Nice to see Biden continuing the Trump tradition of outright lying about covid…
"Biden’s response to a mother attending with her eight-year-old daughter, who asked Biden when her children — who “often ask if they will catch COVID, and if they do, will they die” — would be vaccinated.
“First of all, kids don’t get … COVID very often, it’s unusual for that to happen,” Biden told the little girl. “Number two, you’re not likely to be able to be exposed to something and spread it to mommy and daddy, and it’s not likely mommy and daddy are able to spread it to you.”
“I wouldn’t worry about it baby,” Biden assured her."
Though, of course, when Biden lies and spreads #fakenews its called 'Empathy'..one of the "tools in the tool box' the liberals and centrists wheel out at as their get out of jail free cards…
Yeah, the poor delusional bastard is obviously equally ignorant about defense policy, because he told some other kid that Santa would be able to fly across the border to deliver presents. /sarc
Seriously, talking to a kid is not the same as telling the white house press corps shit about injecting bleach or whatever.
I think it's being; taken for a ride, that NZ nurses want to stop, rather than start. The sense that the NZNO is not organizing for the benefit of NZ nurses is not lessened by their apparent disdain for their members:
"Given that in last year, we've had a CEO, two presidents, one vice president and three board members resign is a sign, a clear indication that something is not right within the governance group."
Board members had agreed the review would be a chance to counter the misinformation and negative comments.
Kaiwhakahaere or Māori co-president Kerri Nuku, who was chairing the meeting, said she was "looking forward to the review" and wanted "the facts to speak for themselves" as she believed that the way the board had behaved had "not been anything but reputable".
However, after receiving the report in December the board then decided to restrict who could read it, making it available to only those former board members who had participated in it..
Governance committee chair Andrew Cunningham conceded the board has had "some failings" over the last two years but was disappointed at the members' demands to see the entire report.
"We're at this point where we're in this state of flux and we have such awesome potential to actually flip it and go into something that's really cool.
"And we're just about there and then people are doing this, which is really disappointing.
"I'm just disappointed that they don't want to come along for the ride."
The Herald will be getting a rap over the knuckles this morning. The Ninth floor of the Beehive is not amused. How dare they publish an article giving the views of Auckland Medical School Professor Dr Gorman on the lockdown and the Government's actions?
Dr Gorman is, unfortunately, rather naive in his views, at least in my opinion. He seems to think the Government's activities were solely for the alleviation of risk from the Covid 19 cases. In my view they were intended to distract people's attention from the continued shambles that is their Housing policy. Get people to stop talking about the Government's failures and back to applauding St Jacinda for saving tens of thousands of lives is the meme of the day.
When Dr Gorman says "For example, the Ministry of Health on Saturday night decided not to tell the Government for 12 hours – for 12 hours, according to the Prime Minister – that there was an outbreak, which meant that any opportunity she had to shut down the Big Gay Out and America's Cup [on Sunday] had gone." he demonstrates his confusion. The aim of the delay seems to be intended to avoid the shutting down of The Big Gay Out. That was a major interest of a significant proportion of the devoted Jacinda worshippers and they were not to be inconvenienced.
Stuff on the other hand may be getting a gold star stuck on their editor's forehead. They have gone with policy and published a fawning column by Thomas Coughland. We no longer have a gold, or even a platinum system of tracing. We now have "the “Ferrari” of international Covid plans".
Get with the story Herald. Follow the example of Stuff and get with the flow. After all, you do want some of the latest $55 million slush fund don't you?
The MoH and Jacinda Ardern's governments have done a fantastic job on Covid-19 response. We are the envy of the world for both health and economy outcomes. Our economy is not only performing better than every one else's but better than we expected too.
Why wouldn't you trust what they are doing?
I'll tell you why, because of bitterness and crazy paranoia. There are not good attributes to have when discussing the effectiveness of this country’s Covid-19 response.
Are you, for instance, claiming the MoH deliberately put the country at risk because it is full of gay people who vote Labour and wanted to go to the Big Gay Out???
Well. After reading the first paragraph of what you have written I see that that there will be a gold star for you in the mail within a week or two. You are certainly 100% behind the Government line.
Now, what is going to be done about the housing crisis?
But you don't want anything done about the housing crisis otherwise you wouldn't rail so hard against measures such as a CGT, wealth tax, or land tax.
You are quite happy for the problem to continue because I suspect you personally benefit from it and it provide a stick with which to beat Jacinda Ardern with.
Come back to me when you've shown some broad compassion for those less fortunate. I won't hold my breath.
It is a bit off topic but I will very briefly note that I am opposed to all 3 of the policies you mention because the proposals to implement them all propose to do so while excluding the family home. That makes things much worse, not better.
However I will not discuss it here further as the point of my comment was to do with our Covid 19 reactions and erratic Government policy.
I have commented previously on the effects of capital gains taxes on house prices in other economies which have a CGT environment, and in particular in the Australian situation. Right now I am interested in our Covid 19 policies. If you want to see what I have said on the other subject I am sure you will be able to find my comments on this site.
