His analysis is completely wrong where the prime minister is concerned. He's a misogynistic creep and should be called out on it.
In fact I’d go further and say he is a lying a*****e.
One example: every APEC the leaders have a photo in their silly shirts etc. Does the leader of the host country get lambasted for being soft and weak? No. They do a zoom version of the same photo in NZ. He ridicules Ardern as if she’s “rolling out mush”.
I don't have the same respect for Ardern's talent as a PM as you do. Beyond the things she's famous for & the carefully manufactured & cultured image, there's not a lot of clever work going on in the engine room behind her.
That’s a very good first question, Blazer. I want to spend some hours thinking about it before replying to that one.
…………………………..
“Nationals most popular leader epitomised the smile and wave m.o and his carefully crafted persona gelled with the voters. Very little real substance behind his ‘success’.”
………………………….
Interesting you should say that. I certainly wouldn’t disagree with your opinion there. You may not recall me saying so previously on YNZ, but I sometimes watch The House at Question Time & I’ve commented on there that I see quite a few parallels between Ardern & Key in their debate & answer styles in The House.
Ardern is a lot more garrulous than Key ever was but they display a lot of the same smart-arsery when set up by their principal lieutenants to get a dig in to the Oppos by having someone else deliver the cutting remark, without tainting their own carefully crafted image.
PS: Sir John Key’s success, imo, was always built off the solid, dependable work of his Deputy, Sir Simon William (Bill) English KNZM. Without Bill, Key had nuthin.
That's right,and what happened to us NZ getting parity with Aussie,we only got closer when the Aussies slipped backwards.
edited: income and living standards.
PS: Sir John Key’s success, imo, was always built off the solid, dependable work of his Deputy, Sir Simon William (Bill) English KNZM. Without Bill, Key had nuthin.'-quote in context.
When the 'crisis' started is debateable.
We know up until at least 2017 the Govt of the day said there was no crisis.
Dunno what the heck happened there – half my 1st sentence is missing. It said:
“B If “solid, dependable work” is your idea of “glowing praise” you’d wet yourself if you saw my email copied to the CEO of CCDHB.”
When you say the start of the housing crisis is “debatable”, do you mean it probly* started during the Clark/Cullen regime?
*probly – a new word that means the same as “probably” but is shorter, has fewer syllables, & seems to be increasingly favoured by a clutch of new, young tv cub reporters.
That is certainly a great deal more sensible than our current lot are doing. The Cullen Fund, as originally set up, was to be the recipient of excess Government revenue, ie taxes. The theory, which made no economic sense by the way, was that we would save the money up today and spend it in 40 years or so.
What are we doing now? We are borrowing money which we put into the Cullen Fund. At some future date we may get something out of the fund with which, if we are very lucky and manage to keep our politician's grubby little paws off it in the meantime, be able to repay the borrowing.
The best thing we can do with the Cullen Fund is to wind it up and spend the money on Covid support expenditure and not borrow all of the $100,000,000,000.00 that Robertson is lumbering us with.
Bill was not particularly solid – we saw the measure of the man with Solid Energy, for which he was responsible minister. Under his watch it fell apart and had to be hocked off in pieces for a song. Not the sort of trick one would have seen from a safe pair of hands.
Bill English lost our respect over his behaviour about the other Todd. (Barclay). He tried to hide his part in that, and had to alter his Police statement.
Jacinda Ardern does not need your affirmation Gezza. As I said when you described her grasp of the English language in very caustic terms, ICU.
Bill English and his mate Bill Birch did untold harm with their contract acts austerity and tax cuts.
You ask “What did Cullen do?” He called out the “Rich pricks” he began a savings scheme which assists first home buyers and encourages the habit of saving and will assist many at retirement.
He left the country in a sound state, even Bill English admitted that.
Of course Ardern doesn’t need my affirmation, Patricia. Who on earth would think she did?
We’ll have to wait a bit & see what kind of Financial Manager Robertson is. He’s running a fairly conservative fiscal policy according to most commentators, & it’s not fixing many of the problems in our society at the bottom end. In fact it may even be excerbating them.
