Guyon Espiner really is flogging a dead horse. Basically, Lester grey has givenn him all the financial records of NZ First and he is using them to sling mud and innuendo in the hope something – anything – sticks. This mornings episode described a perfectly ordinary select committee process where Labour, National and NZ First MPs on the committee all agree a routine submission was received from a donor to NZ First that was dealt with entirely normally and resulted in an outcome that was totally transparent across the select committee process.
But Espiner is insisting in on implying something dodgy has gone on. It is a quite disgraceful exhibition of a political vendetta from a journalist with an axe to grind.
When there is no story, they’ll manufacture one; it is their job, after all. They are doing the public a disservice but all that matters is the revenue.
Espiner is a sort of special roving reporter. He has clearly invested a lot of time into this NZ First stuff. I would imagine that he sold the "scoop" to his paymasters at RNZ on the basis it was a scandal that would put RNZ in the middle of the biggest political story of the year, with drip feed of stories designed to keep RNZ – and him – front and centre of the election year narrative.
So far, the best thing that has happened has been the idiocy of NZ First's reaction and the shrieking thin skinned petulance of the establishment media response.
The actual story -so far – is a series of swing and miss smears but it won't stop him pushing it.
Milk it for as long and as hard as you can and keep it in the public eye for as long as possible. Public interest is a fickle beast with an attention span shorter than the average tweet.
Paul Goldsmith was an astonishing return to the 1990s on RNZ this morning. The guy looks and sounds like a throwback to buttoned down neolib wideboys of the 1990s, jerking off to the sound of his own business jargon laden voice.
And really, that sums up the bankruptcy of National's economic policies. They've not bee updated for thirty years. Tax cuts for the rich, wealth transfer from the poor to the rich, a punitive surveillance state for the poor, slashing government spending and crony capitalism is all the modern right everywhere have to offer. They know this is a bankrupt, cronyist economic prescription so they've tried to ignite culture wars to hide it with Soimon's angry tram conductor chin jut and meaningless divide and rule slogans.
Epsomistan is a small isolated republic where democracy was replaced decades ago and is now characterised by rigid, top-down ideological control. Its citizens can come across as curiously dated throwbacks. Current leader, Paul Goldsmith, is notable only as the Guinness world record holder for the "smallest election billboard ever" – a postage-stamp sized, illegible cardboard offering last seen disappearing up David Seymour's nether regions.
Paul Goldsmith also let slip on RNZ that National are "looking at" abandoning the planned increases in minimum wage. Wonder if he ran that one past the leader, as it sits a bit uncomfortably with yesterday's grand announcement that National's policies are all about putting more money in the pocket of the kiwi battler. In reality, what National is looking at will probably be a net zero for the "kiwi battler" (lower wages offset by lower taxes, before cuts to public service are factored in), and double win for the wealthy who will get to pay their staff less and a nice fat tax cut to go with it.
Northlands going to be a battleground but I'm predicting National will hold it which will make it a straight shootout between the National/Act (I'm predicting Act will have three MPs) and Labour/Greens
Will the Greens lose more votes to Labour, stay tuned!
Winnie's win in the by-election had a few unique factors that won't be replicated in the upcoming general election. So I'm skeptical that Northland is actually somehow in play.
Just a partial list:
The previous National occupant of the seat left under a particularly odious cloud.
The National candidate was quite uninspiring, and got very little support from the Nats as a whole
The result of the by-election would not change the government, so not a huge incentive for Nats to get out and vote. Similarly the opportunity cost to a Labour voter to vote for Winnie was zero.
However, for the opposition, winning the by-election would be symbolically huge. So there was a big incentive for all the oppo to coalesce around Winnie.
Being in government with WinnieFirst carries huge baggage and headaches for Labour in a way that the ACT puppetry show does not for National. So there's definite upsides for Labour if WinnieFirst falls out of parliament.
Wouldn't be surprised if Simon's leadership become untenable long before that, like in a couple of weeks, but suppression wrangles could kick the can for a while before it all blows to bits.
Fairy tale? Shakespearean tragedy, more like. As soon as the first knife goes in Bridges' back, all the pretenders will be thinking about drawing their blades.
Many will cower, but I reckon a few will have a good stab at it.
You said it!!!!!
The place needs a bit of humour. At times these days it feels like a school room where you have to get teacher’s approval etc. and woebetide if you don’t.
If it spreads to 60% of the Population … and around 15-20% of those have a severe case needing hospitalisation (oxygen therapy / respirators / ventilators) … then hospitals will be completely overwhelmed … and we'll see many (otherwise preventable) deaths from Convid-19 -related Pneumonia.
Hopefully it won't come to that … but it's a distinct possibility.
I suspect a lot of the problems in China are the result of them being the first to get it (everyone else now knows what to look for), a slow and possibly uncoordinated initial response (because there's a fine line between responding to a potential outbreak and being arrested for fearmongering), a high population density (even for city living), and intranational refugees when the problem became evident to the population but the state was still in denial.
There are many possible explanations. Take a look at this one. It's clearly flagged as speculative but there is nothing unreasonable about it either. I'm not endorsing it, but neither can it be ruled out. There is a huge amount of semi-informed speculation on the net at the moment, much of it filling in the information/trust vacuum created by rather obvious CCP propaganda.
Still even using the official numbers we are seeing around a 3% fatality rate in Hubei, yet other provinces such as Guandong with 1328 confirmed cases are reporting only 4 deaths instead of the 40 you would expect. There is a clear discrepancy between the rates being reported within Hubei and other provinces.
One reasonable explanation for this is the kind of complex latency period outlined in my link above. All I'm pointing out is that relying on anodyne official reports when we still don't really understand this new virus is probably not justified.
Frankly, it reminds me of the "if these trends continue" thing we had for ebola.
Comparing this virus with a completely different one that has a totally different character is bs. Ebola is actually rather hard to catch, it depends on direct bodily fluid exchange or eating bushmeat. It requires a specific set of social circumstances to become a pandemic.
Covid19 is the exact opposite, it's seems easily caught via multiple pathways and is still spreading actively despite a month of draconian efforts within China.
WHO are estimating 18 months for a vaccine, but even best case claims I’ve seen are around 4 months. That’s quite long enough for a global pandemic to gain momentum.
I agree it could be controlled outside of China; indeed one of the peculiarities in the data at this point in time is that it hasn’t spread as dramatically or lethally outside of China yet as might be expected. We still don’t properly understand this.
We can hope you are right; but this tragedy has a way to run yet.
It wasn't the diseases I was comparing, but the zero-information panic.
Talking about 10% per capita hospitalisation rates in NZ is pretty pessimistic based on what we see so far.
Internationally, the virus does not seem to have the same infection growth rate as it does in China. Which is what we'd expect, because the control measures were introduced at a far earlier stage in the rest of the world's exposure. (Also on that timeline page, China went the first two weeks in january with no new cases? – yeah, right.)
China's house is on fire and it's well established. Everyone else has the hoses out and has called the fire department, so their houses are unlikely to receive substantial damage.
I've got a work conference in May, in NZ. Small one, a hundred or so attendees from around the country.
Now, at this stage there is no reason to cancel it. Am I saying we won't pull the plug between now and then? Nope. But nobody is holding the cable in anticipation, either.
If the situation calls for it, we can change our behaviour. It's all a process. There's a time to stock up on emergency supplies and meds beyond what everybody probably has lying around since the earthquakes. There's a time to start avoiding theatres and crowded places and air transport.
But all this worst-case scenario stuff is a bit weird, frankly. Focus on the next three steps rather than worrying about the state of the bridge three miles down the path.