It can feel like looking at another planet, rather than a country on the other side of the world. New Zealand is currently enjoying a life we can only eye enviously from afar – from spectator-filled rugby stadiums to New Year's celebrations.
The country has become something of a poster child for its handling of the Covid epidemic.
And yet some still doggedly insist it's a shambles
And yet some still doggedly insist it's a shambles
I think it has something to do with following the statements of the leader of your favourite political party rather than looking at the actions for what they are/were and what they achieved.
I note that with the latest outbreak in the community the viruses that accompanied the last outbreak have also reappeared:
the 'Moaning Minnie' virus
and
the 'Grumble/grouch' virus
These are subtly different viruses much the same as the UK Covid-19 variant is different to the original one.
I can still recall my shock at the National Party (Simon Bridges) standing up in Parliament not to say…'we stand united and want to help and support the plans for meeting this unknown enemy' but to treat it as some sort of party political happening. I actually expected him to cross the floor of the house to stand next to the PM.
I don't think my standards are too high, I do think that ethical & moral standards in NP have slipped mightily.
Right now I am interested in our Covid 19 policies.
So why did you bring up housing?
Your second paragraph @5 was specifically devoted to the bizarre theory the government is using Covid-19 to distract from and cover up the housing crisis? And I suspect that was your motivation for the entire comment.
"In my view they were intended to distract people's attention from the continued shambles that is their Housing policy."
I suspect it had more to do with the pressure coming from the hospo industry in Auckland and SMEs….they erred on the side of employment on this occasion which some will not agree with but they obviously think the processes are sufficient to contain it.
Well or they could send money to all these employers and sme's – money that is not linked to some staff, but rather to be used to pay the rent/overheads for the time of the shut down, but they did not.
No, we get a bullshit lockdown for a few days , and then we get a bullshit loosening of the lockdown, and then we get another bullshit shutdown for a few days, and rinse repeat. But its all good for those that can work remotely or work for government – money for nothing and – all gendered people for free.
If 3 cases are enough to warrant a lockdown 3 for the largest city in the country then surely 5 cases should be enough to warrant the continuation of the lockdown until they are sure no more cases are coming up. Everything else is shambles and a container load of horse manure that goes to waste in the gilded halls of the government.
Shambles? For all that Covid bullshit ("bullshit lockdown"; "bullshit loosening of the lockdown"; "another bullshit lockdown"), NZ could be doing much worse. They must be drowning in bullshit in the US and Europe – not a nice way to go imho.
this last lookdown was warranted. Firstly, and imo it should go and stay until and unless it is clear that there is no more community transmission
yesterday we were told taht there were two more cases. And we were also told its ok to go back to normal.
So yeah, this lockdown was bullshit – made so by the governments idiocy in going back to level 1 as if all is normal also Yesterday.
So either we need to go into lockdown anytime there is a community transmission / outbreak or not.
Everything else is bullshit.
Not sure what your comment about the secessionist in the US who got herself shot in the face while planning to shot someone else in the face but surely you saw something there…..
If you don’t understand the reasoning and decision making of the latest one you haven’t been paying attention or you’re letting your beliefs cloud your thinking.
Agreed. And since it has been an almost constant pressure from all areas of the hospo industry (including tworism) since this shit show kicked off you'd have thought the Government would have acquired a bit of immunity against it by now.
Up North here there was no small surprise at the Level being lifted. We kinda assumed/hoped it would continue for at least another week. Not that we don't like Aucklanders or anything….
Not just hospo industry, dentists, doctors with planned surgeryes, people with planned surgeries in AKL, children going to school, people going to work, etc.
NOT Everyone in this country is working remotely with enough resources to simply just stay home at the horrible noise of the mobile phone.
As i said also, i don't want a wage subsidy – again a load of bullshit imo, but rather that the government helps people pay their bills when they are being in lockdown courtesy of the government.
Maybe people need to understand that you can have government paid subsidies to keep people in lockdown when it is needed, or it can go the way of the US and not pay a dime to affected groups of people and then watch them go to work despite the risk to themselves, their families and others.
And a year in this pandemic, i really had hoped that the government had wrapped its head around this particularity of people, that a. they don't like to be locked up, b. they need to earn money to pay for all that government sanctioned capitalism, and last but least, if they don't give people good enough reasons for a lockdown and financial aid for those that can't just stay at home, some day no one is going to listen to them, their little phone alarm, their preachy tv sessions of kindness and such and people will just go out to work, to their appointments because why not.
I too would have liked this lockdown to last at least 14 – 16 days.
but then, hey they can just send us back into lockdown tomorrow if they find a few more people with Covid. right?
btw, if one is on Home D the government via Winz pays for all your living costs. So yeah, bullshit alright.
I always highly value your impartial opinion but today your radar seems a little off.
The piece by Thomas Coughlan – you may want to pay a little more attention to the spelling of his name – is hardly fawning.
If you had actually read the piece, which of course you had not, you would have known that neither Mr Coughlan nor Stuff had coined the term “Ferrari” in this context – writers hardly ever write their own headlines anyway.
In fact, it was economist and modeller Rodney Jones who came up with the term.
