effective treatments – a silly stance, ihmo.
Looks promising, but one study is very small and the other does not appear to be blind in any way whatsoever (while still being fairly small).
And this "vitamin D and the immune system" also sounds a lot like "vitamin C and the immune system" – a certain level of truth taken well beyond any experimental or boilogically-plausible extent.
Might it work? Might it work as well as advertisied? Sure.
Do we have the evidence for it as a standard treatment, let alone a prophylactic? Nope. And youtube videos should not bypass medical assessment boards.
Looks promising, but one study is very small and the other does not appear to be blind in any way whatsoever (while still being fairly small).
The first pilot study with 76 participants has been published for months, and the p values were so extraordinarily strong there was every justification to commit to larger and more powerful trials.
Now we have the outcome of at least one these larger trials – and with 930 participants it has more than enough statistical power to safely draw strong conclusions. I think we can safely assume that if Campbell has looked at the paper and says it's "well designed" then I'd need more than your reckons to change my mind.
If the paper passes peer review – again Campbell thinks this is highly likely – then I think we can safely assume your question is answered.
Medical science works within a framework of differing levels of evidence. For example the connection between smoking and lung cancer was not established by a gold standard RCT double blind trial.
You don't get to arbitrarily require the very highest level of evidence to be the only threshold you will accept.
I think we can safely assume that even though you have linked to the paper and can therefore read it in its entirety, the answer to my question was not immediately obvious to you. So that's one revision a reviewerr might request.
Funny you bring up lung cancer and smoking. The first big link was demonstrated in a study of 40,000 participants. Since then many longitudinal studies have repeated the observation. Experimental studies with animal models have replicated the resulsts at an individual level. Biochemistry has established a reasonable theory for biological plausibility.
If vitamin D and covid has that level of robust examination, you wouldn't be getting your advice for it off youtube.
The first big link was demonstrated in a study of 40,000 participants. Since then many longitudinal studies have repeated the observation.
Exactly – but absolutely not RCT double blind studies, which is the level of methodology you are demanding here.
In fact there have already been quite a number of metastudies on the relationship between COVID and VitD – some with very large numbers – and the vast majority of them confirm a positive role.
There is copious evidence that vitamin D3 dampens overactive immune responses and also protects brain cells, particularly for people like me with MS. High doses are becoming the standard of care for PwMS based on many research studies.
Same applies to other auto immune diseases, and there are more and more research studies into the effect vitamin D levels have on recovery/survival of covid-19 infections. In short, the higher the vit D, the better your chances are!
Not even saying that it won't eventually be a treatment for covid-type conditions.
Just saying that a few small studies are nowhere near enough to accuse governments across the world of a "breach of duty of care".
Also, according to his channel blurb, he's not actually a medical doctor. He's in the medical sector, sure, but as he puts it "My PhD focused on the development of open learning resources for nurses nationally and internationally."
FFS now you're reduced to smearing the messenger. His almost daily output on COVID this past year arguably makes him one of the more highly informed people on the planet.
Yet you want to quibble his paper qualifications as a medical educator – well my response who the fuck do you think trains all the doctors and nurses?
If output equalled expertise, trump would be a fucking genius.
It wasn't a smear, just pointing out that this doctor is not a specialist in the field about which he is producing youtube videos. So I wouldn't go accusing people of negligence on his say-so, no matter how awesome you might think a single study might be.
It's not one study – first we had the pilot study and now this larger follow up. These two alone strongly confirm each other – and that's before any consideration of the numerous other studies of various standards which already point in the same direction.
Besides it's not as if I'm proposing a dangerous, high risk, untested treatment – this is boring old Vitamin D that our own bodies manufacture and has been safely taken as a supplement by millions of people for decades. Exactly what are you objecting to here?
The waste in resources if popscience fools actually manage to affect the purchasing decisions of medical systems that are already under extreme stress, for one thing.
The fixation upon a few small studies as some sort of magic bullet.
The confirmation bias inherent in picking a youtube channel one agrees with, rather than also actively looking for studies that might not match one's preferred result.
I mean, you can't even say how or whether the less small study was double-blind, but you're obssessed with defending it and the youtube guy who introduced you to it. And you think I'm the one with the problem because I’m unconvinced by two studies and your reckons.
If you think calling a guy on you-tube a "you-tube guy" is denigration, you don't want to know my opinion of fools who think governments and medics should be accused of a "breach of a duty of care" on the basis of a small study that didn't even fully describe its methodology.
If you're going to persist in characterising an RCT study with 930 patients and extremely strong p-values as 'small' – then I think there is no point is discussing this with you further.
That linked study is 76 patients. First published online in August last year. All patients were given hydroxychloroquine (which is now known to actually increase the risk of negative outcomes) and azithromycin. Some also got viamin D.
76 patients is orders of magnitude too small a sample for meaningful conclusions.
That all patients were given hydroxychloroquine, which is now known to be harmful, interferes with the outcomes to such an extent that it would be foolish to take any conclusions from this.
There are good reasons to believe that vitamin D levels are much more a marker of lifestyle, diet, genetic, and general factors that affect risk of negative covid outcomes, as opposed to the idea that vitamin D levels in isolation are a key factor. If that is the case, then supplementing with vitamin D will achieve nothing except a false sense of security with respect to covid risk.
Plenty of published articles point to this view, as well as hearing privately the views if my cousin and her husband that are doctors desperately trying to help covid patients and keeping closely on top of all the available information.
But in reasonable doses, there's no evidence to suggest vitamin D supplements may be harmful (unlike, say, hydroxychloroquine), so there hasn't been a pushback against vitamin D misinformation. It won't harm, there's a very small chance it might help with covid, and there's a good chance it will help reduce/prevent other illnesses.
Given the known benefits for other conditions, and the off chance it may help with covid, apparently the UK government has been making vitamin D supplements available free to vulnerable populations.
You got the wrong study – the one Campbell is highlighting is much more recent and involves 930 participants.
Try watching the first 4 minutes of the video and this will be clear.
That all patients were given hydroxychloroquine, which is now known to be harmful, interferes with the outcomes to such an extent that it would be foolish to take any conclusions from this.
HCQ is a drug that has been administered for decades to treat malaria in vast numbers with absolutely minimal concerns around harm. (Hell I was required to carry some with me when working in Latin America and my travel doctor dished it out like aspirin.) Why it suddenly became a 'harmful' when used in the context of COVID seems quite bizzaro to me.
The entire HCQ debate was poisoned right at the outset by rank political considerations that I think have no useful place in a science question.
I'm really not interested in watching a clickbait artist on youtube. The way youtube has given an income stream to anyone with the ability to sucker a following, while applying zero quality control, means as an information source anyone that is only on youtube has less than zero credibility as far as I'm concerned.
If anyone has a link to a written article on the actual study, I'm interested. But I'm not interested in watching someone who has a history of promoting misinformation (ivermectin anyone?) who is likely trying to monetise my eyeball time by at best cherry-picking factoids out of context.
Thanks. From the link in the short summary to a fuller report, there's:
Clinical samples for SARS-CoV-2 testing were obtained and analysed according to WHO guidelines [Laboratory testing for 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in suspected human cases: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/10665-331501 (Interim guidance 17th January 2020)]. All hospitalized patients received the same standard therapy, consisting in hydroxychloroquine 400 mg/24h first day and 200 mg/24h 4 days with azithromycin 500 mg/24h 3 days, plus ceftriaxone 1 or 2 g/24h 7 days when there was bacterial superinfection. Patients with severe or critical conditions of pulmonary inflammation or clinical suspicion of cytokine storm were additionally treated with dexamethasone bolus (20 mg/day x 4 days) according to hospital guidelines.