The alarm bells went off for me seeing those ominous crows.A fake news video was circulated recently, claiming those crows were at the epicentre of the epidemic, and was later exposed as being some thousands of miles away and a perfectly common phenomenon
"The WHO’s director of emergencies, Dr Michael Ryan, said the outbreak should not be described as a pandemic, even though it has spread to 25 countries outside China. “The real issue is whether we are seeing efficient community transmission outside of China and at the present time we are not observing that,” he said."
OK so the crows. But no mention of the WHO official speaking to the point.
Of the various sources scrutinising the CCP official narrative this one has a track record and reasonable credibility. We have a close Chinese connection who is confirming much of what is being said here; so far everything she is telling us is about one week ahead of the news.
The problem I have is that everything officially reported relies on CCP controlled sources; there does not appear to be any independent checking on the ground, and what leaks out via social media is very difficult to confirm.
But even the numbers we are being told are not good. And there is still a great deal about this virus we don’t really know.
I have a friend who is living in China too. He's under the radar running a language school and is married to a Chinese woman .He's fluent and reads well , but most of his information about China comes from the Guardian .Relying on those connections is daft, just as if a foreigner asked me to explain the NZ Health system I'd have a point of view, so would 4 million others
The worst thing about the virus is its unknown (yet) qualities
I suppose you've read what the Hong Kong coronavirus expert has had to say ?
The US 2017/18 flu epidemic seemed to rage on despite the US supposedly being an open and transparent democracy and therefore better equipped to deal with an outbreak…as opposed to the brutal and backward totalitarian CCP
"The 2017-2018 flu season was severe for all populations and resulted in an estimated 959,000 hospitalizations and 79,400 deaths. This is the highest number of patient claims since the 2009 flu season.[10] "
Anytime, anywhere there's an epidemic, the population can be guaranteed to decry the efforts of whatever govt is in power, paranoia and rumours, fake news and panic is the order of the day
I take what you say on board, but there are so many elements to all this and time will be the better judge
Yes I've seen several references to the reasonable expectation that increasing temperatures, sunlight and humidity will see a big reduction in new cases. As it does with the common cold. That's definitely a positive.
The negatives remain, what if like the common cold it mutates rapidly, reappears seasonally and re-infects frequently?
Not sure if this has aleardy been posted but I thought it was worth posting.
From what infomation we have available it appears that the talking point dragged out for the defence of a US airstrike against soleimani, that he was posing an 'imminent threat' to US soldiers stationed in the region was nothing more than a helpful little slogan to pretend that the attacks were justified under international law. Its sad to see cases like this were a weak defence for an illegal and wrong action lasts just long enough to outlive public and meida interst, before falling apart in the deathly silince of general disinterest.
That 'imminent threat' idea goes back to Tony Blair's need to justify supporting the GW Bush régime in destroying Saddam Hussein. Blair's government eventually found an ironically named lawyer, Daniel Bethlehem, who helpfully provided a clever new definition.
It is a careful choice of word. Pompeo is specifically referring to the Bethlehem Doctrine of Pre-Emptive Self Defence.
Developed by Daniel Bethlehem when Legal Adviser to first Netanyahu’s government and then Blair’s, the Bethlehem Doctrine is that states have a right of “pre-emptive self-defence” against “imminent” attack.
[…] the Bethlehem Doctrine is the formal policy position on assassination of Israel, the US and UK governments. So that is lie one. When Pompeo says Soleimani was planning “imminent” attacks, he is using the Bethlehem definition under which “imminent” is a “concept” which means neither “soon” nor “definitely going to happen”. To twist a word that far from its normal English usage is to lie. To do so to justify killing people is obscene.
I doubt anyone ever took seriously the "imminent threat" bullshit right from the get-go. Especially when it was about sixth in the line of incoherent nonsensical and contradictory explanations given by various known liars.
Dunno about a deathly silence of general disinterest. It's more like submerged beneath a firehose of fresh outrages. And even if there were a functioning mechanism to hold Darth Drumpf accountable (McTurtle has ensured all possible mechanisms for accountability have been smashed), it would be a fair way down on the list of outrages to hold him accountable for. Especially from an American viewpoint.
Your probably right Andre but it's still good to come to a proper conclusion with these kinds of event that get the publicity and scrutiny they deserve. That way we can all learn lessons and began to settle closer to a agreed upon history of events. As things are people who were for these attacks will probably never hear that they didn't have the legal justifications that it was said they had, and won't have that knowledge for next time something like this happens
London (CNN)A recently hired adviser to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has resigned, after backlash grew against his controversial past comments — notably for claims that black Americans have lower IQs than white Americans and that compulsory contraception could prevent the creation of a "permanent underclass."
Andrew Sabisky, a self-described "superforecaster," announced his resignation as a "contractor" on Twitter Monday, saying that he did not want the "media hysteria about my old stuff online" to be a distraction for Johnson's government.
It's possible that IQ tests themselves have a residual cultural bias, despite best attempts to eliminate them.
It's plausible that the systemic disadvantages that African-Americans have to deal with all their lives contributes to low scores on IQ tests.
It is probable that the number coming out of an IQ test is indeed meaningless, particularly over small differences.
It is certain that the distributions for the various populations overlap so heavily and the average differences so small that even if an IQ gap is a real thing, it's of zero practical significance for any real-world purpose. Particularly at an individual level.
On reading the wikipedia article I was genuinely struck at what an interestingly complex topic this is.
The point is that what Sabisky said isn’t really controversial, measured differences between groups and countries is well established. But understanding why these differences arise and persist isn’t.
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Mark Patterson MP, Spokesperson for Primary Industry New Zealand First is supporting calls by hunters and the New Zealand Tahr Foundation (NZTF) to halt a large scale cull of Himalayan Tahr by the Department of Conservation in National Parks. The calls are supported by a 40,000 strong petition and the ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First leader Winston Peters today scoffed at suggestions that a team of six political operatives have been dispatched to New Zealand to assist his campaign. ‘As President Ronald Reagan once said, ‘there they go again.’ ‘The clickbait journos can’t ...
New Zealand First is pleased to announce Jenny Marcroft as the party’s election 2020 candidate for the Auckland Central electorate. Jenny spent years working in Auckland Central, having spent a vast proportion of her broadcasting career there. She says she, "knows the place and knows the people." Ms Marcroft says ...
New Zealanders deserve healthy rivers and lakes that are safe to swim in - but they have been getting worse for decades. That's why, with our latest announcement, we're investing in projects that will help clean up our rivers and lakes and restore them to health, within a generation. ...
This week we moved into the second half of 2020 - and our Government delivered another week of big changes and major progress for New Zealanders. Read below for a wrap of the key things moments from the week - from extending paid parental leave, to making major investments in ...
The Green Party has opposed the COVID-19 Recovery Fast-track Consenting Bill which shortcuts normal consenting processes under the Resource Management Act (RMA), reduces public participation and narrows environmental considerations. ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister of Regional Economic Development A regional freight hub for the lower North Island will be built just northeast of Palmerston North, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. The Government is investing $40 million through the Provincial Growth Fund to designate and buy land and design ...
Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson is calling for the introduction of a Guaranteed Minimum Income to lift hundreds of thousands of people out of poverty and prevent more families entering into further debt with the Ministry of Social Development. ...
There has been renewed focus on New Zealand First acting as a handbrake on the Government after our decision to not support Auckland light rail. We are a handbrake for bad ideas, that istrue, but our track record since 2017 has seen New Zealand First constructively also serve as an ...
Mark Patterson MP, New Zealand First List MP New Zealand First’s Fair Residency for Superannuation Bill passed its First Reading in Parliament today. The Bill makes a significant change to NZ Super by raising the minimum residency requirement from 10 to 20 years, after age 20. “Currently, a migrant of ...
