Remember the chorus of "Should have been Level 1 weeks ago"? They spoke for just 12% (that's plenty for Winston, who only needs 5%, but it's a disaster for National).
Obviously it would be amazingly stupid for National MPs to keep complaining about Ardern and the Covid response. So that's what they're doing.
Winston is marching into National territory today.
"We won't pander to the woke brigade" said today by Winston Peters re BLM protests is music to the ears of conservative New Zealand.
Muller and Kaye are trying to distance themselves from that sentiment which is giving Winnie an opening.
I thought he was a gonner a month ago, but I am now thinking he will pick up some of National's conservative base and return in September. He's like a fucking cockroach
The drum beat of corporate media stories around opening the border has been a classic example of lobbyist with money who owned journalists like Fran O'Sullivan trying to manufacture consent.
Me watching: The build up to the rugby on Sunday…
Melanie Robinson: "We've seen outstanding leadership from the prime minister in recent months, I expect Beauden will bring outstanding leadership to the Blues"
Me thinking: "I hope Gerry isn't watching."
And the above is the least of it. (because the problem is now so big it can only focus on a couple of examples – e,g, the RSE workers
I L-G: Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb dither dither dither. I have complete faith in my officials (even the ones that have bullshitted to me) Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb
INZ: Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb the commodity of people as a human resource all wrapped up in a risk-managed (unofficial) demographic spreadsheet.
Commentariat: Pearl clutch pearl clutch pearl clutch
This has been speculated to result from the 'joys' of coalition government, and the art of the possible. If so, there are less than one hundred days to hopefully fix that and have a consistently kinder government . . ..
Yep. It was those two noble savages Shane and Winston what dunnit.
Even though many/most of those affected by the policies have a closer affinity and understanding of lil 'ole NuZull that punches above its weight's first people.
S&W are us though eh? and those are them. And its not as though people were warning us all about what has now come to pass 4 years ago.
A possible solution, pay local marae (who often get utilised in emergency situations anyway) to provide board for those stranded, now that the Covid threat has been eliminated.
A double win. These migrants get provided with what they need, for the short term, and local marae get some income to help support them through these times.
A bloody good short term solution @ Molly – as you're more often than not prone to come up with.
In some places, relationships such as you suggest are already happening (without the payments), and long term friendships are in the making
Meanwhile back at the INZ ranch, officials are worrying about how such phenomenon could take hold – it could completely undermine their thinkings going forward (based on learnings from the past)
That would be good short term but air travel is slowly opening up again (Singapore airlines for one is reopening the Singapore hub ) so I do see a need to keep working with the various embassies and Airnz to put on some charter flights to assist some of the larger groups back to where they want to go, or to facilitate an onwards connection.
Charters or even scheduled flights can be one way flights only as we don't have the capacity to quarantine full return planes so would be a more expensive but not ridiculous prices. A lot of the extended one year visa's expire in Sept. Frankly I think I L-G needs to largely bypass his department and get MFAT, AirNZ and the embassies to advertise the charter flights (backed up by onwards travel agreements with maybe Singapore Air) so that we can give some certainty to travellers and move them towards Auckland airport.
Well if you don't like that link @ Anne, I have plenty of others. And as you will know, many of those officials don't have a vindictive bone in their bodies. (/sarc)
I happen to think both JA and H1 will probably go down in history as being two of NZ's best PMs. (Or should that be one of NZs best PMs?)
However IF JA really wants to be kind and transformative, she needs to get herself a decent H2 style shit kicker, otherwise the recent history of the Labour Party will be just one damn thing after another, and a waste of another bloody harsh virus (neo-liberalism being one of the others)
I start to question my sanity when I find myself agreeing with the Taxpayer's Union – (albeit knowing that they are just Government bashing as they do).
"The cost of SkyPath has already blown out multiple times, to $200 for every household in the country.
"Giving this project an RMA exemption doesn't turn it into a good investment. Funding would be better spent on infrastructure that improves productivity for the many, not just a subset of Takapuna-based lycra enthusiasts."
The Skypath proposal is one that could stay shovel-ready and not get done, until other investment in our infrastructure is complete – health and mental health investment for instance. They’ve been ready and waiting for investment for years.
While I disagree on the shape of the reforms to the RMA that they endorse, I do agree that shovel-ready projects, follows the BAU approach to infrastructure investment. And we should be requiring a new perspective before putting such money into "nice to haves" instead of "need to haves" or resilience projects.
The fact that they are "shovel ready" doesn't guarantee good investment outcomes that are shared as equitably as possible. It also doesn't prioritise spending wisely – just spending.
" Very few pt or cycling projects would survive a solid Treasury Value For Money review. "
For a start, including SROI (Social Return on Investment) or an environmental return on investment, should see this change. And if cycling projects still don't meet the value for money review – then they shouldn't happen at present. We have a lot of NZers looking for basic needs and support, look after them first. The Skypath is not a basic need.
Molly – the middle class have decided that cycling is their thing, suits their individualism and is healthy and clean-living,fit, modern people do it.; the very example of 'going forward'. And they tend to ride their bikes fast, and generally behave as they would in a car. But biking being an agreed benefit to all, ticking the above boxes of health etc., it has become a sacred icon for the said m/c.
It also allows them to trespass on public spaces for room to carry out its aggressive side, mountain biking, BMX racing and dirt jumping. There they throw themselves round knowing that they will be fixed by free hospital treatment and helped by ACC. Areas agreed for mountain bike tracks have cleared areas that are treed and were part of the environment enjoyable for walkers in Nelson. But that isn't enough for these bikers – they have cut and cleared illegally to make new tracks to suit themselves. Looked at dispassionately, they are just land clearers repeating the colonial measures of the past but with a greenwash, that of being a healthy sport in the outdoors.
The bike sport fraternity are often destructive and really just a different version of the petrolheads, demolition derby fans, mud plugs and racing car enthusiasts; though most of those are contained to agreed tracks. The advent of 4Wdrives, with tv ads showing them driving in the outdoors like real men, up rivers destroying and polluting them, if they want to go there, have further encouraged this idea of misuse of the countryside for the machine-mad male with no appreciation of nature or being a natural human either.
The problem with the SROI is that typically the cycling calculations assume a slow climb in usage compared to what actually happens. Quite unlike the NZTA or treasury approach to roads with always assumes a exponential car usage growth – that usually doesn’t happen.
If either used realistic analysis based on their continuous past failures, then most of the roads that have done recently it wouldn’t be funded. If they used the actual results from their previous screwups of estimating ROIs from PT or cycle lanes than almost all would be.
The growth in traffic on most installed cycle lanes and effective PT invariably climbs more rapidly than NZTA expectations. Just the same as what happens when the public transport is upgraded – which is why the northern busway now has continuous double decker buses at peak hours – and we don’t need a new uber expensive bridge or tunnel. Similarly the double tracking and electrification of the Auckland has exceeded expectations in almost every year since they were done. The only thing that seems to slow them down is the work being done on the next upgrade.
But it is a chicken and egg as can be easily seen when the cycle lanes are put in. You have to have cycle lanes before you get much cycle traffic on them. You find out the need after you put them in. But typically they are incredibly cheap.
In Auckland, all cyclists and scooter riders are scared shitless of the ignorant dangerous drivers and their parked cars. We’ve all had near death experiences from drivers inadvertently trying to kill us. Put in a cycle way and watch the cyclist traffic increase massively over several years. Try walking on the north western cycle way or even the grafton gully cycleway at 5pm and you’ll see what I mean. I’m looking forward to being able to actually ride down K Rd without the fear of imminent death or injury. Be nice if they did the same thing on Ponsonby Road.
Where there aren’t cycleways, many cyclists and virtually all scooter riders prefer to ride on pedestrian paths – thereby endangering pedestrians. Somehow this social saving isn’t anywhere in the SROI – along with most of the other real social benefits.
Nor a re most of the economic benefits because they are unknowable before the project is put into place. In the case of the SkyPath, it simply means that a whole area who currently have no ability to commute to the north shore by bike (in my case) or from the north shore can now start to do so. Trying to even figure out the effects of that are damn near impossible to figure out in advance. It is simply guesswork. About the only thing that is obvious is that it’d be way cheaper than any possible roading project in Auckland.
In short – your position is just spurious bullshit based on a selective unthinking analysis of how the SROI is currently calculated.
My family are cyclists, not so much commuter cyclists now because of commuting distances, so I agree we have some way to go regarding cyclist safety.
However, I disagree with the method currently used for identifying, prioritising and implementing projects.