You fascinate me. How do you think I found, and commented on this statement if I hadn't read the article? And I may not have attributed the comment to the person who first wrote it but the comment was in the article, and not only in the headline as you seem to be suggesting and certainly was, at least in my opinion, enthusiastically supported as being valid by the author of the piece.
For your benefit it was in, and I quoted from, the third paragraph which says, in full,
"The question for New Zealanders is whether Cabinet’s decision yesterday represents a new, more confident and possibly more cavalier evolution of the country's Covid-19 response, which one economist and modeller described as the “Ferrari” of international Covid plans."
IMHO, you’re too easily fascinated, see too much fawning, and fall for Ferrari headlines.
I didn’t see the full quote in your beautifully crafted comment @ 5 because it wasn’t there, only the part-quote, which was selective and misleading to suit your narrative. It did not come with proper attribution either, which is another sign of being disingenuous and not commenting here in good faith. It wouldn’t be the first time for you, would it?
I too heard the interview with Professor Gorman this morning. He builds a very compelling argument around the core premise of “what is our risk appetite”? This seems a very basic question to me and yet one I’m not sure we have a clear and consistent view on.
He makes another valid point about the political theatre of alert level announcements. When it takes 15 minutes of preamble each time before you get to the key message, you know the whole thing is more designed to be a show than a public service announcement.
You misunderstand that much of the “show” is part of clear and effective communication to the whole NZ population. Key messages and reasoning need to be repeated every time. Not everyone is as ‘with it’ as Alwyn and you. I too sit there impatiently just waiting for the decision but I’m not the typical audience. I cannot stand watching & listening and go by the written Live Updates on Stuff. Mostly, I can’t be bothered and get on with things and don’t find out what’s been decided until somebody tells me many hours later.
Anyone remember the Business Roundtable. The odious old boys club with their creep economic policies. The days of crony capitalism when the 1%ers had their cronies in positions of power. The self entitled BRT with their noses deep in the trough and pockets open expecting the state to shovel money into it. Government by the 1% for the 1%
The Business Round Table was a think tank not an "old boys club". It still exists. It merged with another think tank about 10 years ago and renamed to the NZ Initiative. It still published really well researched papers on a variety of topics to help stimulate debate on policies.
Why? They are a right-wing think tank. That is not unusual. There are also left-wing think tanks. The point of them is to push out ideas to solve societies problems from a particular perspective. There is nothing sinister or underhand in that.
They should have been a "think again" tank Gosman. Sadly for NZ there was not much thinking in the enactment of their agenda. It was a one way swinging door, a totally porous membrane
The unjustified system of new zealand breaches Te Treaty of Waitangi in many ways. Times are changing but not fast enough to stop tangata whenua from being thrown out to the crap heap of the prison system that will unload many negative effects on their future there tamariki future and Mokopuna futures.
Criminal Justice System: Why New Zealand’s Drug Laws Need to Change
By Emilia Sullivan
Māori, despite only making up 15% of the population, make up 52.8% of New Zealand’s prison population, with almost half being incarcerated for drug offences. In 2015, the (now former) Commissioner of Police Mike Bush acknowledged that New Zealand police have an ‘unconscious bias’ toward Māori. Five years on, things have not changed. Māori are still disproportionately represented in the prison system, with a large portion of these being non-violent drug offences. Something has clearly gone wrong in our justice system’s approach to reducing harm caused by drugs, and it needs to be rectified by Māori, for Māori.
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The amount of paint needed to paint a car depends on a number of factors, including the size of the car, the number of coats you plan to apply, and the type of paint you are using. In general, you will need between 1 and 2 gallons of paint for ...
Jump-starting a car is a common task that can be performed even in adverse weather conditions like rain. However, safety precautions and proper techniques are crucial to avoid potential hazards. This comprehensive guide will provide detailed instructions on how to safely jump a car in the rain, ensuring both your ...
Graham Adams writes about the $55m media fund — When Patrick Gower was asked by Mike Hosking last week what he would say to the many Newstalk ZB callers who allege the Labour government bribed media with $55 million of taxpayers’ money via the Public Interest Journalism Fund — and ...
Note: this blog post has been put together over the course of the week I followed the happenings at the conference virtually. Should recordings of the Great Debates and possibly Union Symposia mentioned below, be released sometime after the conference ends, I'll include links to the ones I participated in. ...
The following was my submission made on the “Fast Track Approvals Bill”. This potential law will give three Ministers unchecked powers, un-paralled since the days of Robert Muldoon’s “Think Big” projects.The submission is written a bit tongue-in-cheek. But it’s irreverent because the FTAB is in itself not worthy of respect. ...
One Could Reduce Child Poverty At No Fiscal CostFollowing the Richardson/Shipley 1990 ‘redesign of the welfare state’ – which eliminated the universal Family Benefit and doubled the rate of child poverty – various income supplements for families have been added, the best known being ‘Working for Families’, introduced in 2005. ...
Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing “on why Melissa is mute”. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Lee’s ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
How will the recent wave of job cuts impact ethnic diversity in the media? In November last year, I was working a very busy day in the newsroom of a large online news site, interviewing whānau about their concerns over the imminent closure of one of the few puna reo ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ruth Knight, Researcher, Queensland University of Technology Have you ever felt sick at work? Perhaps you had food poisoning or the flu. Your belly hurt, or you felt tired, making it hard to concentrate and be productive. How likely would you be ...