So they were still actively harming their patients by giving all of them hydroxychloroquine, and then giving some of them vitamin D as well. It may be just that the vitamin D was countering the harm of the hydroxychloroquine.
The study tells us nothing about the effects of vitamin D alone, or in combination with other therapies known to actually be beneficial.
So they were still actively harming their patients by giving all of them hydroxychloroquine,
Nonsense. HCQ has been used for decades to treat malaria with very well understood side effects – are you suggesting that it's now so dangerous that it should be withdrawn from that use?
Besides if your premise was true – it in no manner explains the differences in outcome between the treatment and control groups.
You're just resorting to smear by association – which is not an argument.
Very well understood side effects including high risk of cardiac problems and other serious issues, it was used because just letting malaria run its course was much worse.
On covid patients, the effects of hydroxychloroquine include:
July 1, 2020 Update: A summary of the FDA review of safety issues with the use of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine to treat hospitalized patients with COVID-19 is now available. This includes reports of serious heart rhythm problems and other safety issues, including blood and lymph system disorders, kidney injuries, and liver problems and failure.
it was used because just letting malaria run its course was much worse.
So why does the same logic not apply to COVID?
And quit hyping the side effects – almost no-one is 'actively harmed' by HCQ. The worst of the serious effects are heart arrythmia's which are generally not a dangerous problem. Or may not even be a problem at all.
Hydroxychloroquine is a relatively well tolerated medicine. The most common adverse reactions reported are stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, and headache. These side effects can often be lessened by taking hydroxychloroquine with food. Hydroxychloroquine may also cause itching in some people
…
CDC has no limits on the use of hydroxychloroquine for the prevention of malaria. When hydroxychloroquine is used at higher doses for many years, a rare eye condition called retinopathy has occurred. People who take hydroxychloroquine for more than five years should get regular eye exams.
However my original comment in this thread makes absolutely no reference to HCQ – despite the huge amount of controversy on this drug – much of it motivated by rank politics in my view – and many contradictory studies, I've never highlighted it as a potential treatment and remain agnostic on it.
Yup, they are dissecting that study and it raises so many questions. I think there’s more to it than ‘lost in translation’. I’d call this positivist peer review 😉
I read the entire thread and was reminded of the climate denial movement – opinionated critics loudly demanding perfect evidence when the real world rarely delivers such.
The distinguishing characteristic of such people is they rarely, if ever, do research or hands-on field work themselves.
I read the other link (i.e. the previous one in your comment @ 3) this morning but I did not have time to comment. It also raised all sorts of issues with me. Now this ‘RCT’ by the same investigators is raising many concerns too with others. Something doesn’t add up here.
Campbell is no clickbait artist – and you demean yourself if that's the low standard of argument you have. If you cannot be bothered watching a few minutes of video to address the point accurately – then you really don't have any business commenting on this thread do you?
Besides I'm pretty sure YT demonitised all COVID related videos ages ago.
If anyone has a link to a written article on the actual study, I'm interested.
Campbell promoted ivermectin, tapping into the same false idea that there's some cheap widely available treatment already out there that is effective against covid, but nefarious actors (government and/or Big Pharma) are ignoring or suppressing it. Ivermectin has been trialled in a number of places, and it doesn't do shit against covid. Campbell was just plain wrong, but hoo boy he got loads of clicks and eyeball time from it.
Generating outrage is great for clickbait, but it's crap for actual information.
You want to check your assertion about covid videos being de-monetised? As far as I can tell, that lasted about a week as a blanket policy. Now, there are some topics that will cause a video to get demonetised, and those videos will get flagged with little yellow icons. But as far as I can tell, Campbell is currently getting the full wodge of moolah from all the eyeball time he can sucker attract.
Because if you actually dig a little deeper you'll find he is roundly criticised by some for not using his popular and stable platform to promote this drug.
Vitamin D3 otoh he shamelessly promotes. In fact, he considers it an ethical duty to inform and educate.
Searches for John Campbell ivermectin has plenty of hits. The thumbnails and blurbs for the vids suggest Campbell had a positive view of ivermectin for treating covid, and I sat through a couple minutes each of a couple of the vids (all I could stomach), and he seemed to be talking it up. If he's presented nuance and caveats that require sitting through a whole twenty minutes of a video, then that just further illustrates the failings of video as a medium for transferring information.
If he's presented nuance and caveats that require sitting through a whole twenty minutes of a video, then that just further illustrates the failings of video as a medium for transferring information.
So what – just because you cannot be bothered doesn't mean shit for anyone else. And it certainly doesn't speak to the content especially when you've just admitted you haven’t seen it.
And that you get a visceral reaction – 'all I could stomach' – well it's called 'cognitive dissonance'.
The thumbnails and blurbs for the vids suggest Campbell had a positive view of ivermectin for treating covid, and I sat through a couple minutes each of a couple of the vids (all I could stomach), and he seemed to be talking it up.
Links please. And time stamps where he is actually "talking it up."
Ivermectin has been trialled in a number of places, and it doesn't do shit against covid.
Really? It may not be a very strong treatment – but it was certainly worth investigating and again it's a well understood and highly tolerated drug.
Campbell promoted ivermectin …
Interesting – suddenly you know lots more about this 'youtube clickbait artist' you've been pretending was beneath your attention. Well here is the actual video – note that I've been linking to all my claims so far – and anyone else can see for themselves that what Campbell is doing is giving careful and measured reviews of published studies as he almost always does.
But as far as I can tell, Campbell is currently getting the full wodge of moolah …
God forbid someone might make a living from producing educational material that converts medical and statistical jargon into plain language. And incidentally, Campbell has been doing these videos since well before Covid was a thing.
Andre, pray tell how you feel about Pfizer's profit forecast? They are frantically pushing aside the piles in their coffers to make room for the expected $4billion profit from the vaccine.
Nice to think of Australia in terms other than its extra squirrily politicians !.For anyone needing some comedic relief from the madness id recommend Rake on netflix first episodes a bit slow but definitely worth persevering in my view .
Yup we watched the entire series on ABC a few years back. Absolute gold – there's a scene at a pedestrian crossing we still act out for the sheer fun of it
I've just been looking at the hook (sorry meant to put book, but hook is applicable!) The Third Way by Anthony Giddens. He seems to have been prolific throughout his career, and has arrived at our present pig's muddle of incompatible ideas in this book of his.
He seems to have thought that by having achieved welfare provisions that we have balanced the negativities that unbridled capitalism brings, and so abandoned intervention along practical straightforward means to assist citizens cope in the fevered world of commerce that we have.
…[Giddens] accepts the conception of socialism as conceived of by Anthony Crosland as an ethical doctrine that views social-democratic governments as having achieved a viable ethical socialism by removing the unjust elements of capitalism by providing social welfare and other policies and that contemporary socialism has outgrown the Marxist claim for the need of the abolition of capitalism as a mode of production. In 2009, Blair publicly declared support for a "new capitalism"…
The Third Way supports the pursuit of greater egalitarianism in society through action to increase the distribution of skills, capacities and productive endowments
while rejecting income redistribution as the means to achieve this. It emphasises commitment to –
1 balanced budgets,
2 providing equal opportunity which is combined with
3 an emphasis on personal responsibility,
4 the decentralisation of government power to the lowest level possible,
5 encouragement and promotion of public–private partnerships,
6 improving labour supply,
7 investment in human development,
8 preserving of social capital and
9 protection of the environment.