This is my objection to this project, and the SROI needs to be applied to others areas of Auckland as well in order to help prioritise. This doesn't happen.
Cycle lanes are the classic example of "if you build it they will come" with the sum being greater than it's parts. Fully connected, separated cycleways that go to useful places see huge growth.
The problem is people see them as a cheap panacea for noisy MAMILs & a recreational frippery rather than an important piece of commuter infrastructure. Yet using an e-bike on a proper cycle way to commute in your work clothes is as different from weaving in and out of traffic, footpaths and bits of cycle way on a racing bike whilst clad in your full lycra panoply as taking a guided the great walk in summer is from hacking your way up to the tops on an unmaintained track in the Kawekas in winter.
Yes, and Parker was certainly emphatic when being interviewed on Natrad both last night and this morning. Seems happy to sudeline climate change issues, and I'm wondering if he is aware that in the Far North there are already rumblings from domestic water users (aka 'the people') that horticulture and agriculture (aka corporate interests)have more right to water.
And along with the water requirements is the very real potential for adverse effects of nutrient runoff and heavy agrochemical use.
As you say Molly, would have been nice to see spending on our tired and dysfunctional health infrastructure prioritised.
Your concern Molly is much appreciated by this resident who lives on a popular by-route which eventually leads to the harbour bridge and is sick and tired of lycra clad enthusiasts who assume they own the road and its up to the rest of us to get out of their way.
Any proposal that is going to increase their numbers in my neck of the woods will not be appreciated by locals trying to go about their daily business without cycling fashionistas strung across the road impeding progress for the rest of us.
That kind of investment warrants better scrutiny at this time, especially as it has been a continually growing budget. The reason it is shovel ready is because there has been a staunch group of supporters continually banging on about it for years. Not because it is an equitable and valuable use of government budget.
(I also note the inclusion of numbers in terms of the pitiful amount of jobs intended to be created, but nothing in terms of the actual spend being reported.)
I call them 'lycra louts'. That generally gets them going.
Not all cyclists belong to this genus. These ones, apart from the skin tight and unfaltering plumage are most often found in inner city Wellington on a Saturday morning crawling 2/3/4 abreast up Raroa Road presumably on a run out to Makara/Ohariu Valley/J'ville. They wiggle slowly up this steep street failing to pull over. On my way to work some times I have counted 14 cars behind me, some at stalling speed.
They are able to multi task, ie give the finger to anyone who wishes to go past them.
They mob cafes to the exclusion of others. Their cry is distinctive too with the sounds of entitlement being the top notes.
Got no problems with unproblematic riders who respect other road users just as I do.
The general way to deal with them is to put in some cheap cycle paths that separate cars from cycles. Or an even simpler method would be just get rid of parked cars on roads.
I know when I am commuting (usually in work jeans) I use the cycle lanes where they are available.
But if I have to cycle on the road, I leave at least a metre from the parked cars. That is because of the idiots who seem to try to open doors on me every day. That provides enough room to avoid the doors that get flung open in front of me by drivers who neither look in their wing mirror nor partially open the door and look back.
These self-entitled idiots are the primary reason why cyclists ride so far out into the lane.
That means that I take up a third of the usual car lane and means that cars going around me and passing at metre put at least half their body into the incoming lane (2/3rds for the SUV trucks).
So i went and googled skypath and ended up with this
"The Northern Pathway project will provide a seamless dedicated walking and cycling link between Auckland’s City Centre and the North Shore which will connect with existing local paths to extend the region’s walking and cycling network."
As far as i am concerned i dont care how much it costs it has to be done and should have been long ago!
To suggest that we should instead put the money into health and mental health shows a complete disconnect from reality
I've been following the Skypath discussion for years, and at no time, does it ever go into the realms of providing an equitable use of transport monies across the region, or seek to justify the spend in terms of social returns. It has always been a case of:
" As far as i am concerned i dont care how much it costs it has to be done and should have been long ago! "
Great justification…
This has been highlighted as shovel-ready projects to be invested in. There are other needs and projects that are awaiting funding, some in health and mental health.
"To suggest that we should instead put the money into health and mental health shows a complete disconnect from reality"
But if you are insistent on keeping the funding sector appropriate – we could instead invest the money into improving the pitiful service and access to public transport and alternative transport infrastructure in other areas of Auckland that exist without the vocal ranting brigade.
The continual rubber-band bounceback to BAU in terms of prioritising infrastructure, is going to continue the path of inequitable access that we were previously on.
10 years of moaning from the small minded objectors to SkyPath. It's painful how obvious the need is to expand the harbour crossing to active modes of transport. Public demand is driving the project, car addicts need to learn to share public space for a change.
The difference with the "Northern Pathway" is that the mode share over the harbour bridge is currently 0% ; you could do lots of other little projects all over Auckland with similar funding but there is still a fundamental disconnect with the North Shore. If it's fairness you're concerned about, the models indicate that the proposed pathway will get even more usage than the Northwestern cycleway. It's the cheapest possible alternative to a new harbour crossing.
After numerous news stories on the National Party donation fraud case not guilty pleas in Feb, & other than a Parliamentary privileged comment by JLR in March that was reported on, there has been no mention of the case due to be in court last week on the 10th June. It's surprising there has been no mention in media of it whatsoever, whether the case has started as intended or not?
Media's very economical when it comes to any untoward news around brand national.
Watching Tova tell Clarke even labour voters don't trust him (another survey) and constantly bleating out the gotcha questions shows where they're heading.
For many years it has been apparent that the NZ Police need a major shakeup. Ever try dealing with them? Lazy and incompetent at best. Lying and deceitful at worst. From the idiot Commissioner Bush who thought the corrupt cops in the Arthur Allen Thomas case had 'integrity beyond reproach' to the blatantly corrupt Doone, the rot clearly starts at the top and trickles down.
The lazy p****s who approved this licence should be in court charged with vicarious liability. But we all know they won't. there will be an internal Police inquiry, which will drag on for two years or so and then be quietly buried.
Just to show that you can get recreational shooting, conservation, national parks, and foodbanks in the one sentence …
…. Fiordland Wapiti Foundation, Game Animal Council, and Department of Conservation (DOC) are partnering to provide 18,000kg of free-range wild Fiordland venison to New Zealand foodbanks and families in need. Each year the Fiordland Wapiti Foundation, working with DOC, conducts a deer cull in Fiordland National Park removing up to 1000 animals.
“Weather permitting, by the end of next month, we will have removed 600 deer from Fiordland National Park for processing into 18,000 1kg wild venison mince packets. These are being distributed by a charitable supply chain distributor to foodbanks throughout the country. This will feed thousands of New Zealand families in need,” says Roy Sloan, Fiordland Wapiti Foundation President.
Last time I stopped in Haast, there was a little hamburger stand selling the most awesomest, juiciest, sweetest venison steak hamburgers I've ever had, and they came straight out of the Fiordland culling programme.
Todd made National policy lurch to the left in his Te Puna speech. I do wonder what the likes of Collins and Goldsmith make of this. Should the next poll still show National in the low 30's and Muller below 15, will there be another coup?
Covid 19 would have been an absolute disaster had it not been stopped in its tracks.
National are largely to blame with its sinking lid policies and leaky buildings by way of defunding and wrecking the building codes.
After 9 years we were left with the worst health system in the OECD. National wanted a privatized health system given Woodhouse now a former private hospital middle manager and Coleman another private health hawk.
By running down the health system to push people into buying private health insurance.
Private health insurance is always a bridgehead from which the public system can be attacked. If you don't eradicate it, you will spend a lifetime fighting its incursions. Neither option is pleasant.
It isnt the shake up that it is made out to be. I read the 274 page report. It is bascially just changing a few letterheads and re-writing a few contracts.
It doesnt recommend reducing or scrapping co-payments, for a start, which is one of the big barriers of access to services.
Idiot/Savant is attacking the Greens, saying that they are "footstools", for supporting Labour's draconian 2-year ditching of RMA requirements for major projects, shutting the public out of the process (except for seldom heard submissions to the select committee). David Parker should hang his head in shame-he had a bit of a train-wreck interview on Morning Report trying to justify this today.
In fact the Greens have only supported this to the first reading. It is quite normal to support legislation to the first reading where the details can then be seen as to what is proposed.
I doubt very much they will give it support any further. At least I hope not. It will probably pass with the help of the Nats and NZF, which says it all.
Meanwhile submissions in opposition should be lodged (by those who care about democracy) at the select committee stage.
Palestine Bleeds: Execution of Autistic Man is the Norm, not an Exception
by RAMZY BAROUD, Counterpunch, 12 June 2020
A 32-year-old man with the mental age of an 8-year-old child was executed by Israeli soldiers on May 30, while crouching behind his teacher near his special needs school in the Old City of Jerusalem.