Despite heavy criticism and an ongoing select committee process, the Police Minister says the Government will forge ahead with a ban on gang patches. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam Whiting, Lecturer – Creative Industries, University of South Australia Shutterstock Everyone has a favourite band, or a favourite composer, or a favourite song. There is some music which speaks to you, deeply; and other music which might be the current ...
A new survey says ‘outlook not great’ for those charged with building infrastructure, while RMA changes delight farmers and depress environmentalists, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. First RMA changes announced ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olli Hellmann, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Waikato Getty Images When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also ...
A leaked document shows the Canterbury/Waitaha arm of health agency Te Whatu Ora is scurrying to save $13.3 million by July. The “financial sustainability target”, which was “allocated” to Waitaha, is consistent with what’s happening in other districts, says Sarah Dalton, executive director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists. ...
A look at the state of the previous government’s affordable housing scheme, and what could come next.Remind me: What’s KiwiBuild again?First announced in 2012, KiwiBuild was a flagship policy of the Labour Party heading into both its 2014 and 2017 election campaigns. With Jacinda Ardern as prime minister, ...
Labour in opposition will be shocked to learn which party had six years in power but squandered any chance to make real change. Grant Robertson’s valedictory speech was a predictably entertaining trip down memory lane. The acid-tongued incoming Otago University chancellor administered a sick burn to the coalition government. He ...
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The following interview with former Green Party MP Sue Kedgley came about because she features in the new memoir Hine Toa by activist Ngāhuia te Awekōtuku; the two knew each other at the University of Auckland in the early 70s, when they were both took on leadership roles in the ...
Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is seen some as its ‘silicon shield’ against invasion – but how will overseas expansion affect that protection? The post The state of Taiwan’s silicon shield appeared first on Newsroom. ...
There’s relief for building owners bending under the weight of earthquake strengthening rules – and costs – that came into force seven years ago. Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk has announced a scheduled 2027 review of the earthquake-prone building regulations will now start this year. Owners will also get ...
Opinion: It has been announced that nine percent of roles at Oranga Tamariki will be disestablished, presumably to help fund the tax cuts promised by the coalition Government. I am reminded of the graphics used to illustrate pandemic events, where five thousand people are standing in a field and then ...
After more than two sleepless days, running through savage terrain, Greig Hamilton didn’t know if he was going to finish one of the most gruelling psychological assaults in sport. He was metres away from the finish line, a yellow gate made famous in a Netflix documentary; a race he’d dreamed ...
COMMENTARY:By Murray Horton New Zealand needs to get tough with Israel. It’s not as if we haven’t done so before. When NZ authorities busted a Mossad operation in Auckland 20 years ago, the government didn’t say: “Oh well, Israel has the right to defend itself.” No, it arrested, prosecuted, ...
NEWSMAKERS:By Vijay Narayan, news director of FijiVillage Blessed to be part of the University of Fiji (UniFiji) faculty to continue to teach and mentor those who want to join our noble profession, and to stand for truth and justice for the people of the country. I was privileged to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Three weeks from now, some of us will be presented with a mountain of budget papers, and just about all of us will get to hear about them on radio, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dan Lowry, Ice Sheet & Climate Modeller, GNS Science Hugh Chittock/Antarctica New Zealand, CC BY-SA As the climate warms and Antarctica’s glaciers and ice sheets melt, the resulting rise in sea level has the potential to displace hundreds of millions of ...
The government's plan to reintroduce a three strikes regime is being strongly opposed by lawyers, who argue there is no evidence it reduces crime or helps people rehabilitate. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dan Jerker B. Svantesson, Professor specialising in Internet law, Bond University Do Australian courts have the right to decide what foreign citizens, located overseas, view online on a foreign-owned platform? Anyone inclined to answer “yes” to this question should perhaps also ask ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Giovanni E Ferreira, NHMRC Emerging Leader Research Fellow, Institute of Musculoskeletal Health, University of Sydney Last week in a post on X, owner of the platform Elon Musk recommended people look into disc replacement if they’re experiencing severe neck or back pain. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Hayward, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, RMIT University anek.soowannaphoom/Shutterstock NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey caught the headlines yesterday, courtesy of a blistering speech condemning the latest GST carve-up. New South Wales, he claimed, would be A$11.9 billion worse off over the ...
While police are "broadly in favour", the government's proposed anti-gang laws are facing pushback from lawyers, rights groups and former gang members. ...
While police are "broadly in favour", the government's proposed anti-gang laws are facing pushback from lawyers, rights groups and former gang members. ...
By Miriam Zarriga in Port Moresby Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has arrived at Kokoda Station, Northern province, at the start of his state visit to Papua New Guinea. Both Albanese and Prime Minister James Marape will meet with the locals and the Northern Provincial government before they begin their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chris Wallace, Professor, School of Politics Economics & Society, Faculty of Business Government & Law, University of Canberra Shutterstock An important principle was invoked by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last week in defence of the government’s Future Made in Australia industry ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk Security forces reinforcements were sent from France ahead of two rival marches in the capital Nouméa today, at the same time and only two streets away one from the other. One march, called by Union Calédonienne party (a component of the ...