Darroch Ball MP, Spokesperson for Law and Order A New Zealand First member’s bill in the name of Darroch Ball introducing a six-month minimum prison sentence for assaults on first responders has passed its second reading in Parliament. The new offence of "injuring a first responder or corrections officer with ...
Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Deputy Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First welcomes the launch of the new Criminal Cases Review Commission, gifted with the name from Waikato-Tainui - Te Kāhui Tātari Ture, announced in Hamilton today by Justice Minister Andrew Little. “New Zealand First has long believed in and ...
The Green Party is celebrating over $800m in new funding for green projects, which will get people into jobs while solving New Zealand’s long-term challenges. ...
Mark Patterson MP, Spokesperson for Primary Industries New Zealand First is appalled that Meridian seems to have been unnecessarily spilling water from its dams to drive up its profits."While New Zealanders have been coming together in some of our darkest hours, we don’t expect power gentailers to waste water and ...
We wrapped up the first half of 2020 with a busy month, taking additional steps to support New Zealanders as we continue with our economic recovery. We rolled out targeted packages to support key industries like tourism and construction, helped create jobs in the environmental and agriculture sectors, and set ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Infrastructure Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones has welcomed the appointment of Maurice Davis and his deep infrastructure and construction experience to the board of the Infrastructure Commission. Mr Davis (Ngāti Maniapoto), is the seventh and final appointment to the board led by former Reserve Bank Governor ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand’s click bait journalism is taking a turn for the worse, with yet another example of sensationalist, wilful-misrepresentation of the facts. “New Zealand First has worked constructively with its Coalition partner on hundreds of pieces of legislation and policy, and ...
The Green Party is today unveiling its Poverty Action Plan, which includes a Guaranteed Minimum Income to ensure people have enough to live with dignity. ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Rotorua Museum redevelopment and Whakarewarewa and Tokorangi Forest projects will be accelerated thanks to a $2.09 million Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) boost, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher ...
This week, we rolled out the next steps of our recovery plan, with new infrastructure investment, extra support for tourism operators, and a new programme to get Kiwis into agriculture careers. The global economic consequences of COVID-19 will continue to be a challenge, but we have a detailed plan to ...
Jenny Marcroft MP, Spokesperson for Health New Zealand First welcomes the passage of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Bill through its final reading in Parliament today fulfilling a coalition agreement commitment. “This is an important step in saving the lives of New Zealanders and delivers a key coalition commitment ...
Whakatāne has been given a $2.5 million boost to speed up previously funded projects and create more than 450 jobs in the next decade. Of those, the equivalent of 160 full-time jobs could be delivered in the next six weeks. Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters is in town to make ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is investing $2.5 million to accelerate three infrastructure projects in Whakatāne, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. “This package is about ...
Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones is throwing his weight behind a bid by the Auckland Council to fast-track the more than doubling of the city's water allowance from the Waikato River. And he's coming out strongly against anyone who plans on getting in the way of this campaign. "It is my ...
The Green Party is thrilled to see changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that mean consents for large projects can be declined if they will have significant climate change implications that are inconsistent with the Zero Carbon Act and Aotearoa New Zealand’s Paris Agreement obligations. ...
Hon Ron Mark, Minister of Defence The Royal New Zealand Navy’s new ship, Aotearoa, set sail for New Zealand on 10 June from the Republic of Korea, and is due to arrive in Auckland tomorrow, announced Minister of Defence Ron Mark. “Aotearoa is the Royal New Zealand Navy’s new fleet ...
Kia ora tatou Today I am setting out our plan in the event we have a new case of community transmission of COVID-19 in New Zealand. I will take a bit of time to do that, and then I’ll be happy to take questions at the end. Since we moved ...
·$124 million Government investment in recycling infrastructure ·Plans confirmed to increase and expand the waste levy to divert material from landfill, and recycle revenue into resource recovery and waste minimisation ·Innovative construction and demolition facility opened in Auckland with $3.1 million in support from Government’s Waste Minimisation Fund (WMF). As ...
A package of wellbeing infrastructure investments in Kaipara which focuses on improving the lives of the elderly and upgrading the iconic Kauri Museum has been announced by Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones today. “These shovel-ready projects will have significant benefits for their respective communities and I’m pleased this funding ...
More support is rolling out for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from the COVID Response and Recovery Fund, to help them adapt and innovate to deal with the impact of the virus. The Ministers for Economic Development and Small Business have announced a further $40 million for the Regional Business ...
Stephen Clark, Māori Land Court Judge of Hamilton has been appointed as a District Court Judge with jury jurisdiction to be based in Hamilton, Attorney-General David Parker announced today. Judge Clark graduated with an LLB from Auckland University in 1988 and was admitted to the Bar in the same year. ...
The Crown will provide a loan to Hawke’s Bay Airport to ensure it can trade through COVID-19 economic impacts, support the region’s recovery and protect up to 200 jobs. The Crown has a 50 percent shareholding in Hawke’s Bay Airport Limited (HBAL), with Napier City Council holding 26 percent and ...
Four celebrated Māori and Pasifika events will receive up to $100,000 each in funding from the new Creative and Cultural Events Incubator fund, Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford announced today. The four events that were successful in the inaugural funding round are: Kia Mau Festival, Wellington Māoriland Film Festival, Otaki ...
The Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio is pleased to announce the inaugural launch of Kiribati Language Week as part of the 2020 Pacific language Weeks programme. “I am so pleased that this year we are able to provide resourcing support to the Kiribati community in Aotearoa which will ...
Wildlife institutions affected by a loss of visitor revenue during the COVID-19 lockdown are set to receive government support with nearly $15 million of funding available announced Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage. “Eco-sanctuaries, zoos, aquariums, wildlife parks, and wildlife rescue, hospital and rehabilitation facilities provide crucial support for the recovery ...
The Government is expanding and accelerating frontline mental health and wellbeing services at tertiary education institutes (TEI) to help students manage ongoing stresses related to COVID-19. “The lockdown has been hugely disruptive for students. Many of them have had to relocate and move to online learning, isolating them from their ...
The Minister of Police says a major operation against the Mongrel Mob in Waikato will make a big dent in drug harm and violent offending linked to organised crime networks. “Senior leadership of the Waikato Mongrel Mob has been taken out as a result of Operation Kingsville, which resulted in ...
The Government is extending the border exception criteria to enable some offshore victims and support people of the Christchurch mosque attacks to attend the sentencing of the accused beginning on 24 August2020, says Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway. “We want to support our valued Muslim brothers and sisters who were directly ...
A project to support volunteer efforts to look after streams and rivers is getting a boost thanks to support from DOC’s Community Conservation Fund announced Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage today. “The government is backing efforts to look after waterways with $199,400 for the Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust from ...
Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter today announced that funding for the COVID-19 Community Fund for women and girls will be doubled, as the first successful funding applications for the initial $1million were revealed. “Women and girls across the country have suffered because of the effects of COVID-19, and I ...
The Government’s books were better than forecast with a higher GST take as the economy got moving again after lockdown, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. The Crown Accounts for the 11 months to the end of May indicate the year end results for tax revenue will be stronger than forecast. ...
A plan to revitalise New Zealand’s strong wool sector and set it on a new, more sustainable and profitable path was unveiled today by Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. The newly-released report - Vision and Action for New Zealand’s Wool Sector - was developed by the Wool Industry Project Action Group ...