The cold-blooded murder of Iyad al-Hallaq might not have received much attention if it were not for the fact that it took place five days following the similarly heartbreaking murder of a 46-year-old black man, George Floyd, in Minneapolis, at the hands of American police.
The two crimes converge, not only in their repugnancy and the moral decadence of their perpetrators, but also because countless American police officers have been trained in Israel, by the very Israeli ‘security forces’ that killed al-Hallaq. The practice of killing civilians, with efficiency and callousness, is now a burgeoning market. Israel is the biggest contributor to this market; the US is the world’s largest client.
When thousands of people rushed to the streets in Palestine, including hundreds of Palestinian and Israeli Jewish activists in Jerusalem, chanting “Justice for Iyad, justice for George”, their cry for justice was a spontaneous and heartfelt reaction to injustice so great, so blatant.
Al-Hallaq’s story might appear particularly unique, as the ‘suspected terrorist’ was killed while merely walking in King Faisal Street in Jerusalem, on his way to take out the trash. He was afraid of soldiers and terrified of blood.
“He was also afraid of the armed police officers who stood along the route to the special needs center he went to, where he participated in a vocational training program,” the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, reported.
Al-Hallaq’s many fears, which may have appeared exaggerated by his family, turned out to be true. Even an autistic person in Palestine is not safe from the vengeance of soldiers. ….
I wonder if they have considered maybe retraining some of the airline employees in the next couple of months. The cropping season is still a little way away so time to do some workforce planning maybe. Drive a Boeing – maybe they could drive these too
But it does look like we could do with some serious rural workforce planning. In the last few months we have had concerns about a workforce for vineyard machinery, calving and the flush of the dairy season, the harvesting machinery and general overall harvesting workforce. That way these could be end to end jobs and I know soem already do that in the horticultural field.
Also have any of these considered the jobs they are offering. I know that machinery needs to be worked dawn to dusk in season but running the workforce in 40 hour shifts may be more acceptable. Plus looking at providing some half time roles or encouraging more women/ older people into the rural workforce.
Training or retraining people costs more than importing some someone else has trained. If it takes two years to be ready, as they say, then train now and there will be no more problem in two years time. But this problem of 'cant find workers' has persisted for far longer than two years, hence it's safe to conclude that no permanent solution is desired. Just cost cutting.
Some how for this I seriously doubt that it takes two years of training if "some farmer friends can jump in and help". Being able to drive a tractor doubtless helps a lot but a HT licence, good spatial and motor skills and a few brains would go a very long way. A boeing pilot should be very retrainable.
And if it was so skilled then any contingent travelling from country to country would include a fair few NZer's who have been trained here plus a great deal higher wage.
Looks like they are over cooking the skills and training needed coupled with, as McFlock puts it lousy wages, to keep up the cost cutting. Perhaps they could solve their own problem by dealing with the upgraded government training courses and lend their machines for some practice runs
Inevitable I guess, but let's just hope the quarantine procedures are a lot better than was reported on TV1 news last week. Any system is only as good as its weakest link, and clearly the Hotel quarantine was the weak link.
Not sure how else to read that other than TVNZ understands they were given an exemption from isolation to go spread it around at a funeral here. Wait and see what Bloomfield says, I guess.
We had a funeral here yesterday an aussie family member was allowed in , hearsay is they were allowed down here from Auckland and got20 mins with family and to see the coffin closed. Not sure about ppe etc . Apparently the funeral had well in excess of 1000 attending.
Dr Ashley Bloomfield explained in the briefing this afto that people are not given exemptions to go to a funeral.
Dr Bloomfield said they had applied for an exemption on Friday 12 June to visit their dying parent and were allowed to travel to Wellington in a private vehicle to do so the following day, on 13 June. Their parent died that night.
"They were in a managed isolation hotel in Auckland and were permitted on compassionate grounds to leave managed isolation to travel to Wellington via private vehicle."
He said there one only one additional family member who may be at risk, and they were being tested and isolated. Other potential contacts included people on the same flight from Brisbane and people who were in or had been in the same managed isolation facility in Auckland, including staff.
"There was an agreed plan in place as a part of the approval process for the compassionate exemption and that included the travel arrangements."
He said the funeral for the parent would be delayed until family members had completed their next 14-day minimum isolation period.
From watching the briefing the parent died the evening the two arrived in Wellington. I had a similar experience with my mother. I got a call at work that my mum was dying, caught a plane from Auckland to Wellington that afternoon, and was with her for about half an hour before she died.
Hmm that puts a different spin on it. I'm not sure – having listened to Dr Bloomfield's briefing – that that is a fair representation. The RNZ report, I feel, is more accurate.
Dr Bloomfield said they had applied for an exemption on Friday 12 June to visit their dying parent and were allowed to travel to Wellington in a private vehicle to do so the following day, on 13 June. Their parent died that night.
Now it could be argued that the "that night" refers to 12 June, the day they applied for the exemption, to visit a dying parent. But the juxtaposition of the last sentence with the statement that they travelled to Wellington on the 13th strongly implies that the Parent died on the night of the 13th
The media are not above trying to stir up controversy for the sake of it. Especially Stuff.
Peter if you are referring to the Avatar team's arrival at the Quarantine hotel, it would be good to get your facts right. The mixing in the foyer was with an American family staying at the hotel.
The arriving Avatar team were bussed to the hotel. They were taken in small groups through a separate door each wearing face shields into a separate room for debriefing and instruction. They were then taken under escort one at a time in the lift to each individual's room where they stayed for 2 weeks, finishing yesterday. They did not even mix with their colleagues during the time in seclusion or allowed out for a walk anywhere.
Ianmac, how about YOU get YOUR facts right. Just Google it. Absolutely nothing to do with Avatar. It was Kiwis returning to NZ.
They mixed throughout their stay on crowded city streets on guided walks. Newly arrived returnees were mixing with those on their last day or days of quarantine.
Ianmac. All good! And thank you for addressing that, for which I respect you! I was surprised, as I always enjoy your posts which are well thought out. Cheers!
Since we reached zero the media have run various stories about the heartless government not making a quarantine exception (and another, and another exception, and so on). And of course the opposition demands for borders opening ASAP.
But don't worry, nothing bad could happen, job done, blah blah …
Peter Chch (15) … Disappointing to read this news of two new cases of Covid-19.
IMO our borders should be closed … full stop, no exceptions, no negotiation, until there is a means of controlling this paricular virus. These two new cases demonstrate the need for doing so.
Pull yourself together – there are legitimate grounds for compassion – in this case, the exemption conditions may very well have worked as designed – if not, I am sure it will be valuable grist for the mill in reviewing future procedures at our 'bo(a)rders'.
Yes happy to put my hand up on this one that I don't feel a lot of compassion. terrified with good reason about Covid getting a hold here and think everyone will/might have to make scarifices.
Given this situation and the situation with two teenagers given leave to go to a funeral and then absconding time to make it real simple. No exception to isolation.
A funeral is for a dead person. A stiff. Their metabolic processes are history. Shuffled off this mortal coil. 4 million volts isn't enough to create an interaction with them.
Giving people exemptions from isolation to go spread disease in order to go hang out with a corpse is NOT GOOD ENOUGH. To go say their last goodbyes while someone still lives – fair enough. But not once they've already passed.
Apologies Andre – I didn't intend to support your over reaction or wind you up. Nobody has a script for this, not even Jacinda and Ashley, who you appear to have put on a pedestal. This is an error at worst – a learning which will modify the border procedures and compassionate exemption policies.
I'm coming down slowly. Give me a couple days and I should be back on an even keel.
I think Ashley and Jacinda have done an absolutely outstanding job – but this was a really dumb unforced error. I hope the lesson and action taken is to assume everyone arriving is a raging hotbed of maximum infectiousness, until proven otherwise. The common good of 5 million people has to come ahead of compassion for situations that aren't absolutely time-critical. Someone in their last days is time-critical, after they've passed is not.
I have a nephew and sister-in-law in France that got COVID early on. They're still suffering severe aftereffects. I have a cousin in the US that's a doctor in respiratory intensive care, and her husband is a doctor in the emergency department. From what I've heard from them, mainstream reports about COVID seem somewhat sanitised and downplayed.
The elimination we had achieved is immensely valuable, risking it needs to only be done for something equally valuable.
Yes, the lockdown has cost NZ billions, and to throw it away so easily? Kiss of death for this government and Ashley NY honours list. And deservedly so.