A poll last August found that just 16% of New Zealanders oppose bringing back the ‘Three Strikes’ law. The nationwide poll of 1,000 New Zealanders was commissioned by Family First NZ and carried out by Curia Market Research. ...
The solo show from Ana Scotney is both sprawling and intimate, and a must-see, writes Mad Chapman. In the opening moments of Scattergun: After the Death of Rūaumoko, writer and performer Ana Scotney lays out the groundwork, literally. Silently moving around the square stage, Scotney is not so much dancing ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Burridge, Professor of Linguistics, Monash University Who makes the words? Why are trees called trees and why are shoes called shoes and who makes the names? – Elliot, age 5, Eltham, Victoria Good question Elliot! Let’s start with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne at amRawpixel.com/Shutterstock Roles of health professionals are still unfortunately often stuck in the past. That is, before the ...
COMMENTARY:By Malcolm Evans Last week’s leaked New York Times staff directive, as to what words can and cannot be used to describe the carnage Israel is raining on Palestinians, is proof positive, since those reports are published verbatim here in New Zealand, that our understanding of the conflict is ...
In the case of New Zealand, the results confirm that there is no popular support for the vicious austerity program being imposed by the National Party-led government, which is backed in all fundamental respects by the opposition Labour Party. ...
The ‘Vampire’ singer has never visited our part of the world, but that might all be about to change. We assess the evidence.Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts World Tour is pulling in massive crowds as it whips around the US and Europe, even helping to catapult regular supporting act Chappell Roan ...
Testing of drinking water in rural Canterbury over the weekend by Greenpeace revealed that several public town supplies were reaching levels of nitrate above 5 mg/L - the threshold which a growing body of scientific evidence has linked to increased ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rohan Fisher, Information Technology for Development Researcher, Charles Darwin University It may come as a surprise to hear 2023 was Australia’s biggest bushfire season in more than a decade. Fires burned across an area eight times as big as the 2019–20 Black ...
Responding to the Government’s announcement of changes to resource management laws, Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams, said: “These changes are a step in the right direction in terms of removing ideological and unworkable ...
More than two years after the Human Rights Council called for the establishment of a national human rights commission, such a body has yet to be formed. ...
Comment:An emergency management system with wide variations in performance, significant capability gaps, funding shortfalls and above all a setup that is not meeting the needs of New Zealanders at times of crisis. The Government’s inquiry into the response to Cyclone Gabrielle and other severe weather events in the North ...
Welcome to the whirring wonders of one brain trying to align its actions with its beliefs within a system it thinks is evil. My brain has been spiralling in a woke conundrum ever since I found out a bookshop I’ve never been to was shutting down. Good Books, a bookshop ...
We repeat our call for criminal justice policy to be based on evidence, something the three strikes regime neglects to recognise – with no evidence that it either reduces crime or assists with rehabilitation. ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor in Honiara With only four more seats in the 50-member Parliament yet to be officially declared, there is no outright winner in the Solomon Islands elections. As of Monday, the two largest blocs in the winner’s circle, independents and the incumbent Prime Minister Manasseh ...
Two/fiftyseven is a multi-purpose space hidden in the heart of Wellington that is paving a way for sustainable building and responsible landlording in Aotearoa and beyond.By 2060 the world is predicted to double its entire building stock, which equates to building an entire New York City every 34 days, ...
Popstars wasn’t just a reality television revolution, it was also a huge moment for Y2K fashion.It’s 25 years since girl group TrueBliss was formed on New Zealand national television, breaking new ground for both the reality television industry and the shiny clothing industry. With the first episode on NZ ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Pepping, Associate Professor in Clinical Psychology, Griffith University Marvin / Shutterstock Are all single people insecure? When we think about people who have been single for a long time, we may assume it’s because single people have insecurities that make ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By William Geary, Lecturer in Quantitative Ecology & Biodiversity Conservation, The University of Melbourne Trismegist san, Shutterstock Landscapes that have escaped fire for decades or centuries tend to harbour vital structures for wildlife, such as tree hollows and large logs. But these ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Gladstone-Gallagher, Lecturer in Marine Science, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Shutterstock/S Curtis Why are we crossing ecological boundaries that affect Earth’s fundamental life-supporting capacity? Is it because we don’t have enough information about how ecosystems respond to change? Or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Crocker, PhD Student in Economics, Deakin University Here’s something for the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia to ponder as it meets next month to set interest rates. It has pushed up rates on 13 occasions since it began its ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a charity director outlines how she’s saving for retirement and buying secondhand. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.Gender: Female Age: 45 Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: Charity director, mum of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sophie Yates, Research Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Many Australians with disability feel on the edge of a precipice right now. Recommendations from the disability royal commission and the NDIS review were released late last year. Now a ...
It’s been called a failed experiment and a judicial straightjacket but the government says the revised three strikes law will be a more workable regime, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Three ...