Community efforts to create a Predator Free Whangārei will receive a $6 million boost, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage announced today. The new funding, through Government company Predator Free 2050 Ltd, will create around 12 jobs while enabling the complete removal of possums over ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced that the New Zealand Government is reviewing the settings of its relationship with Hong Kong. “China’s decision to pass a new national security law for Hong Kong has fundamentally changed the environment for international engagement there,” Mr Peters said. “New Zealand remains deeply ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has announced details of a multimillion-dollar investment in Whangārei for infrastructure projects that will help it recover from the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 200 jobs are expected to be created through the $26 million investment from the Government’s rejuvenation package ...
Following a second incident in which a person escaped from a managed isolation facility, security is being enhanced, including more police presence onsite, Minister Megan Woods said. “The actions of some individuals who choose to break the very clear rules to stay within the facilities means that more resourcing is ...
Waste reduction and recycling programmes in Kaipara are set to get a boost with Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage today announcing a $361,447 grant from the Ministry for the Environment’s Waste Minimisation Fund (WMF) Sustainable Kaipara. “The new funding will allow Sustainable Kaipara to partner with local schools, kura, community ...
The Government will support the Southland economy in the wake of multinational mining company Rio Tinto’s decision to follow through with its long signalled closure of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter. “This day has unfortunately been on the cards for some time now, but nevertheless the final decision is a ...
New tools being developed to help boost Aotearoa’s Predator Free 2050 effort were unveiled today by Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage and Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau. A new rat poison, a camera with predator recognition software to detect and report predators, a new predator lure and a ...
The Coalition Government has approved the purchase of a fleet of Bushmaster vehicles to replace the New Zealand Army’s armoured Pinzgauers, Defence Minister Ron Mark has announced today. The new fleet of 43 Australian-designed and built Bushmaster NZ5.5 will provide better protection for personnel and improved carrying capacity. “The age ...
The Government’s three prevention frameworks to reduce family violence in Aotearoa were launched this week by Associate Minister for Social Development Poto Williams. The frameworks were developed in partnership with communities around New Zealand, and build on the work the Government has already begun with its new family violence prevention ...
The Government is pleased to confirm funding for improvements to radiology and surgical services at Hawke's Bay DHB, Health Minister Chris Hipkins says. "The Minister of Finance the Hon Grant Robertson and former Health Minister Dr David Clark approved funding for Hawke's Bay DHB’s redevelopment of their radiology facilities ...
• New funding for four beds at Napier’s Springhill Residential Addiction Centre • A new managed withdrawal home and community service, and peer support before and after residential care at Tairāwhiti DHB • A co-ordinated network of withdrawal management services throughout the South Island • Peer support in Rotorua and ...
Introduction, seafarers and POAL Good morning everyone, I am delighted to be online with you all today. Before I begin, I have to acknowledge that COVID-19 has disrupted the maritime sector on an unprecedented scale. The work of seafarers and the maritime industry is keeping many economies around the world ...
A $13 million investment from Government will create jobs and improve the resilience of the rail connection between Christchurch and the West Coast, Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones and Regional Economic Development Under-Secretary Fletcher Tabuteau say. The funding comes from the tagged contingency set aside in Budget 2020 for infrastructure projects ...
The Government is investing $761 million to assist local government upgrade under-pressure water services across the country, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. The announcement was made at the site of the water bore that was found to be the source of the fatal ...
Recognised Seasonal Employers and migrant seasonal workers stranded in New Zealand will be able to continue working and supporting themselves with more flexible hours and roles, says Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway. The time-limited visa changes are: Stranded RSE workers will be able to work part-time (a minimum of 15 hours ...
The Government is making immediate short-term changes to visa settings to support temporary migrants already onshore in New Zealand and their employers, while also ensuring New Zealanders needing work are prioritised, Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. We are: Extending temporary work visas due to expire by the end of 2020 ...
Professor Peter Skelton CNZM has been appointed as Chief Freshwater Commissioner and Alternate Environment Court Judge Craig James Thompson as Deputy Chief Freshwater Commissioner for the newly established Freshwater Planning Process (FPP). Environment Minister David Parker today also announced the appointment of Chief Environment Court Judge Laurie Newhook as the ...
Auckland Queen’s Counsel Neil Campbell has been appointed a Judge of the High Court, Attorney‑General David Parker announced today. Justice Campbell graduated with a BCom and LLB (Hons) from the University of Auckland in 1992. He spent two years with Bell Gully Buddle Weir in Auckland before travelling to the United ...
The Associate Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration, Poto Williams, is seeking feedback on a proposal to better enable the development and operation of commercial film and video facilities in Christchurch. The Proposal, developed by Regenerate Christchurch in response to a request from Christchurch City Council, asks that powers under section ...
The Government has launched a bold plan to boost primary sector export earnings by $44 billion over the next decade, while protecting the environment and growing jobs. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today released Fit for a Better World – Accelerating our Economic Potential, a 10-year roadmap to unlock greater value ...
A new approach to prevent family harm that encourages greater collaboration across government and community groups is being celebrated at the opening of a new facility in Auckland. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today opened the Multi-Disciplinary Family Harm Prevention Hub Te Taanga Manawa in Lambie Road in Manukau. The facility ...
The Government has released a major new report on the options for relocating the Port of Auckland’s freight operations while deferring any decision on the issue. “That decision needs to be informed by policy analysis that is still to be completed. As a result it will be up to a ...
The history of Rāpaki is being restored through the inclusion of te reo in thirteen official place names on Te Pātaka-o-Rākaihautū / Banks Peninsula and around Lyttelton Harbour/Whakaraupō, the Minister for Land Information, Eugenie Sage, announced today. “I am pleased to approve the proposals from Te Hapū o Ngāti ...
Bookings for seats on Air New Zealand flights into New Zealand will be managed in the short term to ensure the Government is able to safely place New Zealanders arriving home into a managed isolation or quarantine facility, says Housing Minister Megan Woods. “Last week Air Commodore Darryn Webb and I ...
It is theoretically possible that Judith Collins could be the next Prime Minister but first she must prove she can wield the party into an effective, unified team. ...
Child Poverty Action Group is calling on the Government to nationalise early childhood education provision in response to the challenges presented by COVID-19 and reports of providers prioritising profits over quality of services. CPAG’s latest research ...
A new platform for Members, means 100% of contributions go towards making Spinoff journalism happen. Plus: A merch store!Kia ora,This is the biggest announcement we’ve had since the launch of The Spinoff Members a year ago.For many months now we’ve been ferreting away at a big overhaul of the way ...
Opinion - Judith Collins' first public remarks after becoming leader shows she means to continue in the same way she's always operated as a politician, writes Cat MacLennan*. ...
Finally! For as long as the Campaign Against Foreign Control (CAFCA) has existed - 45+ years - we have called for the closure of Rio Tinto's Bluff smelter (for example, see our historic Comalco comic at https://www.scribd.com/doc/25367862/Comalco-Comic ...
“We are absolutely thrilled with the government’s announcement that it will invest in recycling and change the waste levy. These are bold and important steps that will create employment in communities right throughout the country, reduce emissions ...
Carlson has long been one of our best comedians, and now the world can see it too, writes Sam Brooks. Last year, Urzila Carlson became the first comedian from our shores to perform her own Netflix special, a half hour episode of the Comedians of the World series. Now she’s ...
The US elections are in a bizarre and unsettling phase with President Donald Trump governing by tweets, spraying assaults on the medical profession and continuing to maintain the US has the Covid-19 pandemic under control. Really? No, as state after state (with the notable exclusion of New York) takes a ...
The AUT video … first of this year’s languags series.By Simon Smith of AUT News The Kiribati instalment in the AUT Pacific language video series – “Adapting to a changing world, shaping resilient futures” – has been released. The video, produced by Auckland University of Technology, is narrated in ...