Sad as PM did a great job with a hard task, but this is beyond stupidity.
9 days on the loose. How many are now infected? Nz was in the privileged position of having eliminated the virus and being able to control the entry or exclusion of the virus.
From way back in early March, we knew the borders were our vulnerable point, yet, from early March, time and time again we have learned, from th MSM, that what this government says about the borders and what is actually happening is vastly different.
Peter, take a breath. Watch the full press conference with Bloomfield, if you haven't already. Really detailed answers, with a whole range of safeguards in place.
It's not at all surprising that an individual case has happened. It's the policy that matters. Opening up our borders now would be stupid, and so we're not doing it.
I don't get it either. Apparently we have testing to burn so why were we not testing on arrival, 5 days later and then again at 10 days and 14 days. These people were in the managed quarantine between it appears the 5th and the 13th of June so surely they would have been symptomatic? Is quarantine being managed in pods or did they have contact with people between 5th-13th that have been released already? What about the family contact in wellington – who have they had contact with? What about border staff – and quarantine staff and airline staff. And it's taken 16 days to find this out when symptoms can be tested for in the 5-10 day range. And how do we "know" they followed all the rules when they didn't bother to report symptoms- big fail right there. As others say FFS – there are so many obvious gaps in the arrangements..
A similar conversation has gone down in this household.
Apparently there are 2 hour tests available.
A baby with a sniffle, that had barely left it's home environment, no visitors, got swabbed in ED last night because Covid…
And yet…
From what has been said so far, the one that has tested positive, either fibbed when asked the ubiquitous screening questions or answered a different question to that which was asked.
Yes Peter Chch and Andre. It's what you get when you don't have black and white, hard and fast, delineated rules which are meticulously enforced.
When factors to do with 'humanity' and exemptions and judgements and assessments come into it you get problems.
Trouble is numbers in the population screamed about hard and fast rules mitigating against humanitarian factors over months.
If we had hard and fast rules mentality, no weighing up of factors involved, everyone doing 51kph would be fined heavily pro forma, cars would be permanently taken off those doing 10kph over the limit and so on according lists of rules.
The no exemptions thing for those coming into the country would go on at least until a vaccine is developed however long that is.
Of course this shocking turn of events wouldn't have happened under Simon Bridges' watch. (Remember him?)
Andre is right, a funeral is for a dead person, a stiff shuffled off this mortal coil. This situation shows though that it's not the dead that are the worry or whatever their loved ones do but the hysteria about that from deadshits.
The funeral was not for a parrot, but for a fellow human being. I'm not convinced the risk is worth it either, but in your anger, don't lose all your humanity.
During Level 4, people within New Zealand were prohibited from going to say their last goodbyes to loved ones. I count myself very fortunate my dad survived his medical emergency during that time that I was prohibited from travelling to go see him when he was on the edge. FFS, my mother was prohibited from going to see him in the hospital, in a region that had zero cases at that time.
To put us all at risk of having to go back to that for the sake of an already dead body – just plain unacceptable
Yes, you are right, but have faith in our capacities to learn from a mistake. I would far prefer that the error stemmed from having too much compassion than the opposite – otherwise we are no different to the right wingers.
Fair enough but they can’t attend the funeral now anyway so there was no point in releasing them. All it’s done is needlessly expose us. No exemptions from now on, people living here couldn’t get them during lockdown.
Dr Ashley Bloomfield showed why he is a doctor, not a politician or reporter or "commentator". And a good human being.
He calmly explained the details of the case, and refused to throw the two women under the bus. They will be feeling like sh*t right now, and Bloomfield understands that. They did not break the rules, they followed them. If there was a loophole it was in the NZ system. He takes responsibility for that (as he should).
I hope that the focus is now on highlighting the complacency of those who want open borders, not on hounding two victims of the virus, already bereaved.
Well, I won't be casting a stone. I'm sure that hypothetically we all would have acted differently. In reality … when you've crossed the world to see a dying loved one? When the system tells you it's all under control? When you look around and you're the only ones wearing face masks and you're still following the rules?
Observer. You are clearly a better person than me, and that i respect.
Ashley Bloomfield is, as you say, is a doctor and a compassionate person.but right now, maybe we need someone who is also a little bit of a dictator. Level 4 was a dictate. Now I feel what's the point?
The elite say one thing, we are coerced to do another. To say I am disappointed in our PM and Ashley would be an understatement.
I think the key point is that the women were not tested, and they should have been, and that is NZ's fault, not theirs. It is not their job to say to health professionals "hang on, your system isn't good enough". Especially when they are in emotional distress. Now Bloomfield is suggesting that the procedures have been / will be changed. Good.
A good doctor does not blame patients. Nor should we.
I suspect they watered the landscape as so many of us have done in past times. The trick is to check the sight lines – thought I had once – then along came the train.
There seems to be far more media interest in women's bladders at Level 1 than in Simon Bridges' bladder at Level 4. I don't know why he got a free piss – er, pass.
I have seen what it's like in Tamiki Makaru a lot of people were looking down on Maor.
Interesting but I have a good idea who has treated all tangata whenua the best and has the best interest for our Mokopuna futures That's who Eco Maori tau toko.
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 ...
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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 ...
Since March, public support for the government's response to Covid19 has been 80%, 83%, 86%, 84% and today, 84% according to the latest survey (SpinOff site).
We can add to that the TV1 and TV3 polls at 91%.
Remember the chorus of "Should have been Level 1 weeks ago"? They spoke for just 12% (that's plenty for Winston, who only needs 5%, but it's a disaster for National).
Obviously it would be amazingly stupid for National MPs to keep complaining about Ardern and the Covid response. So that's what they're doing.
Winston is marching into National territory today.
"We won't pander to the woke brigade" said today by Winston Peters re BLM protests is music to the ears of conservative New Zealand.
Muller and Kaye are trying to distance themselves from that sentiment which is giving Winnie an opening.
I thought he was a gonner a month ago, but I am now thinking he will pick up some of National's conservative base and return in September. He's like a fucking cockroach
Yet Ron Mark is happy to go soft on Violent gun toting gangs by disarming police.
I am happy with that too.
I reckon there are more than two of us.
The drum beat of corporate media stories around opening the border has been a classic example of lobbyist with money who owned journalists like Fran O'Sullivan trying to manufacture consent.
Me watching: The build up to the rugby on Sunday…
Melanie Robinson: "We've seen outstanding leadership from the prime minister in recent months, I expect Beauden will bring outstanding leadership to the Blues"
Me thinking: "I hope Gerry isn't watching."
Was Rio Tinto really sorry about blowing up a 46,000 year old Aboriginal heritage site to get at a few bucks worth of iron ore? Yeah, nah.
https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2020/06/mining-company-not-sorry-for-destroying-46000-year-old-aboriginal-site-report/
The sooner these malicious orcs fuck off from Tiwai Point, the happier I'll be.
With aircraft sales dead in the water Aluminium sales will plummet.
Shameful! :
https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/the-detail/story/2018750729/trapped-migrant-workers-nz-s-new-underclass
And the above is the least of it. (because the problem is now so big it can only focus on a couple of examples – e,g, the RSE workers
I L-G: Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb dither dither dither. I have complete faith in my officials (even the ones that have bullshitted to me) Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb
INZ: Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb the commodity of people as a human resource all wrapped up in a risk-managed (unofficial) demographic spreadsheet.
Commentariat: Pearl clutch pearl clutch pearl clutch
This has been speculated to result from the 'joys' of coalition government, and the art of the possible. If so, there are less than one hundred days to hopefully fix that and have a consistently kinder government . . ..
Yep. It was those two noble savages Shane and Winston what dunnit.
Even though many/most of those affected by the policies have a closer affinity and understanding of lil 'ole NuZull that punches above its weight's first people.
S&W are us though eh? and those are them. And its not as though people were warning us all about what has now come to pass 4 years ago.
A possible solution, pay local marae (who often get utilised in emergency situations anyway) to provide board for those stranded, now that the Covid threat has been eliminated.
A double win. These migrants get provided with what they need, for the short term, and local marae get some income to help support them through these times.
A bloody good short term solution @ Molly – as you're more often than not prone to come up with.
In some places, relationships such as you suggest are already happening (without the payments), and long term friendships are in the making
Meanwhile back at the INZ ranch, officials are worrying about how such phenomenon could take hold – it could completely undermine their thinkings going forward (based on learnings from the past)
That would be good short term but air travel is slowly opening up again (Singapore airlines for one is reopening the Singapore hub ) so I do see a need to keep working with the various embassies and Airnz to put on some charter flights to assist some of the larger groups back to where they want to go, or to facilitate an onwards connection.