(The Wikipedia page has numerous links explaining terms – very informative). The above points seem to encompass what we have seen brought about here in NZ. Each of these above points can bring about a small revolution in society, together they have been a tsunami. This guy deserves to have his trousers pulled down and have to run around naked for a day finding out just what it is like to be a vulnerable human in a society with fading compassion and lack of empathy for others that he erected a signpost to. He can keep his erections, the smart-alec. It seems macro overview in its objectives with little if any thought from bottom up, the micro view, of where people are in their lives and in this era, and what is needed for an informed, engaged, busy, contented, sustainable, morally attuned, positively active society.
Incidentally there is a book called A Third Way – Decolonizing the Laws of Indigenous Cultural Protection which could be of even greater effect than The Third Way.
In A Third Way, Hillary Hoffmann and Monte Mills detail the history, context, and future of the ongoing legal fight to protect indigenous cultures. At the federal level, this fight is shaped by the assumptions that led to current federal cultural protection laws, which many tribes and their allies are now reframing to better meet their cultural and sovereign priorities. At the state level, centuries of antipathy toward tribes are beginning to give way to collaborative and cooperative efforts that better reflect indigenous interests. Most critically, tribes themselves are building laws and legal structures that reflect and invigorate their own cultural values. Taken together, and evidenced by the recent worldwide support for indigenous cultural movements, events of the last decade signal a new era for indigenous cultural protection. This important work should be read by anyone interested in the legal reforms that will guide progress toward that future. Zookal Textbooks – NZ.
The first figures of 2021 don't bode well for those who talk up the affordability of homes and the prevalence of homeownership:
House prices show no sign of slowing at the start of the year.
Real Estate Institute New Zealand (REINZ) figures for January showed the median price rose a seasonally adjusted 2 percent on the month before.
REINZ's house price index hit a record high, with the annual gain more than 19 percent, the biggest annual rise since mid-2004.
…
REINZ chief executive Bindi Norwell said prices typically eased in January as the residential property market slowed over the holiday season.
"The first month of 2021 was anything but normal as house prices across the country have continued to rise, with January seeing four regions reach new record median house prices and one region equal its December record."
The four regions to hit records were Bay of Plenty, Hawke's Bay, Taranaki, and Nelson, while Manawatū/Wanganui matched its December record.
"The Auckland market saw a slight cooling off in prices when compared to the record high we saw in December 2020, which is what we would expect at this time of the year," said REINZ chief executive Bindi Norwell.
"Interestingly, when we look at the data from a seasonally adjusted perspective, house prices were actually higher than we would normally expect at this time of the year" Norwell said, referring to price rises on the North Shore and Rodney.
"There is still strong competition for good properties in the region," she said.
This story is based on the same interview with REINZ but with a specific focus on Auckland, it doesn't refute anything from the RNZ article, nor does it demonstrate a reversal of the trends.
I realise this refers specifically to Auckland, but that market is by far the largest in NZ.
A decreasing sales volume, in any market, is usually a forerunner of falling sales prices. That's how I would read the future based on the facts. And as we slide into Autumn and winter, prices historically tend to drop (in real terms at the very least).
Probably yes. In general, RE agents are poorly educated and their experience is usually limited only to selling. They have a vested interest in spinning a story.
I have spent my working life as a chartered accountant in Public practice, company accountanting from small to huge, auditing, lecturing, running my own business both in NZ and overseas. I would consider my experience and expertise in economics and markets and business far in excess of that of most people.
Moral of the story? Ask and learn, before you make comments and judgements that betray your abysmal and negative attitudes Arkie.
Will have to delve into that one a bit deeper myself – seems rather optimistic given the proportion of disabled people who are unemployed or underemployed.
I wonder how they include all the disabled people being supported by their spouses, with nary a smidgen of support – no benefit or tax abatement , no support for Kiwisaver – one income means that it isn't affordable for either.
It's interesting how as the move to individualism has occurred that there are specific remnants of being treated as a couple remain that seem purely political.
It easy to simply say this is about government but it isn't – it is about society. When I first started working banks for instance would pay an allowance for married men who had a partner who wasn't working until their salary reached a certain level. They knew the cost of a couple, and children, on one income wasn't sufficient and recognised this. The state also recognised this in allowing you to claim rebates on your tax for a non-working spouse.
What the removal of such supports by both the private and public sector meant was a further disadvantage for women and those with disabilities. Add to that the other group of predominantly women that care for disabled children who also didn't work due to needing to care for and be available for their children with disabilities you start to see quite a large group with little economic security.
The non-working , non-benefit disabled group are quite invisible in research. I wonder how large this group actually is.
Currently, a person on Jobseeker Support can earn up to $90 a week before their benefit starts to reduce with sole parents and people on Supported Living Payment being able to earn up to $115 a week.
The changes mean people can earn up to $160 a week before their benefit starts to be affected.
Wow, Jacinda has flexed her international star power to give Hosking's hero Scomo an absolute serve – has an NZ PM ever spoken to the Aussies in such strong terms publicly before?
"…Ardern said she was most concerned for the two small children. the woman was detained with.
"I think New Zealand, frankly, is tired of having Australia export its problems. But now there are two children involved so we have to resolve this issue with those two children in mind."
Legally the woman's citizenship sits with New Zealand currently but Ardern said she would continue to raise the issue with Australia.
Ardern warned Morrison when he told her Australia had revoked the woman's passport that she would "speak very strongly on New Zealand's view" publicly.
"He has been forewarned of that continuously. So this morning I did the same, I reminded him that I would be raising this issue very strongly."
Ardern said she wanted to work through the issues bilaterally with Australia.
"I never think that the right response was to simply have a race to revoke people's citizenships – that is just not the right thing to do.
"We will put our hands up when we need to own a situation – we would expect the same from Australia. They did not act in good faith…"
NZ is clearly growing very tired of the 504 deportees and now this. I wonder what we can do next? I’d charge airlines NZ$1,000,000 for every 504 deportee they transport here. See how long they’ll keep carrying them.
Perhaps in future, Ardern won't be quite so quick to take a stand for Morrison when he gets dorked by another lowly Chinese official and loses his s**t. The new mantra should be, 'Don't come crying to me Scotty!'
As for Brownlee, it looks as though the last syllable of his name should be 'nose'.
Would there be any legal impediment to sending the Australian citizen who committed the mosque murders back to Australia? The cost of his imprisonment should be met by Australia. Fanciful maybe, but charter a private plane, fly the Tasman, land, unload him and say, "here he is, he's yours", fly back across the Tasman.
We've done that once before with the Rainbow Warrior bombers and had their home country (France) release them astoundingly early. Based on the ‘mickey mousing’ they have done with some of the 504s and the recent arrested former Aus/NZ dual citizen in Syria I would not trust the Aussie Govt to keep this guy in prison for the length of his NZ prison sentence.
there was / is a difference between the Rainbow Warrior terrorists and the shooter of CHCH. The first lot were employed by the French government and thus released early. The latter is a white supremacist wanna be fuckwit whom not even OZ would want to roam freely about the land.
Charter a private plane, fly the Tasman, land, unload him and say, "here he is, he's yours"?
They wouldn't let you land. You might have to open the door and drop him in on them. Have a Givealittle to raise money for the flight? And a parachute?
I can't remember where I read this but as I recall a New Zealand lawyer commented on this as being that if we deported him Australia would have to release him as he hadn't committed, or been found guilty of any crime in Australia.
Ah here it is Bill Hodge from the Auckland Law School
"He told First Up a new law would be required here – but more importantly, a new law would be needed in Australia.
"Because if he's deported now, gets on a plane and goes over to Sydney, he can just walk free because there is no statutory authority, no power to enforce the New Zealand sentence in Australia at the moment."
The lass has stepped outside CV/ focus group land for the first time. Not for the silently screaming in our rich-favouring political regime, rather Oz stepped on her toes one too many times. Anyway , this is a good I encourage.