The Government must develop a national plan to prevent and respond to family and sexual violence during and after a pandemic situation says Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner Saunoamaali’i Karanina Sumeo. She made the comments in a written submission ...
The Prime Minister says New Zealand has a robust plan in place to tackle any re-emergence of Covid-19 within our borders, Marc Daalder reports New Zealand is ready for a second wave. That's the message Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern wanted to get across in a speech to the nation on ...
Allegations of defamation led to a court-mandated apology by Mike Hosking to John Tamihere.This morning Michael Noel James Hosking IV delivered a court-mandated apology to Māori Party co-leader John Tamihere over defamatory comments made by Hosking in 2018.The comments relate to a $600,000 private shareholder payment from Whānau Ora contractor, ...
A new Māori organisation called Te Pātaka Inc is being established to continue providing kai and firewood to assist whānau experiencing hardship from COVID-19 in Te Tau Ihu (top of the South Island). Originally the eight Te Tau Ihu iwi in Marlborough, ...
Analysis by Josh Van Veen – The Democracy Project. New National Party leader, Judith Collins, with prominent Auckland Council (Manurewa-Papakura ward) councillor, Daniel Newman. “I’m with her,” Newman said on hearing of her successful appointment as Leader of the Opposition. When Parliament sits next Tuesday, the ...
LGNZ is welcoming the Government’s announcement of $124 million for onshore recycling and the expansion of the waste levy, but is calling on the Government to match the money with a strategic waste plan to ensure New Zealanders get the best bang for ...
In her first interview with Morning Report as National Party leader, Judith Collins outlined a minor reshuffle, said she's not particularly worried about diversity, and said Michael Woodhouse's fate will be decided today. ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.Today’s contentJudith Collins elected leader of the National Party Richard Harman (Politik): Why National finally called on Collins Barry Soper (Newstalk ZB): Judith Collins should have been elected as ...
We are now at a crucial time of Climate Change history, since Covid 19 pandemic diverted our Governments from the beginning of the movement of marching together for saving our climate, and now time is upon us to continue our fight to save our ...
Despite changes made to original plans to ‘avoid’ the Hua o te AtuaUrupā, an iwi group says the Waikato Regional Theatre is still set to be built on their burial ground. A group of rangatahi from Kirikiriroa iwi Ngāti Wairere says a big part of the community wasn’t consulted on ...
Trade union activists will go from house to house asking Wellingtonians to pledge their vote in the general election to parties and candidates who support workers’ rights. Unions Wellington launches its election campaign at 6pm on Wednesday July ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maximilian de Courten, Health Policy Lead and Professor in Global Public Health at the Mitchell Institute, Victoria University The World Health Organisation reported more than 230,000 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday — the world’s largest daily increase during the pandemic. The surge ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lotti Tajouri, Associate Professor, Biomedical Sciences, Bond University You may remember when US President Donald Trump suggested exposing coronavirus patients to UV (ultraviolet) light – or “just very powerful light” – to help treat them. The use of UV light is not, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sebastian Leuzinger, Professor, Auckland University of Technology CC BY-NDClimate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Raynor, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Transforming Housing Project, University of Melbourne After 3,000 people in nine public housing towers in Melbourne were placed under the harshest coronavirus lockdown in Australia so far, acting Australian Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly referred to the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Geoff Bertram, Senior Associate, Institute for Governance and Policy Studies, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Another year, another round of hostage-taking by the owners of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter. As always, Rio Tinto has made the first move, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mia Martin Hobbs, Researcher, University of Melbourne Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods, out now on Netflix, tells the story of five Black US veterans who return to Vietnam to hunt for gold and recover the remains of their lost squad leader. Beginning ...
Huljich family sell quarter of Pushpay stake for $123.8m; US markets up on better-than-forecast US bank results; UK orders Huawei gear purged from 5G rollout 2027 ...
Hello, my name is Stewart Sowman-Lund and I’m the new editor of The Spinoff’s Live Updates. Thank you for having a read. If you have any feedback, please get in touch with me at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz.6.45am: Judith Collins, National leaderShortly before 10pm last night, Judith Collins was declared the new leader ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Dramatic leadership change for National, government rolls out millions more in business support, and several police raids ruled unlawful by IPCA.If you didn’t pay attention to the news yesterday from about 7.15am onwards, there’s a bit to catch up on. The ...
Analysis - For years Judith Collins has had her eye on the top prize and it took a complete leadership meltdown, just 10 weeks out from an election, for her National Party colleagues to give her what she's always wanted. ...
Less than 14 hours after Todd Muller announced his surprise resignation as National Party leader, Judith Collins has taken the helm of the opposition. Here's what you need to know. One of the National Party's longest-serving MPs and frequent leadership hopefuls, Judith Collins, has finally seized the top job. The ...
Judy Bailey (words) and Jane Ussher (photos) travel to the Hokianga to meet wellness author Wendyl Nissen: “I love being unattractive,” she writes. “It’s a personal goal.” “You have to try the sausage rolls,” says Wendyl Nissen. “That’s Bruce in there.” Bruce was one half of her much loved ...
The new woman on New Zealand Rugby’s board, Jennifer Kerr, is all about making a difference - and in many walks of life, she tells Ashley Stanley. On top of making headlines as only the second woman appointed to New Zealand Rugby’s board, Jennifer Kerr wants to add where she ...
Newly elected National leader Judith Collins has taken the job in unenviable circumstances, but she is unlikely to wallow as she tries to dethrone Jacinda Ardern, as Sam Sachdeva writes So much of Todd Muller’s ill-fated stint as National Party leader was defined by pain: the pain he caused Simon Bridges by ousting ...
The Tiwai Point closure announcement has put the spotlight on a gnarly and potentially expensive problem in our electricity network - the gap between where a lot of our power is produced (the South) and where it is used (the North), not to mention the more than 5 percent of our ...
Four months stranded, four tickets cancelled, and two weeks in isolation - Merja Myllylahti shares her nightmarish story of getting home during a pandemic After a gruelling 54+ hours travel via Helsinki-Frankfurt-Dubai-Bangkok, I arrived back to Auckland on July 10 having being stranded in Finland for four months. At last luck was on ...
Nicholas Agar explains why relocating statues and erasing their names may be what the people they commemorate would have wanted Would Clive of India really want to have a town in Hawkes Bay named after him? I’m writing these words in a café in Clive, Hawkes Bay. Clive was named ...
Can we avoid the angst and embarrassment of another water crisis like the current one? Anthony Fowler takes a look. In the midst of the Covid-19 lockdown, Auckland’s water reservoirs dropped to levels not seen for a generation. WaterCare dusted off the drought management plan and we came out of ...
Facebook’s perceived lack of trust might be damaging to news publishers, but the company itself has become ever more interwoven into the fabric of the news business, writes Emily Bell, director of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University.Mark Zuckerberg and Noam Chomsky are strange bedfellows in this ...
The rules over the culling and hunting of Himalayan Tahr are causing consternation for both hunters and environmentalists The first court case may be over, but commentators say New Zealand's plan to deal with Himalayan Tahr is antiquated, and needs a serious refresh to avoid more butting heads in the future. ...
The new National leader has only a few weeks to turn the party’s fortunes around. But that’s what Labour’s new leader did in 2017. While there are obvious differences, there’s plenty Collins can draw from, writes Clint Smith, who was senior communications strategist under Andrew Little and Jacinda Ardern.It was ...
A party in crisis has chosen a leader with experience and profile. The challenge is daunting, writes Justin Giovannetti from parliament.The National Party has turned in its moment of crisis towards a battle-hardened and pugnacious leader in Judith Collins to guide it towards an election that is only 66 days ...