Charters or even scheduled flights can be one way flights only as we don't have the capacity to quarantine full return planes so would be a more expensive but not ridiculous prices. A lot of the extended one year visa's expire in Sept. Frankly I think I L-G needs to largely bypass his department and get MFAT, AirNZ and the embassies to advertise the charter flights (backed up by onwards travel agreements with maybe Singapore Air) so that we can give some certainty to travellers and move them towards Auckland airport.
I must say OWT your overall description of the situation came through more succinctly than the link you provided.
Well if you don't like that link @ Anne, I have plenty of others. And as you will know, many of those officials don't have a vindictive bone in their bodies. (/sarc)
I happen to think both JA and H1 will probably go down in history as being two of NZ's best PMs. (Or should that be one of NZs best PMs?)
However IF JA really wants to be kind and transformative, she needs to get herself a decent H2 style shit kicker, otherwise the recent history of the Labour Party will be just one damn thing after another, and a waste of another bloody harsh virus (neo-liberalism being one of the others)
Move those workers to where they are needed ie tourist workers to vineyards and orchards give them a campervan most are sitting idle.
I start to question my sanity when I find myself agreeing with the Taxpayer's Union – (albeit knowing that they are just Government bashing as they do).
Shovel-ready projects get the green light to go ahead under new infrastructure law
The Skypath proposal is one that could stay shovel-ready and not get done, until other investment in our infrastructure is complete – health and mental health investment for instance. They’ve been ready and waiting for investment for years.
While I disagree on the shape of the reforms to the RMA that they endorse, I do agree that shovel-ready projects, follows the BAU approach to infrastructure investment. And we should be requiring a new perspective before putting such money into "nice to haves" instead of "need to haves" or resilience projects.
The fact that they are "shovel ready" doesn't guarantee good investment outcomes that are shared as equitably as possible. It also doesn't prioritise spending wisely – just spending.
What's an investment outcome supposed to look like for a cycling project?
Very few pt or cycling projects would survive a solid Treasury Value For Money review.
" Very few pt or cycling projects would survive a solid Treasury Value For Money review. "
For a start, including SROI (Social Return on Investment) or an environmental return on investment, should see this change. And if cycling projects still don't meet the value for money review – then they shouldn't happen at present. We have a lot of NZers looking for basic needs and support, look after them first. The Skypath is not a basic need.
Molly – the middle class have decided that cycling is their thing, suits their individualism and is healthy and clean-living,fit, modern people do it.; the very example of 'going forward'. And they tend to ride their bikes fast, and generally behave as they would in a car. But biking being an agreed benefit to all, ticking the above boxes of health etc., it has become a sacred icon for the said m/c.
It also allows them to trespass on public spaces for room to carry out its aggressive side, mountain biking, BMX racing and dirt jumping. There they throw themselves round knowing that they will be fixed by free hospital treatment and helped by ACC. Areas agreed for mountain bike tracks have cleared areas that are treed and were part of the environment enjoyable for walkers in Nelson. But that isn't enough for these bikers – they have cut and cleared illegally to make new tracks to suit themselves. Looked at dispassionately, they are just land clearers repeating the colonial measures of the past but with a greenwash, that of being a healthy sport in the outdoors.
The bike sport fraternity are often destructive and really just a different version of the petrolheads, demolition derby fans, mud plugs and racing car enthusiasts; though most of those are contained to agreed tracks. The advent of 4Wdrives, with tv ads showing them driving in the outdoors like real men, up rivers destroying and polluting them, if they want to go there, have further encouraged this idea of misuse of the countryside for the machine-mad male with no appreciation of nature or being a natural human either.
The problem with the SROI is that typically the cycling calculations assume a slow climb in usage compared to what actually happens. Quite unlike the NZTA or treasury approach to roads with always assumes a exponential car usage growth – that usually doesn’t happen.
If either used realistic analysis based on their continuous past failures, then most of the roads that have done recently it wouldn’t be funded. If they used the actual results from their previous screwups of estimating ROIs from PT or cycle lanes than almost all would be.
The growth in traffic on most installed cycle lanes and effective PT invariably climbs more rapidly than NZTA expectations. Just the same as what happens when the public transport is upgraded – which is why the northern busway now has continuous double decker buses at peak hours – and we don’t need a new uber expensive bridge or tunnel. Similarly the double tracking and electrification of the Auckland has exceeded expectations in almost every year since they were done. The only thing that seems to slow them down is the work being done on the next upgrade.
But it is a chicken and egg as can be easily seen when the cycle lanes are put in. You have to have cycle lanes before you get much cycle traffic on them. You find out the need after you put them in. But typically they are incredibly cheap.
In Auckland, all cyclists and scooter riders are scared shitless of the ignorant dangerous drivers and their parked cars. We’ve all had near death experiences from drivers inadvertently trying to kill us. Put in a cycle way and watch the cyclist traffic increase massively over several years. Try walking on the north western cycle way or even the grafton gully cycleway at 5pm and you’ll see what I mean. I’m looking forward to being able to actually ride down K Rd without the fear of imminent death or injury. Be nice if they did the same thing on Ponsonby Road.
Where there aren’t cycleways, many cyclists and virtually all scooter riders prefer to ride on pedestrian paths – thereby endangering pedestrians. Somehow this social saving isn’t anywhere in the SROI – along with most of the other real social benefits.
Nor a re most of the economic benefits because they are unknowable before the project is put into place. In the case of the SkyPath, it simply means that a whole area who currently have no ability to commute to the north shore by bike (in my case) or from the north shore can now start to do so. Trying to even figure out the effects of that are damn near impossible to figure out in advance. It is simply guesswork. About the only thing that is obvious is that it’d be way cheaper than any possible roading project in Auckland.
In short – your position is just spurious bullshit based on a selective unthinking analysis of how the SROI is currently calculated.
My family are cyclists, not so much commuter cyclists now because of commuting distances, so I agree we have some way to go regarding cyclist safety.
However, I disagree with the method currently used for identifying, prioritising and implementing projects.
This is my objection to this project, and the SROI needs to be applied to others areas of Auckland as well in order to help prioritise. This doesn't happen.
Cycle lanes are the classic example of "if you build it they will come" with the sum being greater than it's parts. Fully connected, separated cycleways that go to useful places see huge growth.
The problem is people see them as a cheap panacea for noisy MAMILs & a recreational frippery rather than an important piece of commuter infrastructure. Yet using an e-bike on a proper cycle way to commute in your work clothes is as different from weaving in and out of traffic, footpaths and bits of cycle way on a racing bike whilst clad in your full lycra panoply as taking a guided the great walk in summer is from hacking your way up to the tops on an unmaintained track in the Kawekas in winter.
Yes, and Parker was certainly emphatic when being interviewed on Natrad both last night and this morning. Seems happy to sudeline climate change issues, and I'm wondering if he is aware that in the Far North there are already rumblings from domestic water users (aka 'the people') that horticulture and agriculture (aka corporate interests)have more right to water.
And along with the water requirements is the very real potential for adverse effects of nutrient runoff and heavy agrochemical use.
As you say Molly, would have been nice to see spending on our tired and dysfunctional health infrastructure prioritised.
Your concern Molly is much appreciated by this resident who lives on a popular by-route which eventually leads to the harbour bridge and is sick and tired of lycra clad enthusiasts who assume they own the road and its up to the rest of us to get out of their way.
Any proposal that is going to increase their numbers in my neck of the woods will not be appreciated by locals trying to go about their daily business without cycling fashionistas strung across the road impeding progress for the rest of us.
That concern should be increased by the knowledge the current budget is $360 million to provide it.
That kind of investment warrants better scrutiny at this time, especially as it has been a continually growing budget. The reason it is shovel ready is because there has been a staunch group of supporters continually banging on about it for years. Not because it is an equitable and valuable use of government budget.
(I also note the inclusion of numbers in terms of the pitiful amount of jobs intended to be created, but nothing in terms of the actual spend being reported.)
You got my attention with lycra clad.
I think I am old now, as some 'trends' get me all curmudgeonly.
Active wear does it. Especially on waiting staff. I have no desire for a camel-toe with my lasagne nor a broccoli stalk with my coffee.
I call them 'lycra louts'. That generally gets them going.
Not all cyclists belong to this genus. These ones, apart from the skin tight and unfaltering plumage are most often found in inner city Wellington on a Saturday morning crawling 2/3/4 abreast up Raroa Road presumably on a run out to Makara/Ohariu Valley/J'ville. They wiggle slowly up this steep street failing to pull over. On my way to work some times I have counted 14 cars behind me, some at stalling speed.