Now looking up at the comments, thanks for/criticise the footnotery. Fusty self-immergence. The queen has broke out of the 'rulebook for success and personal happiness'.
The only happiness is rooted in 1935 social democracy, or a strong people's party who the strong have to deal with. Nowt about.
I ran across a recent essay from The Brothers Krynn, which attempts to map common horror monsters onto the Seven Deadly Sins: https://canadianculturecorner.substack.com/p/horror-monsters-and-vice My interest, however, is not in the meat of the piece, but rather the opening paragraph: It is an interesting fact that in recent decades, Vampires have ...
Buzz from the Beehive Transport Minister Simeon Brown dutifully issued advice to all road users to keep safe on our roads during the Easter weekend. He encouraged them to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. ...
Oliver Hartwich writes – New Zealanders recently learned about a new feature film. It will be about former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – and taxpayers will subsidise it to the tune of NZ$800,000. Ardern had nothing personally to do with either the film or the subsidy. But her government’s ...
TL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above that was recorded yesterday afternoon above between and The Kākā’s climate correspondent : An independent review panel into the emergency response to Cyclone Gabrielle in Hawkes Bayconcluded “that ...
There are now only a few days left to give feedback on the Draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport 2024-34 (see our earlier post this week on GPS submission guides). As we’ve reported, the GPS is a disaster for Local Government, so we were particularly interested to hear ...
Willis has pledged to go ahead with the debt-funded tax cuts, despite growing opposition from her own supporters worried about appearing fiscally irresponsible. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for ...
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
COMMENTARY:By Ronny Kareni Since the atrocious footage of the suffering of an indigenous Papuan man reverberates in the heart of Puncak by the brute force of Indonesia’s army in early February, shocking tactics deployed by those in power to silence critics has been unfolding. Nowhere is this more evident ...
Analysis - Nicola Willis is holding firm on tax cuts despite the economic outlook being worse than forecast and critics urging her to wait, writes Peter Wilson for The Week In Politics. ...
Opposition MPs and unions are criticising a proposal by New Zealand’s Ministry of Pacific Peoples to cut staff by 40 percent. The country’s largest trade union — The Public Service Association — says the ministry has informed staff that it is looking to shed 63 of 156 positions. Opposition MPs ...
A poem by Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 featured poet Carin Smeaton. Daughtr of the 90s when she gets promoted to usherette a baby blu eel carries her all the way up to mothership she’s hovering high she lets the underaged in to see keanu reeves she lets the only lonely ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 29 March appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Nicholas, Senior Lecturer in Language and Literacy Education, Deakin University Earlier this month, the New South Wales government announced it would roll out programs for gifted students in every public school in the state. This comes amid concerns gifted school ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Rudge, Law lecturer, University of Sydney Massachusetts General Hospital In a world first, we heard last week that US surgeons had transplanted a kidney from a gene-edited pig into a living human. News reports said the procedure was a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tombs, Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago The 5th-century Maskell panel showing Jesus in a loincloth.British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA When Jesus is shown on the cross, he is almost always depicted wearing a loincloth around ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University Shutterstock When you think about a red object, you might picture a red carpet, or the massive ruby in the Queen’s crown. Indeed, Western monarchies and marketing from brands such ...
COMMENTARY:Jewish Voice for Peace The UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Monday — and for the first time since the beginning of the Israeli military’s genocide of Palestinians, the United States abstained rather than vetoing it. Security Council resolutions are legally binding, ...
Asia Pacific Report A New Zealand investigative journalist and author says the US spy system hosted by the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) appears to be a controversial intelligence system used in global capture-kill operations. Writing a commentary for RNZ News today, Nicky Hager, author of Secret Power, a 1996 ...
While Nicola Willis wouldn’t give any details on its size, she said a package of tax cuts is definitely still coming in this year’s budget, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the investigation into the Department of Internal Affairs after it was revealed that the Department’s Chief Executive personally reached out to expedite a DJs passport application. Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns ...
Finance minister Nicola Willis delivers her first budget statement, and unwittingly helps Joel MacManus save his relationship. Nicola Willis strode into the Beehive Theatrette. Around me, on the green foldout seats, were the country’s top business and political journalists. They were all here to see her announce the Budget Policy ...
Twenty years ago today, Māori Television launched after much controversy. Jamie Tahana looks back on its survival and impact across two decades. Chad Chambers stepped onto the stage, the brim of his cap casting a shadow across his face. His smile beamed as bright as his white freezing works gumboots, ...
Tauranga, Rotorua, Wellsford, Onehunga, Westhaven marina – Gavin Strawhan walks the meanish streets of New Zealand in his entertaining debut novel The Call, almost sure to roar into the number 1 position on the Nielsen bestseller chart, its front cover bearing a rave from somebody: “A really good and genuinely ...
On a Thursday in February, at Wellington’s Conservation House, the Conservation Authority, a statutory body advising the eponymous department and minister, Tama Potaka, opened its 195th meeting. Under consideration that afternoon was an agenda item written by Tim Bamford, chief advisor in the Department of Conservation’s biodiversity, heritage and visitors ...
Fresh approach to supporting new customer service and sales workers. https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/prosper/your-stories/300220781/sales-and-service-apprenticeships-on-the-way-for-nz
Very concerned about how the ministry of arts and culture have run roughshod over the locals, residents and other users of the Parnell Rose Gardens with their decision to erect a memorial to flight Te 901 in the middle of this haven. There is no pathway to understand how this decision was and who by. The plan showss a ghastly concrete and stainless steel monstrosity imposed upon a gentle and peaceful haven for no good reason except the bawling of some relatives of the boozers and junketeers who want more recognition than a busload of weekend boozers who bought the farm. This ghastly imposition is no more than a childish demand in the usual kiwi mawkish way to have the rest of the country involv ed in what should be a private matter. Phill Goff needs his head read for allowing this.
[I’ve changed your user name back to the one the system has stored]
Please read my Moderation note.
the boozers and junketeers who want more recognition than a busload of weekend boozers who bought the farm.
Jesus that's ugly. In one short phrase you've convinced me you're not worth listening to and now I'm perfectly happy to see this monument built. (And yes I know the Rose Garden well, it's the perfect spot in my view.)
It's said that virtually every family in NZ knew someone on that plane – in our case my brother had just gotten some work done on his car by a panelbeater who he knew quite well. My brother said they'd talked about the flight and how much he was looking forward to something completely different and unique from his usual workday routine.
In short – fuck off. The bigger and flashier the monument the better in my book.
You piece of sociopathic shit!
https://mch.govt.nz/Erebus-Memorial
It sits quietly at one side of the reserve allowing the families, friends of those killed to reflect on their loss while looking over the beautiful harbour and inner gulf. It's the perfect place for such a memorial and will ensure the tragedy and its shameful aftermath is never forgotten.
Not only did 257 crew and passengers die in terrible circumstances but those who were left behind – and their supporters – had to endure a vendetta led by a former prime minister and some of his Air NZ lackeys.
Shame that a I’m more important mentality exists through the location of a monument.
The rose bedding out the front of the garden is rather ugly – too many modern hybrid teas in harsh colours planted en masse. Looks very dated actually. The use of old roses in the Nancy Steen garden behind the path is really wonderful, worth visiting for its own sake through spring/early summer. Sneak in the side gate to avoid having to avert your eyes from the ugly bedding roses – save your retinas. The grass slope down to the water is nice too, and I'm sure the monument will be sympathetically implemented and accepted over time. Hell, we Orks have even come to quite like an absurdity like the Sky Tower. And insulting dead people doesn't usually advance an argument.
It's a wonderful memorial, and very fitting.