Do not mistake tough for malevolent. The new National leader can take on whatever role is required of her politically and play it to perfection, writes Ben Thomas.The National Party faces the fight of its life. And so it has chosen as its new leader the toughest fighter in New ...
By RNZ News New Zealand’s National Party has elected Judith Collins as its new leader to replace Todd Muller, with Gerry Brownlee as her deputy to take on the Labour-led coalition government in the September general election. Collins, 61, was first elected as an MP for Clevedon in 2002 and ...
Opinion - Collins has made clear for some time that she wanted the leadership. And now she has it. What will she do with it? Liam Hehir takes a look. ...
Judith Collins has been voted in by colleagues as leader of the National Party, with Gerry Brownlee as her deputy. Look back over the day's events here. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Uncertainty surrounding a cluster of COVID-19 cases linked to a Sydney hotel has prompted reactions from the Queensland and South Australian governments, as the Victorian situation continues to be critical. Victorian authorities on Tuesday reported ...
In recent days an incorrect story has been repeated in the news about how Judith Collins had to resign after the book Dirty Politics was published but was later exonerated and returned to Cabinet. In the interests of accuracy, it is worth correcting this ...
Judith Collins is the new leader of the National Party and a vote for deputy is underway. Newsroom understands that the electorate MP for Papakura has been selected for the leadership. It will mark the first time in 23 years the party has selected a woman to lead it. Collins takes over ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chris Wallace, Associate Professor, 50/50 By 2030 Foundation, Faculty of Business Government & Law, University of Canberra The “palace letters” show the Australian Constitution’s susceptibility to self-interested behaviour by individual vice-regal representatives. They also reveal the vulnerability of Australian governments to secret ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anne Twomey, Professor of Constitutional Law, University of Sydney For more than four decades, the question has been asked: did the queen know the governor-general, Sir John Kerr, was about to dismiss the Whitlam government, and did she encourage or support that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gery Karantzas, Associate professor in Social Psychology / Relationship Science, Deakin University From songs and poems to novels and movies, romantic love is one of the most enduring subjects for artworks through the ages. But what about the science? Historical, cultural and ...
The scamp of New Zealand publishing is laid to rest, for now. In 2005 I wrote and released a book called On the conditions and possibilities of Helen Clark taking me as her Young Lover. I gave myself the name Richard Meros.My real name is Murdoch. Some people think that sounds ...
Neon’s gender-flipped version of High Fidelity features Zoë Kravitz in the role John Cusack made famous 20 years ago. And it works far better than you might expect, writes Catherine McGregor.By now we’ve all accepted the fact that every last artistic touchstone we hold dear will one day end up ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Australia’s response to the health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic is rightly considered one of the world’s best. At their best, our federal and state politicians have put aside the ...
Todd Muller’s brief leadership of the National Party ended this morning and his resignation creates opportunities for truly centrist, more stable and independent parties not under investigation by the SFO. Unfortunately this does point to some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Damien Manuel, Director, Centre for Cyber Security Research & Innovation (CSRI), Deakin University Prime Minister Scott Morrison revealed last month Australia is actively being attacked by hostile foreign governments. An advisory note posted on the government’s Australian Cyber Security Centre website said ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ross Tapsell, Senior Lecturer in the School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific., Australian National University The recent police interrogations of six Al Jazeera journalists in Malaysia – five of whom are Australian – was not about ...
ANALYSIS:By Liam Hehir The detailed reasons for opposition National Party leader Todd Muller’s shock resignation are something we are not yet given to know. At this point, anything other than the statement made by Muller himself is nothing more than speculation. The announcement was a bolt from the blue ...
The rich become that way because they work hard to provide the everyday things that our nation needs. So runs the story that underpins the economic system we live under. Its something that is so taken for granted, it often goes uncommented upon. It seems ...
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Guyon Espiner really is flogging a dead horse. Basically, Lester grey has givenn him all the financial records of NZ First and he is using them to sling mud and innuendo in the hope something – anything – sticks. This mornings episode described a perfectly ordinary select committee process where Labour, National and NZ First MPs on the committee all agree a routine submission was received from a donor to NZ First that was dealt with entirely normally and resulted in an outcome that was totally transparent across the select committee process.
But Espiner is insisting in on implying something dodgy has gone on. It is a quite disgraceful exhibition of a political vendetta from a journalist with an axe to grind.
When there is no story, they’ll manufacture one; it is their job, after all. They are doing the public a disservice but all that matters is the revenue.
Espiner is a sort of special roving reporter. He has clearly invested a lot of time into this NZ First stuff. I would imagine that he sold the "scoop" to his paymasters at RNZ on the basis it was a scandal that would put RNZ in the middle of the biggest political story of the year, with drip feed of stories designed to keep RNZ – and him – front and centre of the election year narrative.
So far, the best thing that has happened has been the idiocy of NZ First's reaction and the shrieking thin skinned petulance of the establishment media response.
The actual story -so far – is a series of swing and miss smears but it won't stop him pushing it.
Milk it for as long and as hard as you can and keep it in the public eye for as long as possible. Public interest is a fickle beast with an attention span shorter than the average tweet.
Except for the SFO confirming they are going to investigate. Don’t let details get in the way of your story though.
Paul Goldsmith was an astonishing return to the 1990s on RNZ this morning. The guy looks and sounds like a throwback to buttoned down neolib wideboys of the 1990s, jerking off to the sound of his own business jargon laden voice.
And really, that sums up the bankruptcy of National's economic policies. They've not bee updated for thirty years. Tax cuts for the rich, wealth transfer from the poor to the rich, a punitive surveillance state for the poor, slashing government spending and crony capitalism is all the modern right everywhere have to offer. They know this is a bankrupt, cronyist economic prescription so they've tried to ignite culture wars to hide it with Soimon's angry tram conductor chin jut and meaningless divide and rule slogans.
Epsomistan is a small isolated republic where democracy was replaced decades ago and is now characterised by rigid, top-down ideological control. Its citizens can come across as curiously dated throwbacks. Current leader, Paul Goldsmith, is notable only as the Guinness world record holder for the "smallest election billboard ever" – a postage-stamp sized, illegible cardboard offering last seen disappearing up David Seymour's nether regions.
Paul Goldsmith also let slip on RNZ that National are "looking at" abandoning the planned increases in minimum wage. Wonder if he ran that one past the leader, as it sits a bit uncomfortably with yesterday's grand announcement that National's policies are all about putting more money in the pocket of the kiwi battler. In reality, what National is looking at will probably be a net zero for the "kiwi battler" (lower wages offset by lower taxes, before cuts to public service are factored in), and double win for the wealthy who will get to pay their staff less and a nice fat tax cut to go with it.
Nostalgia time!
The panel beater's courtesy car (!!) had on Magic and I heard this old and loved song from the 1970s (?).
As I listened I realised just how much we had lost with the neoliberal ideology of 'dog eat dog' and 'there is no such thing as society.'
"He ain't heavy, he's my brother . . .
"His welfare is my concern . . .
"It's a long and winding road from which there is no return . . . why not share . . ."
Ah well, them days of caring for each other are never going to come back. (If they ever truly existed).
Thanks for that TV(not etc.).
Sorry, but today's songs can't compare with the 60s,70s etc.. Great music, great lyrics, great messages.
We've lost a lot alright.
Suppressed history of NZ: Oravida, the gas line, and the kauri.
https://www.reddit.com/r/newzealand/comments/f50ujj/rnz_solved_mysteries_oravida_the_gas_line_and_the/
A great overview of the saga and reminder of the fraud and corruption swirling around National
Hey now Jude is just a close personal friend of one of the executives of Oravida and nothing was proved so its all innocent I'm sure
She could toss a baby into a wood chipper and you'd find a way to forgive her. You're a lost cause, Pucky.