They are able to multi task, ie give the finger to anyone who wishes to go past them.
They mob cafes to the exclusion of others. Their cry is distinctive too with the sounds of entitlement being the top notes.
Got no problems with unproblematic riders who respect other road users just as I do.
God forbid that you have to share the road.
I do. That is how I know that cyclists riding 4 abreast is not on and is being a menace to other road users.
The general way to deal with them is to put in some cheap cycle paths that separate cars from cycles. Or an even simpler method would be just get rid of parked cars on roads.
I know when I am commuting (usually in work jeans) I use the cycle lanes where they are available.
But if I have to cycle on the road, I leave at least a metre from the parked cars. That is because of the idiots who seem to try to open doors on me every day. That provides enough room to avoid the doors that get flung open in front of me by drivers who neither look in their wing mirror nor partially open the door and look back.
These self-entitled idiots are the primary reason why cyclists ride so far out into the lane.
That means that I take up a third of the usual car lane and means that cars going around me and passing at metre put at least half their body into the incoming lane (2/3rds for the SUV trucks).
So i went and googled skypath and ended up with this
"The Northern Pathway project will provide a seamless dedicated walking and cycling link between Auckland’s City Centre and the North Shore which will connect with existing local paths to extend the region’s walking and cycling network."
As far as i am concerned i dont care how much it costs it has to be done and should have been long ago!
To suggest that we should instead put the money into health and mental health shows a complete disconnect from reality
Oh, you googled Skypath and came up with …. what?
I've been following the Skypath discussion for years, and at no time, does it ever go into the realms of providing an equitable use of transport monies across the region, or seek to justify the spend in terms of social returns. It has always been a case of:
" As far as i am concerned i dont care how much it costs it has to be done and should have been long ago! "
Great justification…
This has been highlighted as shovel-ready projects to be invested in. There are other needs and projects that are awaiting funding, some in health and mental health.
"To suggest that we should instead put the money into health and mental health shows a complete disconnect from reality"
But if you are insistent on keeping the funding sector appropriate – we could instead invest the money into improving the pitiful service and access to public transport and alternative transport infrastructure in other areas of Auckland that exist without the vocal ranting brigade.
The continual rubber-band bounceback to BAU in terms of prioritising infrastructure, is going to continue the path of inequitable access that we were previously on.
I think this should change.
10 years of moaning from the small minded objectors to SkyPath. It's painful how obvious the need is to expand the harbour crossing to active modes of transport. Public demand is driving the project, car addicts need to learn to share public space for a change.
Vocal demand is driving the project.
Equitable access for prioritisation, funding and implementation is not.
That is my primary objection, and remains so.
The difference with the "Northern Pathway" is that the mode share over the harbour bridge is currently 0% ; you could do lots of other little projects all over Auckland with similar funding but there is still a fundamental disconnect with the North Shore. If it's fairness you're concerned about, the models indicate that the proposed pathway will get even more usage than the Northwestern cycleway. It's the cheapest possible alternative to a new harbour crossing.
After numerous news stories on the National Party donation fraud case not guilty pleas in Feb, & other than a Parliamentary privileged comment by JLR in March that was reported on, there has been no mention of the case due to be in court last week on the 10th June. It's surprising there has been no mention in media of it whatsoever, whether the case has started as intended or not?
Media's very economical when it comes to any untoward news around brand national.
Watching Tova tell Clarke even labour voters don't trust him (another survey) and constantly bleating out the gotcha questions shows where they're heading.
TV 3 is a goner $28 million loss no Stephen Joyce to bail them out.
'Mosque gunman wrongly granted firearms licence'.
For many years it has been apparent that the NZ Police need a major shakeup. Ever try dealing with them? Lazy and incompetent at best. Lying and deceitful at worst. From the idiot Commissioner Bush who thought the corrupt cops in the Arthur Allen Thomas case had 'integrity beyond reproach' to the blatantly corrupt Doone, the rot clearly starts at the top and trickles down.
The lazy p****s who approved this licence should be in court charged with vicarious liability. But we all know they won't. there will be an internal Police inquiry, which will drag on for two years or so and then be quietly buried.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/christchurch-shooting/120285768/mosque-terrorist-was-wrongly-granted-firearms-licence-due-to-police-mistakes-sources-say
I heard on the tranny that the Police Commissioner wants gun licensing to be sub-contracted out.
Possibly making accountability less likely.
[Fixed typo in user handle]
Just to show that you can get recreational shooting, conservation, national parks, and foodbanks in the one sentence …
…. Fiordland Wapiti Foundation, Game Animal Council, and Department of Conservation (DOC) are partnering to provide 18,000kg of free-range wild Fiordland venison to New Zealand foodbanks and families in need. Each year the Fiordland Wapiti Foundation, working with DOC, conducts a deer cull in Fiordland National Park removing up to 1000 animals.
“Weather permitting, by the end of next month, we will have removed 600 deer from Fiordland National Park for processing into 18,000 1kg wild venison mince packets. These are being distributed by a charitable supply chain distributor to foodbanks throughout the country. This will feed thousands of New Zealand families in need,” says Roy Sloan, Fiordland Wapiti Foundation President.
Last time I stopped in Haast, there was a little hamburger stand selling the most awesomest, juiciest, sweetest venison steak hamburgers I've ever had, and they came straight out of the Fiordland culling programme.
Take them all out team.
barbaric.
Better that than 1080ing them out of existence, at least the protein gets recycled.
So what would your alternative solution be?
Good stuff. Wild venison is massive blind spot in nz at present.
The choppers are shooting and leaving them down the rd from home at this very moment to protect the young manuka
Had a guy telling me just recently they shot 40 plus deer to protect their feed crops in the autumn
Almost plaque proportions at work and at home around here
The decimate native regeneration, and must surely be a risk of spreading TB again .
If only idiots in positions of influence with public platforms for their inane mutterings WERE a minority…
'I am a minority': David Seymour criticises Andrew Little's response to Black Lives Matter protesters
Just not quite a small enough minority.
Didn't that moron Jacqui Dean say she was an "ethnic minority" … (because she is a woman).
As for David, he seems to be going after the white supremacist and sympathizers vote.
Todd made National policy lurch to the left in his Te Puna speech. I do wonder what the likes of Collins and Goldsmith make of this. Should the next poll still show National in the low 30's and Muller below 15, will there be another coup?
Health system in for massive shake up.
Long overdue.
Covid 19 would have been an absolute disaster had it not been stopped in its tracks.
National are largely to blame with its sinking lid policies and leaky buildings by way of defunding and wrecking the building codes.
After 9 years we were left with the worst health system in the OECD. National wanted a privatized health system given Woodhouse now a former private hospital middle manager and Coleman another private health hawk.
By running down the health system to push people into buying private health insurance.
Private health insurance is always a bridgehead from which the public system can be attacked. If you don't eradicate it, you will spend a lifetime fighting its incursions. Neither option is pleasant.
It isnt the shake up that it is made out to be. I read the 274 page report. It is bascially just changing a few letterheads and re-writing a few contracts.
It doesnt recommend reducing or scrapping co-payments, for a start, which is one of the big barriers of access to services.
Idiot/Savant is attacking the Greens, saying that they are "footstools", for supporting Labour's draconian 2-year ditching of RMA requirements for major projects, shutting the public out of the process (except for seldom heard submissions to the select committee). David Parker should hang his head in shame-he had a bit of a train-wreck interview on Morning Report trying to justify this today.
http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2020/06/steamrolling-democracy.html
In fact the Greens have only supported this to the first reading. It is quite normal to support legislation to the first reading where the details can then be seen as to what is proposed.
I doubt very much they will give it support any further. At least I hope not. It will probably pass with the help of the Nats and NZF, which says it all.
Meanwhile submissions in opposition should be lodged (by those who care about democracy) at the select committee stage.
One of the fast track projects appears to be housing in Queenstown – not sure why?
Low hanging fruit.
Palestine Bleeds: Execution of Autistic Man is the Norm, not an Exception
by RAMZY BAROUD, Counterpunch, 12 June 2020
A 32-year-old man with the mental age of an 8-year-old child was executed by Israeli soldiers on May 30, while crouching behind his teacher near his special needs school in the Old City of Jerusalem.
The cold-blooded murder of Iyad al-Hallaq might not have received much attention if it were not for the fact that it took place five days following the similarly heartbreaking murder of a 46-year-old black man, George Floyd, in Minneapolis, at the hands of American police.