New Zealand’s Palestinian community and Palestinian Youth Aotearoa are voicing alarm and disappointment with the lack of factual rigour present during the Israeli Ambassador’s appearance as a guest on TVNZ’s Q+A With Jack Tame Sunday (21/04). ...
Both ACT leader David Seymour, who played a key role in drawing up the assisted dying law, and hospice leaders say it's time the legislation was changed. ...
Public submissions on proposed gang control laws are being heard today. Rising gang membership has been cited as rationale for a crackdown – but what do we actually know about how many people belong to gangs in New Zealand?What’s all this then?A rise in the number of gang ...
Climate activists are setting their sights on an unpopular target, and hoping to bring lots of the public with them. It’s hard to miss the Majestic Princess: the enormous cruise ship, docked at Auckland’s Prince’s Wharf, looms over the nearby buildings. The ship, which can fit nearly 6,000 people, ...
Opinion: Making sure developers, local and central government, and landowners are all on the same page makes sense The post A new kind of city deal appeared first on Newsroom. ...
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The following korero between Ngāhuia te Awekōtuku, author of the newly published memoir Hine Toa, one of the year’s most important books, and Dale Husband from e-tangata, was first published in October. It traverses her involvement with the activist group Ngā Tamatoa at Auckland University in the early 1970s, her ...
Here is a very interesting short Joe Biden Interview from 2015.not much has changed…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BxI01IiwMw
Nice to see Biden continuing the Trump tradition of outright lying about covid…
Though, of course, when Biden lies and spreads #fakenews its called 'Empathy'..one of the "tools in the tool box' the liberals and centrists wheel out at as their get out of jail free cards…
Biden sounds here nearly as ignorant and as much a wishful thinker as Trump.
Yeah, the poor delusional bastard is obviously equally ignorant about defense policy, because he told some other kid that Santa would be able to fly across the border to deliver presents. /sarc
Seriously, talking to a kid is not the same as telling the white house press corps shit about injecting bleach or whatever.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/124265465/political-leaders-language-seeks-to-manipulate-us
No, it isn’t.
The Force is strong with this family.
Good piece by Jess Berentson-Shaw.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/scared-shouting-and-standing-in-the-way
In other words:
Feel their fear and do it anyway!
I think it's being; taken for a ride, that NZ nurses want to stop, rather than start. The sense that the NZNO is not organizing for the benefit of NZ nurses is not lessened by their apparent disdain for their members:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/436641/call-for-nurses-organisation-to-release-review-into-board-s-performance
Darned if I know why Andrew should be 'disappointed'.
The Herald will be getting a rap over the knuckles this morning. The Ninth floor of the Beehive is not amused. How dare they publish an article giving the views of Auckland Medical School Professor Dr Gorman on the lockdown and the Government's actions?
Dr Gorman is, unfortunately, rather naive in his views, at least in my opinion. He seems to think the Government's activities were solely for the alleviation of risk from the Covid 19 cases. In my view they were intended to distract people's attention from the continued shambles that is their Housing policy. Get people to stop talking about the Government's failures and back to applauding St Jacinda for saving tens of thousands of lives is the meme of the day.
When Dr Gorman says "For example, the Ministry of Health on Saturday night decided not to tell the Government for 12 hours – for 12 hours, according to the Prime Minister – that there was an outbreak, which meant that any opportunity she had to shut down the Big Gay Out and America's Cup [on Sunday] had gone." he demonstrates his confusion. The aim of the delay seems to be intended to avoid the shutting down of The Big Gay Out. That was a major interest of a significant proportion of the devoted Jacinda worshippers and they were not to be inconvenienced.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-coronavirus-auckland-out-of-lockdown-jacinda-ardern-sounds-warning-professor-des-gorman-criticises-alert-level-response/KFA6K7SS55MHX4BONF33FUVBSM/
Stuff on the other hand may be getting a gold star stuck on their editor's forehead. They have gone with policy and published a fawning column by Thomas Coughland. We no longer have a gold, or even a platinum system of tracing. We now have "the “Ferrari” of international Covid plans".
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300233040/covid19-contact-tracing-ferrari-will-be-enough-to-contain-future-outbreaks
Get with the story Herald. Follow the example of Stuff and get with the flow. After all, you do want some of the latest $55 million slush fund don't you?
The MoH and Jacinda Ardern's governments have done a fantastic job on Covid-19 response. We are the envy of the world for both health and economy outcomes. Our economy is not only performing better than every one else's but better than we expected too.
Why wouldn't you trust what they are doing?
I'll tell you why, because of bitterness and crazy paranoia. There are not good attributes to have when discussing the effectiveness of this country’s Covid-19 response.
Are you, for instance, claiming the MoH deliberately put the country at risk because it is full of gay people who vote Labour and wanted to go to the Big Gay Out???
It seems that way.
Well. After reading the first paragraph of what you have written I see that that there will be a gold star for you in the mail within a week or two. You are certainly 100% behind the Government line.
Now, what is going to be done about the housing crisis?
But you don't want anything done about the housing crisis otherwise you wouldn't rail so hard against measures such as a CGT, wealth tax, or land tax.