Well she'd obviously have a very good reason
Recent Polls:
(1) UMR
Jan 2020
Lab 41%
NZF 7%
Green 7%
Govt 55%
Nat 39%
ACT 2%
Oppo 41%
= Govt lead by 14 points
Feb 2020
Lab 42%
Green 9%
NZF 6%
Govt 57%
Nat 38%
ACT 3%
Oppo 41%
= Govt lead by 16 points
(UMR figures from Social Media … can't be verified)
(2) Reid Research
Late Jan 2020
Lab 42.5%
Green 5.6%
NZF 3.6%
Govt 51.7%
Nat 43.3%
ACT 1.8%
Oppo 45.1%
= Govt lead by 6.6 points
(3) Colmar Brunton
Early Feb 2020
Lab 41%
Green 5%
NZF 3.3%
Govt 49.3%
Nat 46%
ACT 1.7%
Oppo 47.7%
= Govt lead by 1.6 points
(Seats in Parliament, of course, are an entirely different matter … but this summarizes current public opinion on the two Party Blocs)
Its getting exciting isn't it…
I'm expecting Judith to topple Simon at some point in July … then the fairy-tale begins.
I wholeheartedly agree, Jude FTW!
It's the perfect project for the patron saint of lost causes and hopeless cases!
https://www.quora.com/Catholicism-Why-is-Jude-patron-saint-of-lost-causes
Its no coincidence that JC doesn't just stand for Jesus Christ…
That's certainly the phrase that springs to mind when I hear her mentioned puckers.
Northlands going to be a battleground but I'm predicting National will hold it which will make it a straight shootout between the National/Act (I'm predicting Act will have three MPs) and Labour/Greens
Will the Greens lose more votes to Labour, stay tuned!
Winnie's win in the by-election had a few unique factors that won't be replicated in the upcoming general election. So I'm skeptical that Northland is actually somehow in play.
Just a partial list:
The previous National occupant of the seat left under a particularly odious cloud.
The National candidate was quite uninspiring, and got very little support from the Nats as a whole
The result of the by-election would not change the government, so not a huge incentive for Nats to get out and vote. Similarly the opportunity cost to a Labour voter to vote for Winnie was zero.
However, for the opposition, winning the by-election would be symbolically huge. So there was a big incentive for all the oppo to coalesce around Winnie.
Being in government with WinnieFirst carries huge baggage and headaches for Labour in a way that the ACT puppetry show does not for National. So there's definite upsides for Labour if WinnieFirst falls out of parliament.
Also Nationals taken away Winstons trump card of 'keeping the govt honest' so yeah I can't see Jones winning
But you never know I guess
The tagline of "keeping the government honest" was always irony thick enough to armour a battleship when it came from Winnie.
While I know who I want to lead NZ after the next election if Winnie gets booted out of parliament then that'll make me happy no matter what happens
Wouldn't be surprised if Simon's leadership become untenable long before that, like in a couple of weeks, but suppression wrangles could kick the can for a while before it all blows to bits.
Fairy tale? Shakespearean tragedy, more like. As soon as the first knife goes in Bridges' back, all the pretenders will be thinking about drawing their blades.
Many will cower, but I reckon a few will have a good stab at it.
Never bring a knife to a gun fight…
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/nYQn53yo9m6KrksxEvka-kgCkms=/360×384/filters:quality(70)/arc-anglerfish-syd-prod-nzme.s3.amazonaws.com/public/5RPW5HE6QNH4TITAM3NPFAH3NE.jpg
LOLOL! Good to see you back. You really should do something about that tongue firmly stuck in your cheek!
It started out as exaggerated, over the top parody, now I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing
You said it!!!!!
The place needs a bit of humour. At times these days it feels like a school room where you have to get teacher’s approval etc. and woebetide if you don’t.
The one thing we can still do is laugh at our politicians
The only thing we can do is laugh at our politicians.
FIFY
Ditto what veutoviper said btw.
Always good to have break every now and then
"then the fairy-tale begins"
Judith as the Wicked Queen and Jacinda as Snow White?
So is Winston Prince Charming?
More Lindworm, praps…
Dungworm in the stables
Some people should not be landlords.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12309348
Everyone assumes we will even get to the election.
Please keep in mind the suffering and sacrifice the Chinese people are going through right now.
Certainly the Elephant in the Room.
If it spreads to 60% of the Population … and around 15-20% of those have a severe case needing hospitalisation (oxygen therapy / respirators / ventilators) … then hospitals will be completely overwhelmed … and we'll see many (otherwise preventable) deaths from Convid-19 -related Pneumonia.
Hopefully it won't come to that … but it's a distinct possibility.
Hospitals in China are already overwhelmed.
I suspect a lot of the problems in China are the result of them being the first to get it (everyone else now knows what to look for), a slow and possibly uncoordinated initial response (because there's a fine line between responding to a potential outbreak and being arrested for fearmongering), a high population density (even for city living), and intranational refugees when the problem became evident to the population but the state was still in denial.
There are many possible explanations. Take a look at this one. It's clearly flagged as speculative but there is nothing unreasonable about it either. I'm not endorsing it, but neither can it be ruled out. There is a huge amount of semi-informed speculation on the net at the moment, much of it filling in the information/trust vacuum created by rather obvious CCP propaganda.
Still even using the official numbers we are seeing around a 3% fatality rate in Hubei, yet other provinces such as Guandong with 1328 confirmed cases are reporting only 4 deaths instead of the 40 you would expect. There is a clear discrepancy between the rates being reported within Hubei and other provinces.
One reasonable explanation for this is the kind of complex latency period outlined in my link above. All I'm pointing out is that relying on anodyne official reports when we still don't really understand this new virus is probably not justified.
.
No doubt .., but I'm talking the course of any imminent Pandemic outside the Middle Kingdom / 中华人民共和国 … including within our own fair land …
… not to mention the potentially massive economic fallout.
Frankly, it reminds me of the "if these trends continue" thing we had for ebola.
I mean, sure it's theoretically possible that 10-15% of the NZ population needs hospitalisation in say a four month period.
But even without an effective vaccine, maybe it ends up more like TB – endemic in some areas and populations, better-controlled in others.
What we seem to be seeing is that cases can be reasonably identified and limited outside of China, but within China it's like a brushfire. Even if China is covering up the full extent of their outbreak, we've had long enough for it to become similarly established in other nations, i.e. triple or quadruple-digit infections in the same period that China went from double digit to quintiple digit. Which means the fire can be stamped on before it takes hold.
Frankly, it reminds me of the "if these trends continue" thing we had for ebola.
Comparing this virus with a completely different one that has a totally different character is bs. Ebola is actually rather hard to catch, it depends on direct bodily fluid exchange or eating bushmeat. It requires a specific set of social circumstances to become a pandemic.
Covid19 is the exact opposite, it's seems easily caught via multiple pathways and is still spreading actively despite a month of draconian efforts within China.
WHO are estimating 18 months for a vaccine, but even best case claims I’ve seen are around 4 months. That’s quite long enough for a global pandemic to gain momentum.
I agree it could be controlled outside of China; indeed one of the peculiarities in the data at this point in time is that it hasn’t spread as dramatically or lethally outside of China yet as might be expected. We still don’t properly understand this.
We can hope you are right; but this tragedy has a way to run yet.
It wasn't the diseases I was comparing, but the zero-information panic.
Talking about 10% per capita hospitalisation rates in NZ is pretty pessimistic based on what we see so far.