The two crimes converge, not only in their repugnancy and the moral decadence of their perpetrators, but also because countless American police officers have been trained in Israel, by the very Israeli ‘security forces’ that killed al-Hallaq. The practice of killing civilians, with efficiency and callousness, is now a burgeoning market. Israel is the biggest contributor to this market; the US is the world’s largest client.
When thousands of people rushed to the streets in Palestine, including hundreds of Palestinian and Israeli Jewish activists in Jerusalem, chanting “Justice for Iyad, justice for George”, their cry for justice was a spontaneous and heartfelt reaction to injustice so great, so blatant.
Al-Hallaq’s story might appear particularly unique, as the ‘suspected terrorist’ was killed while merely walking in King Faisal Street in Jerusalem, on his way to take out the trash. He was afraid of soldiers and terrified of blood.
“He was also afraid of the armed police officers who stood along the route to the special needs center he went to, where he participated in a vocational training program,” the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, reported.
Al-Hallaq’s many fears, which may have appeared exaggerated by his family, turned out to be true. Even an autistic person in Palestine is not safe from the vengeance of soldiers. ….
Read more….
https://www.counterpunch.org/2020/06/12/palestine-bleeds-execution-of-autistic-man-is-not-an-exception-but-the-norm/
I wonder if they have considered maybe retraining some of the airline employees in the next couple of months. The cropping season is still a little way away so time to do some workforce planning maybe. Drive a Boeing – maybe they could drive these too
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/121833517/contractors-fear-lack-of-local-workers-to-fill-hundreds-of-harvest-roles
But it does look like we could do with some serious rural workforce planning. In the last few months we have had concerns about a workforce for vineyard machinery, calving and the flush of the dairy season, the harvesting machinery and general overall harvesting workforce. That way these could be end to end jobs and I know soem already do that in the horticultural field.
Also have any of these considered the jobs they are offering. I know that machinery needs to be worked dawn to dusk in season but running the workforce in 40 hour shifts may be more acceptable. Plus looking at providing some half time roles or encouraging more women/ older people into the rural workforce.
Paying a decent wage might help, too.
Training or retraining people costs more than importing some someone else has trained. If it takes two years to be ready, as they say, then train now and there will be no more problem in two years time. But this problem of 'cant find workers' has persisted for far longer than two years, hence it's safe to conclude that no permanent solution is desired. Just cost cutting.
Some how for this I seriously doubt that it takes two years of training if "some farmer friends can jump in and help". Being able to drive a tractor doubtless helps a lot but a HT licence, good spatial and motor skills and a few brains would go a very long way. A boeing pilot should be very retrainable.
And if it was so skilled then any contingent travelling from country to country would include a fair few NZer's who have been trained here plus a great deal higher wage.
Looks like they are over cooking the skills and training needed coupled with, as McFlock puts it lousy wages, to keep up the cost cutting. Perhaps they could solve their own problem by dealing with the upgraded government training courses and lend their machines for some practice runs
Two new covid 19 cases in NZ.
Inevitable I guess, but let's just hope the quarantine procedures are a lot better than was reported on TV1 news last week. Any system is only as good as its weakest link, and clearly the Hotel quarantine was the weak link.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12340250
I'm going to be particularly interested in what Bloomfield has to say at 3:00 today about this little wrinkle:
If they were let out before their two weeks to spread it in public here, Imma gonna be pissed.
[headdesk]
what the fuck is the point of isolation if there are exemptions.
ah, misread – thought they'd been given an exemption from isolation – that is so far not addressed.
What TVNZ says is:
Not sure how else to read that other than TVNZ understands they were given an exemption from isolation to go spread it around at a funeral here. Wait and see what Bloomfield says, I guess.
We had a funeral here yesterday an aussie family member was allowed in , hearsay is they were allowed down here from Auckland and got20 mins with family and to see the coffin closed. Not sure about ppe etc . Apparently the funeral had well in excess of 1000 attending.
I guess the next funeral cluster will sort out the "exemptions".
Dr Ashley Bloomfield explained in the briefing this afto that people are not given exemptions to go to a funeral.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/419134/two-new-covid-19-cases-in-nz-visited-dying-parent-bloomfield
Ah, ok – fair call then. Not ideal, but human.
The wording is a little ambiguous as to when they traveled and when their parent died.
If they left to drive to Wellington before their parent died, then I withdraw and apologise for my comments today.
If their parent died before they started their drive, I stand by my comments because the exemption should have been withdrawn.
From watching the briefing the parent died the evening the two arrived in Wellington. I had a similar experience with my mother. I got a call at work that my mum was dying, caught a plane from Auckland to Wellington that afternoon, and was with her for about half an hour before she died.
Stuff is reporting a different timeline:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/121851190/coronavirus-our-expectations-have-not-been-met-says-pm
Hmm that puts a different spin on it. I'm not sure – having listened to Dr Bloomfield's briefing – that that is a fair representation. The RNZ report, I feel, is more accurate.
Now it could be argued that the "that night" refers to 12 June, the day they applied for the exemption, to visit a dying parent. But the juxtaposition of the last sentence with the statement that they travelled to Wellington on the 13th strongly implies that the Parent died on the night of the 13th
The media are not above trying to stir up controversy for the sake of it. Especially Stuff.
I really really hope that the rumour is not true.
Peter if you are referring to the Avatar team's arrival at the Quarantine hotel, it would be good to get your facts right. The mixing in the foyer was with an American family staying at the hotel.
The arriving Avatar team were bussed to the hotel. They were taken in small groups through a separate door each wearing face shields into a separate room for debriefing and instruction. They were then taken under escort one at a time in the lift to each individual's room where they stayed for 2 weeks, finishing yesterday. They did not even mix with their colleagues during the time in seclusion or allowed out for a walk anywhere.
Read the linked article. It's not paywalled. Stuff says the same things. Doesn't look like anything to do with Avatar.
The TV1 news report Peter refers to showed how loose the quarantine was.
That was the initial story.
Apparently, though, they fucked it up and there was indeed a <2M contact.
Ianmac, how about YOU get YOUR facts right. Just Google it. Absolutely nothing to do with Avatar. It was Kiwis returning to NZ.
They mixed throughout their stay on crowded city streets on guided walks. Newly arrived returnees were mixing with those on their last day or days of quarantine.
OK Peter. I assumed wrongly though the Avatar story was published wrongly. Sorry.
Seems as though they were taking all the precautions in today's pair. Hope so.
Ianmac. All good! And thank you for addressing that, for which I respect you! I was surprised, as I always enjoy your posts which are well thought out. Cheers!
Since we reached zero the media have run various stories about the heartless government not making a quarantine exception (and another, and another exception, and so on). And of course the opposition demands for borders opening ASAP.
But don't worry, nothing bad could happen, job done, blah blah …
Idiots.
+100 – hopefully that bleating will stop now.
And given the clusterfuck the UK and USA is, lets just throw into the sea anyone who arrive from there.
Watch all the various 'giants' of the NZ media swing from previously saying the restrictions were too harsh, to now saying they are too loose.
Peter Chch (15) … Disappointing to read this news of two new cases of Covid-19.
IMO our borders should be closed … full stop, no exceptions, no negotiation, until there is a means of controlling this paricular virus. These two new cases demonstrate the need for doing so.
Agree mary about the boarders.
during lockdown so furious with selfish people who bleated on about attending funerals or visiting sick and dying loved ones. And now this
"bleated on…" – not very compassionate Anker.
Pull yourself together – there are legitimate grounds for compassion – in this case, the exemption conditions may very well have worked as designed – if not, I am sure it will be valuable grist for the mill in reviewing future procedures at our 'bo(a)rders'.
Yes happy to put my hand up on this one that I don't feel a lot of compassion. terrified with good reason about Covid getting a hold here and think everyone will/might have to make scarifices.
Given this situation and the situation with two teenagers given leave to go to a funeral and then absconding time to make it real simple. No exception to isolation.
One of the new C19 patients said that in retrospect, they displayed symptoms. But they're allowed to self isolate.
FFS.
What the ACTUAL FUCK, Jacinda and Ashley??!!???
A funeral is for a dead person. A stiff. Their metabolic processes are history. Shuffled off this mortal coil. 4 million volts isn't enough to create an interaction with them.
Giving people exemptions from isolation to go spread disease in order to go hang out with a corpse is NOT GOOD ENOUGH. To go say their last goodbyes while someone still lives – fair enough. But not once they've already passed.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300036071/covid19-directorgeneral-of-health-gives-detail-on-two-new-cases
Not very impressed, I must say.
I'm fkn furious. Just as well I'm not voting today or tomorrow.