Wellington inner city violent crime is up p, for example, ever since they started moving gang members & associates & partners & people with all sorts of problems not being sorted (eg mental health issues) into “emergency accommodation” in city motels & hotels.
There are occasional reports of similar problems in other places as it has become realised MSD/Housing under Labour is very slow to act at all on problem tenants.
Prison muster is down, but nationally violent crime is up. Connected?
Gang recruitment well outpacing police recruitment.
Child povidy continually reported to be worse – or at least no better.
Queues at Foodbankd reportedly longest ever.
Ardern has over time now become a high profile constantly-on-tv micro-managing expert on the minutiae of Covid. That should be Hipkins’ job, imo.
A good PM should be working on getting her ministers to sort out this other stuff, imo.
Your aligning Key and Jacinda through their responses to questions in the House is way off the mark, Gezza: Key was a smarmy pr*ck, leveraging opportunities to smear the Opposition at every turn, where Jacinda politely answers challenges from the frustrated Opposition kindly (almost always) and truthfully – this is very frustrating for the Opps, Collins and cohorts, but there you are: she's poles apart from their way and top of the pile; much to their chagrin! 🙂
I often watch Question Time, Gezza, as I did when Key was PM. I saw him trial various unpleasant provocations/slap-downs/outrages/shitty behaviours; the sorts of things Jacinda does not do.
Well, if I was, that would be a first time for me. But I’m not. So maybe just go back to sleep, or at least let sleeping dogs lie & don’t try to pick a fight over an error on your part?
I am not politically tribal, as I have said here before.
Although I would not willingly personally take on the life of a poitician, & particularly a Cabinet Minister – one worth their salt, who works hard & long and takes their responsibilities seriously – I have what I consider to be a healthy cynicism for politicians of all shades in all parties.
And the longer they’ve been in Parliament the more cynical I tend to be about them, particularly if they hadn’t achieved much of note earlier in the careers.
In this instance I think you are right. I enjoy Gezza's mother nature videos and some of his general comments, but he is oh so wrong about Jacinda.
She's not perfect (no-one has ever suggested she is) but she is very astute and has an inner steel about her. There are habits of hers that do annoy me but won't go into them here. However most people can see she is one of the most genuine politicians that has been around for some time.
However most people can see she is one of the most genuine politicians that has been around for some time.
I’ ve been thinking about that, after you said it. I think you’re probably right. But she’s just a professional pollie, wanted a career in politics.
Little probably in it with the aim of making things better for at least union members in NZ. Dunno about Hipkins. Political animal I think, maybe. With Robertson, I think it’s also just his chosen career from some time back. Had his eye on politics.
But the measure of all of them will be what lasting good (or ill) they achieve, for NZ as a whole, as a social & economic nation & entity, looking back. And at the moment, take Covid out of the mix, & there’s not a lot of improvement to see yet.
I struggle to figure Ardern out. She is a terrific communicator, is likeable and warm, has built huge political capital. Yet for all that her government has failed by many of it's own measures, and you can add to that much of what now passes as it's response to Covid. Is that down to Ardern's failings, or is she doing her best with a government of limited ability?
John Key surrounded himself with smarter competent people. Jacinda has not. Many ministers Kelvin, Poto, Twyford etc. promoted well beyond their means. This is why they are failing to achieve much.
Jimmy's right,Labour are short of talent,she has let one or two have a good go,but they fu@k up,take Twyford. I am most disapointed with Ms Russell,had high hopes their,smart educated but turns out to be smartarse and probably educated beyond her intellect,could make mention of others but think that will do for now.
Nonsense, Jimmy. Key's "smarter competent people" were Brownlie, Smith at al. Unpleasant bullies, skilled at bullsh*tting and bullying. Jacinda's ministers are real-enough people, not pumped-up, Neo-lib bully-boys! You're welcome!
Well that is your opinion of those ministers but they certainly had more life and business skills (and had even had jobs in the real world!) than many of the current Labour MP's. And I agree, Key did had some not very good ones and he demoted or got rid of them.
The question to ask yourself is, if you were running a medium sized business or charitable organization or whatever, which Labour MP's would you employ or contract in your business/ organization?