Thank you to all who contributed to this.
to: R.P Mcmurphy…
Firstly–Thats not very nice. My friendly neighbour when I was a school kid was one on the ill fated flight, wife of a hard working builder who got her a special present.
Secondly–due process has been held. The memorial is tasteful and fits well, going by the artwork, in its proposed site in Dove Myer Robinson Park. I know the area personally and it is the city’s, not just Parnell residents territory.
Take your damn Vitamin D.
Dr John Campbell has been a relentlessly calm and reasoned voice throughout the entire COVID debacle and was talking about the potential role of Vitamin D 12 months ago.
Well finally a (Edit: Link updated) well powered RCD trial is in pre-publish and the results are unequivocal. Campbell does an executive summary in the first few minutes so there in no need to watch the whole thing. In short once you have landed in hospital the correct dose of calcifediol (the fast acting metabolite of Vitamin D) will reduce your chances of landing up in ICU and/or dying by around a factor of 3 – 4.
(And this study does not include the now well demonstrated fact that adequate levels of VitD will reduce your chance of arriving at hospital by at least another factor of 2 in the first place.)
Critically he states that a failure by govt and medical authorities to act now must amount to a "breach of duty of care".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYK9-zvJF_k
Yes. It's been very interesting watching the increasing frustration of 'Dr. John' as he presents yet another scrupulously scrutinized piece of research. He's a very conventional and middle of the road type chappy who strives to present the technicalities in plain and unemotional tones.
Seen him get a little rattled on a couple of occasions. Over Vitamin D and the complete denial/dismissal/disregard of health authorities of the positive impact of high dose Vitamin D on Covid outcomes, and the day he presented the research regarding similar for Ivermectin.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLWQtT7dHGE
….and this was well worth a listen to.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQyhjQUjHjU
If the anti vaccine hesitant brigade(you know who you are) want to find one of the root causes of distrust in the very new and novel and largely untested (in any meaningful way) vaccines it is because a vaccine has from day one been presented as the ONLY hope for those vulnerable to this virus. There Is No Treatment!!! has been the constant and consistent narrative and anyone presenting any alternative view has been written off as an anti-vaxxer conspiracy theorist.
My 'vulnerable' partner has been on the Vit D3 since this time last year (as an adjunct to his usual zinc and Vit C) as chemo 10 years ago left him very prone to sunburn. I have been taking it for the past month or so since its been simply too hot to be out in the sun.
Been recommending same to dark skinned friends.
Damn to hell our Ministry of Health who persists in failing to recommend/fund supplements considering…
Around 5% of adults in New Zealand are deficient in vitamin D (Adult Nutrition Survey 2008/09). A further 27% are below the recommended blood level of vitamin D.
https://www.health.govt.nz/your-health/healthy-living/food-activity-and-sleep/healthy-eating/vitamin-d
And the official recommended levels are usually pretty low. From my reading the desirable range is 30 – 80 ng/l. Anything less than 20 can be considered deficient and less than 30 suboptimal. This seems a well balanced article on the topic.
I got my levels checked a few weeks back after taking 4000 IU (the upper limit I'd regard as reasonable) for almost a year (and working outdoors a fair bit) and came back at 50ng/l. Because everyone does vary a fair bit I'd recommend to be on the safe side to ask for a VitD test to be included when you have the opportunity – it's free here in Aus, but I don't know about NZ.
One of the big factors I didn't realise until recently is that as we age the efficiency of the UVB/skin route drops quite a lot. And given that older people tend to avoid outdoor skin exposure for all sorts of reasons – it makes sense to start compensating with supplements at our age. (Then there are all the other good reasons around bone and muscle health that fully justify it.)
There Is No Treatment!!! has been the constant and consistent narrative and anyone presenting any alternative view has been written off as an anti-vaxxer conspiracy theorist.
Yes. Personally I'll line up for my shot (I hope to be able to choose the J&J version) when the time comes – but I agree the official narrative that the vaccines were the only hope is not only wrong, but possibly unrealistic as well.
The number of MSM reports and articles on a wide range of potential treatments for the prevention and/or minimisation of Covid-19 symptoms must number in the thousands – actually probably more like tens of thousands.
The contention that information about potential Covid-19 treatments has been suppressed is incredible.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/treatments-for-covid-19
I’d be really interested in any evidence suggesting that there was/is an “official narrative that the vaccines were the only hope”. In the absence of evidence, such a suggestion is at best mischievous, and could actually undermine confidence in public health initiatives. Not what’s needed right now, imho.
I’d be really interested in any evidence suggesting that there was/is an “official narrative that the vaccines were the only hope”.
Well if nothing else it's the only narrative you seem to support – where did that come from do you think? You’ve certainly been very consistently taking the position that discussion of anything else other than vaccines is something you’re going to challenge. And I'm fairly sure you regard yourself as a defender of the conventional wisdom in this regard.
And here in Australia for example if there is any media discussion on treatment options, it's completely overwhelmed by the far greater attention given to the prospect of vaccine herd immunity.
And concerning that blood test I got a few weeks back, my doc thought 4000IU per day a bit high at the first appointment so I asked him what he'd consider the right dose. He said around 2 – 3000 per day is what he is taking – and then he said "but I'm not allowed to officially recommend that".
So far COVID has claimed around 2.4m lives globally – even in the worst case interpretation of the data we've seen so far – if universal and effective VitD supplementation could have reduced that death toll by even just 10 – 20% that would have amounted to a hell of lot of lives saved.
It's not like any of this is complicated, yet for some reason you think even discussing this is mischievous.
Dear RL – so you've got nothing other than your fabrication that the only narrative I seem to support is that Covid-19 vaccines are/were the only hope.
What you forget (rather conveniently imho) is that not so long ago we were on the same page in questioning just how effective Covid-19 vaccination initiatives might be.
Your response ("Well if nothing else…") also dodges my query, so I'll ask one more time, without any real expectation of a straight answer.
In touting various potential treatments for Covid-19 infections/symptoms, the very least you could do would be to acknowledge that these treatments are all well known to frontline medical professionals treating Covid-19 patients, rather than insinuating some sort of conspiracy to deprive patients of effective treatments – a silly stance, ihmo.
meh.
Looks promising, but one study is very small and the other does not appear to be blind in any way whatsoever (while still being fairly small).
And this "vitamin D and the immune system" also sounds a lot like "vitamin C and the immune system" – a certain level of truth taken well beyond any experimental or boilogically-plausible extent.
Might it work? Might it work as well as advertisied? Sure.
Do we have the evidence for it as a standard treatment, let alone a prophylactic? Nope. And youtube videos should not bypass medical assessment boards.
Looks promising, but one study is very small and the other does not appear to be blind in any way whatsoever (while still being fairly small).
The first pilot study with 76 participants has been published for months, and the p values were so extraordinarily strong there was every justification to commit to larger and more powerful trials.
Now we have the outcome of at least one these larger trials – and with 930 participants it has more than enough statistical power to safely draw strong conclusions. I think we can safely assume that if Campbell has looked at the paper and says it's "well designed" then I'd need more than your reckons to change my mind.
Ok.
How did they assign treatment regimes to specific wards while keeping it double-blind?
If the paper passes peer review – again Campbell thinks this is highly likely – then I think we can safely assume your question is answered.
Medical science works within a framework of differing levels of evidence. For example the connection between smoking and lung cancer was not established by a gold standard RCT double blind trial.
You don't get to arbitrarily require the very highest level of evidence to be the only threshold you will accept.
I think we can safely assume that even though you have linked to the paper and can therefore read it in its entirety, the answer to my question was not immediately obvious to you. So that's one revision a reviewerr might request.