You are quite happy for the problem to continue because I suspect you personally benefit from it and it provide a stick with which to beat Jacinda Ardern with.
Come back to me when you've shown some broad compassion for those less fortunate. I won't hold my breath.
It is a bit off topic but I will very briefly note that I am opposed to all 3 of the policies you mention because the proposals to implement them all propose to do so while excluding the family home. That makes things much worse, not better.
However I will not discuss it here further as the point of my comment was to do with our Covid 19 reactions and erratic Government policy.
Why?
Why? This is Open Mike.
I have commented previously on the effects of capital gains taxes on house prices in other economies which have a CGT environment, and in particular in the Australian situation. Right now I am interested in our Covid 19 policies. If you want to see what I have said on the other subject I am sure you will be able to find my comments on this site.
Nah. Why does exempting the family home make things much worse?
Simple question.
The outcomes of those policies have made NZ the envy of world.
And yet some still doggedly insist it's a shambles
We don't know how lucky we are…
I like this version of the Fred Dagg classic with the old timey NZers and places…..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYvMeT2GC14
I think it has something to do with following the statements of the leader of your favourite political party rather than looking at the actions for what they are/were and what they achieved.
I note that with the latest outbreak in the community the viruses that accompanied the last outbreak have also reappeared:
the 'Moaning Minnie' virus
and
the 'Grumble/grouch' virus
These are subtly different viruses much the same as the UK Covid-19 variant is different to the original one.
I can still recall my shock at the National Party (Simon Bridges) standing up in Parliament not to say…'we stand united and want to help and support the plans for meeting this unknown enemy' but to treat it as some sort of party political happening. I actually expected him to cross the floor of the house to stand next to the PM.
I don't think my standards are too high, I do think that ethical & moral standards in NP have slipped mightily.
So why did you bring up housing?
Your second paragraph @5 was specifically devoted to the bizarre theory the government is using Covid-19 to distract from and cover up the housing crisis? And I suspect that was your motivation for the entire comment.
That's Advance NZ territory right there.
"In my view they were intended to distract people's attention from the continued shambles that is their Housing policy."
I suspect it had more to do with the pressure coming from the hospo industry in Auckland and SMEs….they erred on the side of employment on this occasion which some will not agree with but they obviously think the processes are sufficient to contain it.
Well or they could send money to all these employers and sme's – money that is not linked to some staff, but rather to be used to pay the rent/overheads for the time of the shut down, but they did not.
No, we get a bullshit lockdown for a few days , and then we get a bullshit loosening of the lockdown, and then we get another bullshit shutdown for a few days, and rinse repeat. But its all good for those that can work remotely or work for government – money for nothing and – all gendered people for free.
If 3 cases are enough to warrant a lockdown 3 for the largest city in the country then surely 5 cases should be enough to warrant the continuation of the lockdown until they are sure no more cases are coming up. Everything else is shambles and a container load of horse manure that goes to waste in the gilded halls of the government.
Shambles? For all that Covid bullshit ("bullshit lockdown"; "bullshit loosening of the lockdown"; "another bullshit lockdown"), NZ could be doing much worse. They must be drowning in bullshit in the US and Europe – not a nice way to go imho.
this last lookdown was warranted. Firstly, and imo it should go and stay until and unless it is clear that there is no more community transmission
yesterday we were told taht there were two more cases. And we were also told its ok to go back to normal.
So yeah, this lockdown was bullshit – made so by the governments idiocy in going back to level 1 as if all is normal also Yesterday.
So either we need to go into lockdown anytime there is a community transmission / outbreak or not.
Everything else is bullshit.
Not sure what your comment about the secessionist in the US who got herself shot in the face while planning to shot someone else in the face but surely you saw something there…..
Yeah, life is BS and then you die.
All lockdown decisions are a balancing act.
If you don’t understand the reasoning and decision making of the latest one you haven’t been paying attention or you’re letting your beliefs cloud your thinking.
I was temporarily overwhelmed by all that "bullshit" – better now. All the best.
btw, we are not a commie country, we are captialism true and through.
see Wekas post about kids being hungry every day, and their parents.
And that too is due to goverments bullshittery, the current ones, the key ones, the clark ones the shipley ones etc.
…the pressure coming from the hospo industry…
Agreed. And since it has been an almost constant pressure from all areas of the hospo industry (including tworism) since this shit show kicked off you'd have thought the Government would have acquired a bit of immunity against it by now.
Up North here there was no small surprise at the Level being lifted. We kinda assumed/hoped it would continue for at least another week. Not that we don't like Aucklanders or anything….
Not just hospo industry, dentists, doctors with planned surgeryes, people with planned surgeries in AKL, children going to school, people going to work, etc.
NOT Everyone in this country is working remotely with enough resources to simply just stay home at the horrible noise of the mobile phone.
As i said also, i don't want a wage subsidy – again a load of bullshit imo, but rather that the government helps people pay their bills when they are being in lockdown courtesy of the government.
Maybe people need to understand that you can have government paid subsidies to keep people in lockdown when it is needed, or it can go the way of the US and not pay a dime to affected groups of people and then watch them go to work despite the risk to themselves, their families and others.