What you would vote for National? They would have gotten these difficult calls right wouldn't they!
You're not helping.
Apologies Andre – I didn't intend to support your over reaction or wind you up. Nobody has a script for this, not even Jacinda and Ashley, who you appear to have put on a pedestal. This is an error at worst – a learning which will modify the border procedures and compassionate exemption policies.
I'm coming down slowly. Give me a couple days and I should be back on an even keel.
I think Ashley and Jacinda have done an absolutely outstanding job – but this was a really dumb unforced error. I hope the lesson and action taken is to assume everyone arriving is a raging hotbed of maximum infectiousness, until proven otherwise. The common good of 5 million people has to come ahead of compassion for situations that aren't absolutely time-critical. Someone in their last days is time-critical, after they've passed is not.
I have a nephew and sister-in-law in France that got COVID early on. They're still suffering severe aftereffects. I have a cousin in the US that's a doctor in respiratory intensive care, and her husband is a doctor in the emergency department. From what I've heard from them, mainstream reports about COVID seem somewhat sanitised and downplayed.
The elimination we had achieved is immensely valuable, risking it needs to only be done for something equally valuable.
Yes, the lockdown has cost NZ billions, and to throw it away so easily? Kiss of death for this government and Ashley NY honours list. And deservedly so.
Sad as PM did a great job with a hard task, but this is beyond stupidity.
9 days on the loose. How many are now infected? Nz was in the privileged position of having eliminated the virus and being able to control the entry or exclusion of the virus.
From way back in early March, we knew the borders were our vulnerable point, yet, from early March, time and time again we have learned, from th MSM, that what this government says about the borders and what is actually happening is vastly different.
Move over Jacinda, your time is up.
Peter, take a breath. Watch the full press conference with Bloomfield, if you haven't already. Really detailed answers, with a whole range of safeguards in place.
It's not at all surprising that an individual case has happened. It's the policy that matters. Opening up our borders now would be stupid, and so we're not doing it.
Observer. Will do. I not in a position to do that at moment, but, in face value, I am angry. But will watch an hope safeguards are all good!
But yes, expected more cases, just hope process is good.
I don't get it either. Apparently we have testing to burn so why were we not testing on arrival, 5 days later and then again at 10 days and 14 days. These people were in the managed quarantine between it appears the 5th and the 13th of June so surely they would have been symptomatic? Is quarantine being managed in pods or did they have contact with people between 5th-13th that have been released already? What about the family contact in wellington – who have they had contact with? What about border staff – and quarantine staff and airline staff. And it's taken 16 days to find this out when symptoms can be tested for in the 5-10 day range. And how do we "know" they followed all the rules when they didn't bother to report symptoms- big fail right there. As others say FFS – there are so many obvious gaps in the arrangements..
A similar conversation has gone down in this household.
Apparently there are 2 hour tests available.
A baby with a sniffle, that had barely left it's home environment, no visitors, got swabbed in ED last night because Covid…
And yet…
From what has been said so far, the one that has tested positive, either fibbed when asked the ubiquitous screening questions or answered a different question to that which was asked.
Yes Peter Chch and Andre. It's what you get when you don't have black and white, hard and fast, delineated rules which are meticulously enforced.
When factors to do with 'humanity' and exemptions and judgements and assessments come into it you get problems.
Trouble is numbers in the population screamed about hard and fast rules mitigating against humanitarian factors over months.
If we had hard and fast rules mentality, no weighing up of factors involved, everyone doing 51kph would be fined heavily pro forma, cars would be permanently taken off those doing 10kph over the limit and so on according lists of rules.
The no exemptions thing for those coming into the country would go on at least until a vaccine is developed however long that is.
Of course this shocking turn of events wouldn't have happened under Simon Bridges' watch. (Remember him?)
Andre is right, a funeral is for a dead person, a stiff shuffled off this mortal coil. This situation shows though that it's not the dead that are the worry or whatever their loved ones do but the hysteria about that from deadshits.
The funeral was not for a parrot, but for a fellow human being. I'm not convinced the risk is worth it either, but in your anger, don't lose all your humanity.
During Level 4, people within New Zealand were prohibited from going to say their last goodbyes to loved ones. I count myself very fortunate my dad survived his medical emergency during that time that I was prohibited from travelling to go see him when he was on the edge. FFS, my mother was prohibited from going to see him in the hospital, in a region that had zero cases at that time.
To put us all at risk of having to go back to that for the sake of an already dead body – just plain unacceptable
Yes, you are right, but have faith in our capacities to learn from a mistake. I would far prefer that the error stemmed from having too much compassion than the opposite – otherwise we are no different to the right wingers.
Being absolutely filthy because someone's feelz about a piece of dead meat likely put multiple lives at risk isn't losing losing your humanity.
Cheers Joe – referring to a human corpse as dead meat is indeed akin to losing your humanity.
Odious comment from Joe there.
Hilarity from someone with a boner for murderous, totalitarian thugs.
Fair enough but they can’t attend the funeral now anyway so there was no point in releasing them. All it’s done is needlessly expose us. No exemptions from now on, people living here couldn’t get them during lockdown.
Dr Ashley Bloomfield showed why he is a doctor, not a politician or reporter or "commentator". And a good human being.
He calmly explained the details of the case, and refused to throw the two women under the bus. They will be feeling like sh*t right now, and Bloomfield understands that. They did not break the rules, they followed them. If there was a loophole it was in the NZ system. He takes responsibility for that (as he should).
I hope that the focus is now on highlighting the complacency of those who want open borders, not on hounding two victims of the virus, already bereaved.
One patient admitted to in retrospect feeling symptoms, yet decided to wing it.
They're to blame.
Well, I won't be casting a stone. I'm sure that hypothetically we all would have acted differently. In reality … when you've crossed the world to see a dying loved one? When the system tells you it's all under control? When you look around and you're the only ones wearing face masks and you're still following the rules?
Let's hope none of us ever find out what we do.
They knew they were symptomatic. Bury them.
Bury them?
In quarantine.
Observer. You are clearly a better person than me, and that i respect.
Ashley Bloomfield is, as you say, is a doctor and a compassionate person.but right now, maybe we need someone who is also a little bit of a dictator. Level 4 was a dictate. Now I feel what's the point?
The elite say one thing, we are coerced to do another. To say I am disappointed in our PM and Ashley would be an understatement.
I think the key point is that the women were not tested, and they should have been, and that is NZ's fault, not theirs. It is not their job to say to health professionals "hang on, your system isn't good enough". Especially when they are in emotional distress. Now Bloomfield is suggesting that the procedures have been / will be changed. Good.
A good doctor does not blame patients. Nor should we.
Here is the Ministry of Health media release about the two new cases reported today.
https://www.health.govt.nz/news-media/media-releases/two-new-cases-covid-19-0
Strange visitors from another country, who came to Aoteoroa with powers and abilities far beyond those of mere mortals!
Akl – Well on a single tank! Cast iron bladders!
They are women.. of course they have cast iron bladders.
I suspect they watered the landscape as so many of us have done in past times. The trick is to check the sight lines – thought I had once – then along came the train.
There seems to be far more media interest in women's bladders at Level 1 than in Simon Bridges' bladder at Level 4. I don't know why he got a free piss – er, pass.
I honestly thought this was an "Onion"-type satire.
National MP defends Confederate Flag
What is wrong with these people?
Kia Ora
Newshub.
The apprentice program is good Aotearoa needs to keep training our youth to have a bright future.
That's the way using the Internet for new mahi.
It is quite warm for this time of the year and location
Ka kite Ano.
Kia Ora
Te Ao Maori Marama.
You see what I have previously said about the system$ .
The positive thing about the tiki tour Wahine with the virus is there will better management off the virus quarantine facility's.
The hinaki sound like a good place for the person who let that happen.
Aroha is the correct way for the future.
PEE destroys tangata Mana.
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora
The Am Show.
Its good to see more plastic being made biodegradable
Volunteers do good work in Aotearoa.
Wow 4 baby's at once looks like she has it sorted.
The in Australian dinosaur shows that humanity is a mire minute in time and we are making a huge mess of our environment.
Ka kite Ano.
Kia Ora
Newshub.
With some of the problems being flushed out for virus isolation I think that they will get it correct.
That's is cool video games helping Rangatahi with ADHD
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora
Te Ao Maori Marama.
I have seen what it's like in Tamiki Makaru a lot of people were looking down on Maor.
Interesting but I have a good idea who has treated all tangata whenua the best and has the best interest for our Mokopuna futures That's who Eco Maori tau toko.
Ka kite Ano