Internationally, the virus does not seem to have the same infection growth rate as it does in China. Which is what we'd expect, because the control measures were introduced at a far earlier stage in the rest of the world's exposure. (Also on that timeline page, China went the first two weeks in january with no new cases? – yeah, right.)
China's house is on fire and it's well established. Everyone else has the hoses out and has called the fire department, so their houses are unlikely to receive substantial damage.
We have to hope your reasoning is turns out the be right; in the meantime keep in mind this virus is from the same family as the common cold.
If we stopped people with colds going to work or school, the world would be a much healthier place.
RL
Your 5:08pm comment pretty much sums up my view.
60% of Pop / 15-20% severe = is certainly a worst case scenario … but we really can't be casual or lax about this.
There's a mid-course between panicking & wishful thinking.
I've got a work conference in May, in NZ. Small one, a hundred or so attendees from around the country.
Now, at this stage there is no reason to cancel it. Am I saying we won't pull the plug between now and then? Nope. But nobody is holding the cable in anticipation, either.
If the situation calls for it, we can change our behaviour. It's all a process. There's a time to stock up on emergency supplies and meds beyond what everybody probably has lying around since the earthquakes. There's a time to start avoiding theatres and crowded places and air transport.
But all this worst-case scenario stuff is a bit weird, frankly. Focus on the next three steps rather than worrying about the state of the bridge three miles down the path.
A bit sensationalist wasn't it
The alarm bells went off for me seeing those ominous crows.A fake news video was circulated recently, claiming those crows were at the epicentre of the epidemic, and was later exposed as being some thousands of miles away and a perfectly common phenomenon
"The WHO’s director of emergencies, Dr Michael Ryan, said the outbreak should not be described as a pandemic, even though it has spread to 25 countries outside China. “The real issue is whether we are seeing efficient community transmission outside of China and at the present time we are not observing that,” he said."
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/17/coronavirus-causes-mild-disease-in-four-in-five-patients-says-who
OK so the crows. But no mention of the WHO official speaking to the point.
Of the various sources scrutinising the CCP official narrative this one has a track record and reasonable credibility. We have a close Chinese connection who is confirming much of what is being said here; so far everything she is telling us is about one week ahead of the news.
The problem I have is that everything officially reported relies on CCP controlled sources; there does not appear to be any independent checking on the ground, and what leaks out via social media is very difficult to confirm.
But even the numbers we are being told are not good. And there is still a great deal about this virus we don’t really know.
I have a friend who is living in China too. He's under the radar running a language school and is married to a Chinese woman .He's fluent and reads well , but most of his information about China comes from the Guardian .Relying on those connections is daft, just as if a foreigner asked me to explain the NZ Health system I'd have a point of view, so would 4 million others
The worst thing about the virus is its unknown (yet) qualities
I suppose you've read what the Hong Kong coronavirus expert has had to say ?
https://www.accuweather.com/en/health-wellness/coronavirus-expert-says-the-virus-will-burn-itself-out-in-about-6-months/679415
The US 2017/18 flu epidemic seemed to rage on despite the US supposedly being an open and transparent democracy and therefore better equipped to deal with an outbreak…as opposed to the brutal and backward totalitarian CCP
"The 2017-2018 flu season was severe for all populations and resulted in an estimated 959,000 hospitalizations and 79,400 deaths. This is the highest number of patient claims since the 2009 flu season.[10] "
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017%E2%80%9318_United_States_flu_season
Anytime, anywhere there's an epidemic, the population can be guaranteed to decry the efforts of whatever govt is in power, paranoia and rumours, fake news and panic is the order of the day
I take what you say on board, but there are so many elements to all this and time will be the better judge
Yes I've seen several references to the reasonable expectation that increasing temperatures, sunlight and humidity will see a big reduction in new cases. As it does with the common cold. That's definitely a positive.
The negatives remain, what if like the common cold it mutates rapidly, reappears seasonally and re-infects frequently?
Then there is this intriguing analysis.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/119585139/jacinda-ardern-says-nz-first-scandal-not-a-priority-but-squeezes-in-a-meeting-with-elton-john
"a bit of politics, I might have commented on how Neve loves to dance to his music"
Does this make Neve…wait for it…its coming…you'll love it…are you ready…a Tiny Dancer?
https://instantrimshot.com/
https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/imminent-threat-doesn-t-appear-in-white-house-letter-on-soleimani-killing-1.8533439
Not sure if this has aleardy been posted but I thought it was worth posting.
From what infomation we have available it appears that the talking point dragged out for the defence of a US airstrike against soleimani, that he was posing an 'imminent threat' to US soldiers stationed in the region was nothing more than a helpful little slogan to pretend that the attacks were justified under international law. Its sad to see cases like this were a weak defence for an illegal and wrong action lasts just long enough to outlive public and meida interst, before falling apart in the deathly silince of general disinterest.
That 'imminent threat' idea goes back to Tony Blair's need to justify supporting the GW Bush régime in destroying Saddam Hussein. Blair's government eventually found an ironically named lawyer, Daniel Bethlehem, who helpfully provided a clever new definition.
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2020/01/lies-the-bethlehem-doctrine-and-the-illegal-murder-of-soleimani/comment-page-4/#comments
Wow yeah that's almost a verbatim double speak use of the word 'immanent', Orwell would have been impressed…
Thanks for that peice of history, good to know
I doubt anyone ever took seriously the "imminent threat" bullshit right from the get-go. Especially when it was about sixth in the line of incoherent nonsensical and contradictory explanations given by various known liars.
Dunno about a deathly silence of general disinterest. It's more like submerged beneath a firehose of fresh outrages. And even if there were a functioning mechanism to hold Darth Drumpf accountable (McTurtle has ensured all possible mechanisms for accountability have been smashed), it would be a fair way down on the list of outrages to hold him accountable for. Especially from an American viewpoint.
Your probably right Andre but it's still good to come to a proper conclusion with these kinds of event that get the publicity and scrutiny they deserve. That way we can all learn lessons and began to settle closer to a agreed upon history of events. As things are people who were for these attacks will probably never hear that they didn't have the legal justifications that it was said they had, and won't have that knowledge for next time something like this happens
I like this guy, he gives everyone a hard time
And he's gone.
London (CNN)A recently hired adviser to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has resigned, after backlash grew against his controversial past comments — notably for claims that black Americans have lower IQs than white Americans and that compulsory contraception could prevent the creation of a "permanent underclass."
Andrew Sabisky, a self-described "superforecaster," announced his resignation as a "contractor" on Twitter Monday, saying that he did not want the "media hysteria about my old stuff online" to be a distraction for Johnson's government.
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/17/uk/boris-johnson-advisor-andrew-sabisky-intl-gbr-scli/index.html
His tenure was how many Scaramuccis long?
notably for claims that black Americans have lower IQs than white Americans
Turns out to be a remarkably complex topic. Whatever the cause there does appear to be either:
1 A real and persistent IQ gap between black and white America (and between many countries globally) ….
2. Or IQ is a meaningless number with no relevance …
3. Or there is no such thing as race anyway …
It's possible that IQ tests themselves have a residual cultural bias, despite best attempts to eliminate them.
It's plausible that the systemic disadvantages that African-Americans have to deal with all their lives contributes to low scores on IQ tests.
It is probable that the number coming out of an IQ test is indeed meaningless, particularly over small differences.
It is certain that the distributions for the various populations overlap so heavily and the average differences so small that even if an IQ gap is a real thing, it's of zero practical significance for any real-world purpose. Particularly at an individual level.
On reading the wikipedia article I was genuinely struck at what an interestingly complex topic this is.
The point is that what Sabisky said isn’t really controversial, measured differences between groups and countries is well established. But understanding why these differences arise and persist isn’t.