And a year in this pandemic, i really had hoped that the government had wrapped its head around this particularity of people, that a. they don't like to be locked up, b. they need to earn money to pay for all that government sanctioned capitalism, and last but least, if they don't give people good enough reasons for a lockdown and financial aid for those that can't just stay at home, some day no one is going to listen to them, their little phone alarm, their preachy tv sessions of kindness and such and people will just go out to work, to their appointments because why not.
I too would have liked this lockdown to last at least 14 – 16 days.
but then, hey they can just send us back into lockdown tomorrow if they find a few more people with Covid. right?
btw, if one is on Home D the government via Winz pays for all your living costs. So yeah, bullshit alright.
I always highly value your impartial opinion but today your radar seems a little off.
The piece by Thomas Coughlan – you may want to pay a little more attention to the spelling of his name – is hardly fawning.
If you had actually read the piece, which of course you had not, you would have known that neither Mr Coughlan nor Stuff had coined the term “Ferrari” in this context – writers hardly ever write their own headlines anyway.
In fact, it was economist and modeller Rodney Jones who came up with the term.
Please sharpen up.
"which of course you had not".
You fascinate me. How do you think I found, and commented on this statement if I hadn't read the article? And I may not have attributed the comment to the person who first wrote it but the comment was in the article, and not only in the headline as you seem to be suggesting and certainly was, at least in my opinion, enthusiastically supported as being valid by the author of the piece.
For your benefit it was in, and I quoted from, the third paragraph which says, in full,
"The question for New Zealanders is whether Cabinet’s decision yesterday represents a new, more confident and possibly more cavalier evolution of the country's Covid-19 response, which one economist and modeller described as the “Ferrari” of international Covid plans."
Did you read past the headline of the piece?
IMHO, you’re too easily fascinated, see too much fawning, and fall for Ferrari headlines.
I didn’t see the full quote in your beautifully crafted comment @ 5 because it wasn’t there, only the part-quote, which was selective and misleading to suit your narrative. It did not come with proper attribution either, which is another sign of being disingenuous and not commenting here in good faith. It wouldn’t be the first time for you, would it?
Please sharpen up or ship out, thanks.
I too heard the interview with Professor Gorman this morning. He builds a very compelling argument around the core premise of “what is our risk appetite”? This seems a very basic question to me and yet one I’m not sure we have a clear and consistent view on.
He makes another valid point about the political theatre of alert level announcements. When it takes 15 minutes of preamble each time before you get to the key message, you know the whole thing is more designed to be a show than a public service announcement.
You misunderstand that much of the “show” is part of clear and effective communication to the whole NZ population. Key messages and reasoning need to be repeated every time. Not everyone is as ‘with it’ as Alwyn and you. I too sit there impatiently just waiting for the decision but I’m not the typical audience. I cannot stand watching & listening and go by the written Live Updates on Stuff. Mostly, I can’t be bothered and get on with things and don’t find out what’s been decided until somebody tells me many hours later.
Anyone remember the Business Roundtable. The odious old boys club with their creep economic policies. The days of crony capitalism when the 1%ers had their cronies in positions of power. The self entitled BRT with their noses deep in the trough and pockets open expecting the state to shovel money into it. Government by the 1% for the 1%
The Business Round Table was a think tank not an "old boys club". It still exists. It merged with another think tank about 10 years ago and renamed to the NZ Initiative. It still published really well researched papers on a variety of topics to help stimulate debate on policies.
Ha ha. Still transparently right-wing to my mind.
Yes. Unashamedly so.
That just demonstrates their lack of self-awareness. Ha.
Why? They are a right-wing think tank. That is not unusual. There are also left-wing think tanks. The point of them is to push out ideas to solve societies problems from a particular perspective. There is nothing sinister or underhand in that.
IT WAS A JOKE
They should have been a "think again" tank Gosman. Sadly for NZ there was not much thinking in the enactment of their agenda. It was a one way swinging door, a totally porous membrane
The odiousity of the round table is well known.
In what way was or is it odious?
The unjustified system of new zealand breaches Te Treaty of Waitangi in many ways. Times are changing but not fast enough to stop tangata whenua from being thrown out to the crap heap of the prison system that will unload many negative effects on their future there tamariki future and Mokopuna futures.
Criminal Justice System: Why New Zealand’s Drug Laws Need to Change
By Emilia Sullivan
Māori, despite only making up 15% of the population, make up 52.8% of New Zealand’s prison population, with almost half being incarcerated for drug offences. In 2015, the (now former) Commissioner of Police Mike Bush acknowledged that New Zealand police have an ‘unconscious bias’ toward Māori. Five years on, things have not changed. Māori are still disproportionately represented in the prison system, with a large portion of these being non-violent drug offences. Something has clearly gone wrong in our justice system’s approach to reducing harm caused by drugs, and it needs to be rectified by Māori, for Māori.
Ka kite Ano
Link below
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.equaljusticeproject.co.nz/articles/mori-and-the-criminal-justice-system-why-new-zealands-drug-laws-need-to-change2020%3fformat=amp