Funny you bring up lung cancer and smoking. The first big link was demonstrated in a study of 40,000 participants. Since then many longitudinal studies have repeated the observation. Experimental studies with animal models have replicated the resulsts at an individual level. Biochemistry has established a reasonable theory for biological plausibility.
If vitamin D and covid has that level of robust examination, you wouldn't be getting your advice for it off youtube.
The first big link was demonstrated in a study of 40,000 participants. Since then many longitudinal studies have repeated the observation.
Exactly – but absolutely not RCT double blind studies, which is the level of methodology you are demanding here.
In fact there have already been quite a number of metastudies on the relationship between COVID and VitD – some with very large numbers – and the vast majority of them confirm a positive role.
Dude, the pilot study you accidentally linked to managed it.
No McFlock.
There is copious evidence that vitamin D3 dampens overactive immune responses and also protects brain cells, particularly for people like me with MS. High doses are becoming the standard of care for PwMS based on many research studies.
Same applies to other auto immune diseases, and there are more and more research studies into the effect vitamin D levels have on recovery/survival of covid-19 infections. In short, the higher the vit D, the better your chances are!
Not saying it's not a treatment for other things.
Not even saying that it won't eventually be a treatment for covid-type conditions.
Just saying that a few small studies are nowhere near enough to accuse governments across the world of a "breach of duty of care".
Also, according to his channel blurb, he's not actually a medical doctor. He's in the medical sector, sure, but as he puts it "My PhD focused on the development of open learning resources for nurses nationally and internationally."
FFS now you're reduced to smearing the messenger. His almost daily output on COVID this past year arguably makes him one of the more highly informed people on the planet.
Yet you want to quibble his paper qualifications as a medical educator – well my response who the fuck do you think trains all the doctors and nurses?
If output equalled expertise, trump would be a fucking genius.
It wasn't a smear, just pointing out that this doctor is not a specialist in the field about which he is producing youtube videos. So I wouldn't go accusing people of negligence on his say-so, no matter how awesome you might think a single study might be.
If output equalled expertise, trump would be a fucking genius.
Irrelevant logical propositional fallacy.
It's not one study – first we had the pilot study and now this larger follow up. These two alone strongly confirm each other – and that's before any consideration of the numerous other studies of various standards which already point in the same direction.
Besides it's not as if I'm proposing a dangerous, high risk, untested treatment – this is boring old Vitamin D that our own bodies manufacture and has been safely taken as a supplement by millions of people for decades. Exactly what are you objecting to here?
What am I objecting to?
The waste in resources if popscience fools actually manage to affect the purchasing decisions of medical systems that are already under extreme stress, for one thing.
The fixation upon a few small studies as some sort of magic bullet.
The confirmation bias inherent in picking a youtube channel one agrees with, rather than also actively looking for studies that might not match one's preferred result.
I mean, you can't even say how or whether the less small study was double-blind, but you're obssessed with defending it and the youtube guy who introduced you to it. And you think I'm the one with the problem because I’m unconvinced by two studies and your reckons.
Vitamin D is cheap and highly available. Exactly why do you think it's a stretch to simply make it a strong recommendation?
As for denigrating someone as a 'youtube guy' just because they're on the internet – well the same logic applies to you or anyone else.
Congratulations you've just cancelled the entire internet. Must be proud of yourself.
"Cancelled"? Nah. Just can't-sell to me.
If you think calling a guy on you-tube a "you-tube guy" is denigration, you don't want to know my opinion of fools who think governments and medics should be accused of a "breach of a duty of care" on the basis of a small study that didn't even fully describe its methodology.
If you're going to persist in characterising an RCT study with 930 patients and extremely strong p-values as 'small' – then I think there is no point is discussing this with you further.
40 times smaller than the british doctors study, at any rate.
Sigh
That linked study is 76 patients. First published online in August last year. All patients were given hydroxychloroquine (which is now known to actually increase the risk of negative outcomes) and azithromycin. Some also got viamin D.
76 patients is orders of magnitude too small a sample for meaningful conclusions.
That all patients were given hydroxychloroquine, which is now known to be harmful, interferes with the outcomes to such an extent that it would be foolish to take any conclusions from this.
There are good reasons to believe that vitamin D levels are much more a marker of lifestyle, diet, genetic, and general factors that affect risk of negative covid outcomes, as opposed to the idea that vitamin D levels in isolation are a key factor. If that is the case, then supplementing with vitamin D will achieve nothing except a false sense of security with respect to covid risk.
Plenty of published articles point to this view, as well as hearing privately the views if my cousin and her husband that are doctors desperately trying to help covid patients and keeping closely on top of all the available information.
But in reasonable doses, there's no evidence to suggest vitamin D supplements may be harmful (unlike, say, hydroxychloroquine), so there hasn't been a pushback against vitamin D misinformation. It won't harm, there's a very small chance it might help with covid, and there's a good chance it will help reduce/prevent other illnesses.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(21)00003-6/fulltext#articleInformation
https://www.pharmacytimes.com/news/research-varies-on-whether-vitamin-d-could-provide-benefits-during-covid-19-pandemic
Given the known benefits for other conditions, and the off chance it may help with covid, apparently the UK government has been making vitamin D supplements available free to vulnerable populations.
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-55108613
You got the wrong study – the one Campbell is highlighting is much more recent and involves 930 participants.
Try watching the first 4 minutes of the video and this will be clear.
That all patients were given hydroxychloroquine, which is now known to be harmful, interferes with the outcomes to such an extent that it would be foolish to take any conclusions from this.
HCQ is a drug that has been administered for decades to treat malaria in vast numbers with absolutely minimal concerns around harm. (Hell I was required to carry some with me when working in Latin America and my travel doctor dished it out like aspirin.) Why it suddenly became a 'harmful' when used in the context of COVID seems quite bizzaro to me.
The entire HCQ debate was poisoned right at the outset by rank political considerations that I think have no useful place in a science question.
you linked to "the wrong study".
The two studies mentioned in the video are linked in the blurb of the vid, the pilot you linked to and the <1k one you are touting.
Also, HCQ has had known severe side effects for decades, but it’s effects were still an improvement over the malaria it effectively treats.
I'm really not interested in watching a clickbait artist on youtube. The way youtube has given an income stream to anyone with the ability to sucker a following, while applying zero quality control, means as an information source anyone that is only on youtube has less than zero credibility as far as I'm concerned.
If anyone has a link to a written article on the actual study, I'm interested. But I'm not interested in watching someone who has a history of promoting misinformation (ivermectin anyone?) who is likely trying to monetise my eyeball time by at best cherry-picking factoids out of context.
This should be the 930 one.
It's interesting, but there are methodological issues.
Be interesting to see if other studies get similar results.
Thanks. From the link in the short summary to a fuller report, there's:
So they were still actively harming their patients by giving all of them hydroxychloroquine, and then giving some of them vitamin D as well. It may be just that the vitamin D was countering the harm of the hydroxychloroquine.
The study tells us nothing about the effects of vitamin D alone, or in combination with other therapies known to actually be beneficial.
So they were still actively harming their patients by giving all of them hydroxychloroquine,
Nonsense. HCQ has been used for decades to treat malaria with very well understood side effects – are you suggesting that it's now so dangerous that it should be withdrawn from that use?
Besides if your premise was true – it in no manner explains the differences in outcome between the treatment and control groups.
You're just resorting to smear by association – which is not an argument.
Very well understood side effects including high risk of cardiac problems and other serious issues, it was used because just letting malaria run its course was much worse.
On covid patients, the effects of hydroxychloroquine include:
it was used because just letting malaria run its course was much worse.
So why does the same logic not apply to COVID?
And quit hyping the side effects – almost no-one is 'actively harmed' by HCQ. The worst of the serious effects are heart arrythmia's which are generally not a dangerous problem. Or may not even be a problem at all.
Or here is the CDC's own recommendation on HCQ and malaria :
However my original comment in this thread makes absolutely no reference to HCQ – despite the huge amount of controversy on this drug – much of it motivated by rank politics in my view – and many contradictory studies, I've never highlighted it as a potential treatment and remain agnostic on it.
Actual experts discussing the methodological problems with the study:
https://pubpeer.com/publications/DAF3DFA9C4DE6D1B7047E91B1766F0
Yup, they are dissecting that study and it raises so many questions. I think there’s more to it than ‘lost in translation’. I’d call this positivist peer review 😉
It should not be published in its current state.
I read the entire thread and was reminded of the climate denial movement – opinionated critics loudly demanding perfect evidence when the real world rarely delivers such.
The distinguishing characteristic of such people is they rarely, if ever, do research or hands-on field work themselves.
If you’re referring to this thread, I think you may want to read it again:
https://pubpeer.com/publications/DAF3DFA9C4DE6D1B7047E91B1766F0
I read the other link (i.e. the previous one in your comment @ 3) this morning but I did not have time to comment. It also raised all sorts of issues with me. Now this ‘RCT’ by the same investigators is raising many concerns too with others. Something doesn’t add up here.
Campbell is no clickbait artist – and you demean yourself if that's the low standard of argument you have. If you cannot be bothered watching a few minutes of video to address the point accurately – then you really don't have any business commenting on this thread do you?
Besides I'm pretty sure YT demonitised all COVID related videos ages ago.
If anyone has a link to a written article on the actual study, I'm interested.
It was in the description of the linked video:
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3771318
Campbell promoted ivermectin, tapping into the same false idea that there's some cheap widely available treatment already out there that is effective against covid, but nefarious actors (government and/or Big Pharma) are ignoring or suppressing it. Ivermectin has been trialled in a number of places, and it doesn't do shit against covid. Campbell was just plain wrong, but hoo boy he got loads of clicks and eyeball time from it.
Generating outrage is great for clickbait, but it's crap for actual information.
You want to check your assertion about covid videos being de-monetised? As far as I can tell, that lasted about a week as a blanket policy. Now, there are some topics that will cause a video to get demonetised, and those videos will get flagged with little yellow icons. But as far as I can tell, Campbell is currently getting the full wodge of moolah from all the eyeball time he can
suckerattract.https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/9803260?hl=en
Update on when youtube re-monetised covid.
https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/11/youtube-will-now-allow-creators-to-monetize-videos-about-coronavirus-and-covid-19/
Campbell promoted ivermectin,
Where? Exactly where did he "promote" Ivermectin?
Because if you actually dig a little deeper you'll find he is roundly criticised by some for not using his popular and stable platform to promote this drug.
Vitamin D3 otoh he shamelessly promotes. In fact, he considers it an ethical duty to inform and educate.
Searches for John Campbell ivermectin has plenty of hits. The thumbnails and blurbs for the vids suggest Campbell had a positive view of ivermectin for treating covid, and I sat through a couple minutes each of a couple of the vids (all I could stomach), and he seemed to be talking it up. If he's presented nuance and caveats that require sitting through a whole twenty minutes of a video, then that just further illustrates the failings of video as a medium for transferring information.
If he's presented nuance and caveats that require sitting through a whole twenty minutes of a video, then that just further illustrates the failings of video as a medium for transferring information.
So what – just because you cannot be bothered doesn't mean shit for anyone else. And it certainly doesn't speak to the content especially when you've just admitted you haven’t seen it.
And that you get a visceral reaction – 'all I could stomach' – well it's called 'cognitive dissonance'.
The thumbnails and blurbs for the vids suggest Campbell had a positive view of ivermectin for treating covid, and I sat through a couple minutes each of a couple of the vids (all I could stomach), and he seemed to be talking it up.
Links please. And time stamps where he is actually "talking it up."
Ivermectin has been trialled in a number of places, and it doesn't do shit against covid.
Really? It may not be a very strong treatment – but it was certainly worth investigating and again it's a well understood and highly tolerated drug.
Campbell promoted ivermectin …
Interesting – suddenly you know lots more about this 'youtube clickbait artist' you've been pretending was beneath your attention. Well here is the actual video – note that I've been linking to all my claims so far – and anyone else can see for themselves that what Campbell is doing is giving careful and measured reviews of published studies as he almost always does.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLWQtT7dHGE&
But as far as I can tell, Campbell is currently getting the full wodge of moolah …
God forbid someone might make a living from producing educational material that converts medical and statistical jargon into plain language. And incidentally, Campbell has been doing these videos since well before Covid was a thing.
Andre, pray tell how you feel about Pfizer's profit forecast? They are frantically pushing aside the piles in their coffers to make room for the expected $4billion profit from the vaccine.
https://www.ft.com/content/0f1ab138-401d-40ff-824f-f6879704f10e
You have touched on a question I am interested in the answer to.
We are constantly being told the free vaccine is coming.
It is not free. How much are we paying for the vaccination roll out?
Edit: Someone who seems to care a lot more about money than I do is asking the same question and others.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion-analysis/300223064/noone-knows-how-much-the-nz-government-paid-for-our-vaccines-and-noone-seems-to-be-asking
Do you believe our govt should say: 'No, not worth it'?
No, I reckon should say how much they are paying for it.
Not how our meds-buying system works though, is it.
You may want to indicate that you corrected and edited that link.
Nice to think of Australia in terms other than its extra squirrily politicians !.For anyone needing some comedic relief from the madness id recommend Rake on netflix first episodes a bit slow but definitely worth persevering in my view .
Yup we watched the entire series on ABC a few years back. Absolute gold – there's a scene at a pedestrian crossing we still act out for the sheer fun of it
Such smart writing, eh.
I've just been looking at the hook (sorry meant to put book, but hook is applicable!) The Third Way by Anthony Giddens. He seems to have been prolific throughout his career, and has arrived at our present pig's muddle of incompatible ideas in this book of his.
He seems to have thought that by having achieved welfare provisions that we have balanced the negativities that unbridled capitalism brings, and so abandoned intervention along practical straightforward means to assist citizens cope in the fevered world of commerce that we have.
…[Giddens] accepts the conception of socialism as conceived of by Anthony Crosland as an ethical doctrine that views social-democratic governments as having achieved a viable ethical socialism by removing the unjust elements of capitalism by providing social welfare and other policies and that contemporary socialism has outgrown the Marxist claim for the need of the abolition of capitalism as a mode of production. In 2009, Blair publicly declared support for a "new capitalism"…
The Third Way supports the pursuit of greater egalitarianism in society through action to increase the distribution of skills, capacities and productive endowments
while rejecting income redistribution as the means to achieve this. It emphasises commitment to –
1 balanced budgets,
2 providing equal opportunity which is combined with
3 an emphasis on personal responsibility,
4 the decentralisation of government power to the lowest level possible,
5 encouragement and promotion of public–private partnerships,
6 improving labour supply,
7 investment in human development,
8 preserving of social capital and
9 protection of the environment.
(The Wikipedia page has numerous links explaining terms – very informative). The above points seem to encompass what we have seen brought about here in NZ. Each of these above points can bring about a small revolution in society, together they have been a tsunami. This guy deserves to have his trousers pulled down and have to run around naked for a day finding out just what it is like to be a vulnerable human in a society with fading compassion and lack of empathy for others that he erected a signpost to. He can keep his erections, the smart-alec. It seems macro overview in its objectives with little if any thought from bottom up, the micro view, of where people are in their lives and in this era, and what is needed for an informed, engaged, busy, contented, sustainable, morally attuned, positively active society.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Way https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Giddens
Incidentally there is a book called A Third Way – Decolonizing the Laws of Indigenous Cultural Protection which could be of even greater effect than The Third Way.
In A Third Way, Hillary Hoffmann and Monte Mills detail the history, context, and future of the ongoing legal fight to protect indigenous cultures. At the federal level, this fight is shaped by the assumptions that led to current federal cultural protection laws, which many tribes and their allies are now reframing to better meet their cultural and sovereign priorities. At the state level, centuries of antipathy toward tribes are beginning to give way to collaborative and cooperative efforts that better reflect indigenous interests. Most critically, tribes themselves are building laws and legal structures that reflect and invigorate their own cultural values. Taken together, and evidenced by the recent worldwide support for indigenous cultural movements, events of the last decade signal a new era for indigenous cultural protection. This important work should be read by anyone interested in the legal reforms that will guide progress toward that future. Zookal Textbooks – NZ.
The first figures of 2021 don't bode well for those who talk up the affordability of homes and the prevalence of homeownership:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/436496/median-house-price-goes-up-2-percent-reinz
And yet……
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/reinz-data-auckland-house-prices-drop-25000-sales-fall-46/Z5FKCEW3MJ2F2NFI42XR6QTW4Q/
Moralof the story? Never believe anything a real estate agent says. Somehow its always the ideal time to buy/sell/hold/rent.
This story is based on the same interview with REINZ but with a specific focus on Auckland, it doesn't refute anything from the RNZ article, nor does it demonstrate a reversal of the trends.
I realise this refers specifically to Auckland, but that market is by far the largest in NZ.
A decreasing sales volume, in any market, is usually a forerunner of falling sales prices. That's how I would read the future based on the facts. And as we slide into Autumn and winter, prices historically tend to drop (in real terms at the very least).
Moral of the story? We should believe your prognostications but not the REINZ's figures.
Probably yes. In general, RE agents are poorly educated and their experience is usually limited only to selling. They have a vested interest in spinning a story.
I have spent my working life as a chartered accountant in Public practice, company accountanting from small to huge, auditing, lecturing, running my own business both in NZ and overseas. I would consider my experience and expertise in economics and markets and business far in excess of that of most people.
Moral of the story? Ask and learn, before you make comments and judgements that betray your abysmal and negative attitudes Arkie.
Lol
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/124257882/household-income-was-up-but-so-were-housing-costs-before-covid19-stats-nz
Will have to delve into that one a bit deeper myself – seems rather optimistic given the proportion of disabled people who are unemployed or underemployed.
I wonder how they include all the disabled people being supported by their spouses, with nary a smidgen of support – no benefit or tax abatement , no support for Kiwisaver – one income means that it isn't affordable for either.
It's interesting how as the move to individualism has occurred that there are specific remnants of being treated as a couple remain that seem purely political.
It easy to simply say this is about government but it isn't – it is about society. When I first started working banks for instance would pay an allowance for married men who had a partner who wasn't working until their salary reached a certain level. They knew the cost of a couple, and children, on one income wasn't sufficient and recognised this. The state also recognised this in allowing you to claim rebates on your tax for a non-working spouse.
What the removal of such supports by both the private and public sector meant was a further disadvantage for women and those with disabilities. Add to that the other group of predominantly women that care for disabled children who also didn't work due to needing to care for and be available for their children with disabilities you start to see quite a large group with little economic security.
The non-working , non-benefit disabled group are quite invisible in research. I wonder how large this group actually is.
Yes, the way society quietly pushes the costs of ongoing support onto women and families is shocking.
Same story mentions benefit abatement threshholds changing from 1 April this year. Govt media release on that: https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA2102/S00076/government-delivers-on-promise-to-working-low-income-families.htm
Wow, Jacinda has flexed her international star power to give Hosking's hero Scomo an absolute serve – has an NZ PM ever spoken to the Aussies in such strong terms publicly before?
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/pm-responds-to-nz-aus-woman-arrested-at-syria-turkey-border/QJLYJQWBCPCVC5GA3XAVXDT22A/
"…Ardern said she was most concerned for the two small children. the woman was detained with.
"I think New Zealand, frankly, is tired of having Australia export its problems. But now there are two children involved so we have to resolve this issue with those two children in mind."
Legally the woman's citizenship sits with New Zealand currently but Ardern said she would continue to raise the issue with Australia.
Ardern warned Morrison when he told her Australia had revoked the woman's passport that she would "speak very strongly on New Zealand's view" publicly.
"He has been forewarned of that continuously. So this morning I did the same, I reminded him that I would be raising this issue very strongly."
Ardern said she wanted to work through the issues bilaterally with Australia.
"I never think that the right response was to simply have a race to revoke people's citizenships – that is just not the right thing to do.
"We will put our hands up when we need to own a situation – we would expect the same from Australia. They did not act in good faith…"
NZ is clearly growing very tired of the 504 deportees and now this. I wonder what we can do next? I’d charge airlines NZ$1,000,000 for every 504 deportee they transport here. See how long they’ll keep carrying them.
Perhaps in future, Ardern won't be quite so quick to take a stand for Morrison when he gets dorked by another lowly Chinese official and loses his s**t. The new mantra should be, 'Don't come crying to me Scotty!'
As for Brownlee, it looks as though the last syllable of his name should be 'nose'.
Would there be any legal impediment to sending the Australian citizen who committed the mosque murders back to Australia? The cost of his imprisonment should be met by Australia. Fanciful maybe, but charter a private plane, fly the Tasman, land, unload him and say, "here he is, he's yours", fly back across the Tasman.
We've done that once before with the Rainbow Warrior bombers and had their home country (France) release them astoundingly early. Based on the ‘mickey mousing’ they have done with some of the 504s and the recent arrested former Aus/NZ dual citizen in Syria I would not trust the Aussie Govt to keep this guy in prison for the length of his NZ prison sentence.
there was / is a difference between the Rainbow Warrior terrorists and the shooter of CHCH. The first lot were employed by the French government and thus released early. The latter is a white supremacist wanna be fuckwit whom not even OZ would want to roam freely about the land.
She is no longer an Australian citizen…and therein lies the problem
Charter a private plane, fly the Tasman, land, unload him and say, "here he is, he's yours"?
They wouldn't let you land. You might have to open the door and drop him in on them. Have a Givealittle to raise money for the flight? And a parachute?
I can't remember where I read this but as I recall a New Zealand lawyer commented on this as being that if we deported him Australia would have to release him as he hadn't committed, or been found guilty of any crime in Australia.
Ah here it is Bill Hodge from the Auckland Law School
"He told First Up a new law would be required here – but more importantly, a new law would be needed in Australia.
"Because if he's deported now, gets on a plane and goes over to Sydney, he can just walk free because there is no statutory authority, no power to enforce the New Zealand sentence in Australia at the moment."
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/424677/no-guarantee-mass-killer-would-serve-full-jail-term-in-australia
An xkcd for everything.
https://explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2425:_mRNA_Vaccine
The lass has stepped outside CV/ focus group land for the first time. Not for the silently screaming in our rich-favouring political regime, rather Oz stepped on her toes one too many times. Anyway , this is a good I encourage.
Now looking up at the comments, thanks for/criticise the footnotery. Fusty self-immergence. The queen has broke out of the 'rulebook for success and personal happiness'.
The only happiness is rooted in 1935 social democracy, or a strong people's party who the strong have to deal with. Nowt about.
Thinking it is time for harsher penalties and a ongoing PR campaign
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/illegal-fishing-net-in-auckland-marine-reserve-caught-pied-shag-sharks-and-eagle-rays-doc-investigating/BDALRZUIGUHFNMYY57HSFTOXBQ/