Eg. We would only employ Poto in the warehouse packing orders. (Hopefully she wouldn't stuff that up).
Sure he did – like Paula Bennett, Judith Collins, Stephen Joyce, Gerry Brownlee, and so on. The only fractionally competent minister Key had was Finlayson.
For communication to work properly you need to engage your brain before opening your mouth. I'm afraid that when their is nothing to connect to there emerges a great deal of drivel.
Bishop is showing the politics of envy while pundits admit there is no one in National who has Jacinda's abilities .
Likewise John Key had the same abilities and this is why Bishop is showing that in his opinion piece hoping Jacinda resigns throwing in the towel like John Key did leaving the door open for National.
Otherwise National hasn't got a hope is what he really fears.
She’s already said beforecthe last election that if she can’t be PM she’ll resign. She has another future roughly mapped out, in all likelihood, expecting probably several offers of lucrative sinecures from offshore.
While National’s in the fetid & confused disarray characterised by Collins’s leadership there seems little likelihood the electorate will want to swap out one lot of underachievers for a new lot with many untested newbies & some tired old has beens.
I've never suggested she is talking about quitting if she can still be PM.
Not quite sure what your point is in even discussing this?
In answer to a direct question, before the last election, would she stay on in Parliament if she was not going to be Prime Minister again, Ardern replied, simply, & quite unequivocally, "No".
As to my speculations she would in that situation accept other offers of work, I am convinced that she would & that several offers would be made immediately she quits Parliament, if not before. People travel & take up new jobs with children all the time.
Elimination ended on the 21st of September 2021, when the government, under pressure from business, gave up on their elimination strategys, and replaced it with the Three Step Roadmap out of lockdown.
Every measure of the government's covid response taken since then, has been part of the 'Three Step Roadmap' plan to open up the economy even as case numbers, hospitalisations, and deaths increase.
Bishops diatribe is a manifestation of bitter disappointment and frustration at the rights complete inability to find a leader with two brain cells to rub together. If the charge had any credibility it is blown out of the water by the Ardern Governments leadership of the Covid response to a war like no other in 100 years, and to be at the top of the league table for results in the world. Of course being the father of such a contradictory mess and confused rattleheadedness as his offspring must be galling to say the least.
New policy for the administration of Covid vaccines to young people 12-17 years in the UK.
Increase from 4 weeks to 12 weeks between first and second dose.
12 weeks from natural infection to first dose of vaccine.
The COVID-19 vaccines are safe and if you or your child has experienced no symptoms of myocarditis then there is no reason to be worried if they had their first dose at less than 12 weeks following infection.
Anyone who is concerned should be reassured that these side effects occur within a few days of vaccination. Most people recovered and felt better following rest and simple treatments.
If younger people experience any of the following symptoms after receiving their vaccination, they should call 111 or see their GP:
pain and/or tightness in the chest which may spread across the body
pain in the neck that may spread across the shoulders and/or arms
shortness of breath when lightly exercising or walking
difficulty breathing when resting or feeling light-headed
flu-like symptoms such as a high temperature, tiredness and fatigue
palpitations or an abnormal heart rhythm
feeling like you need to be sick
In younger people, protection from natural infection is likely to be high for at least 3 months so they will be protected against COVID-19 infection for some time,
I do realise that posting here on TS a link from the JCVI (Clinical advisors to the UK government for vaccination) could cop me another ban but this is very, very important.
Assuming that the jab enthused give an actual shit about prevent harm…
We have exceedingly specific geographic management through the DHB's, and the system is reallocating resource according to need. Re-published every 24 hours, with breakdowns to v small population centres and indeed to census meshblock data.
ICU capacity is fine according to the Director General of Health as at this morning.
MIQ is a deliberate control of international access because it is also the same as the disease vector.
Saliva testing hasn't yet been necessary if you want to move around the country. All you have to do is book, and it's free.
The rest of our globally-benchmarked success is down to both exceedingly good governmental management from top to bottom, and exceptional public compliance.
The governments response to Covid from the end of the alpha outbreak has been shambolic. Unless you think having one of the slowest vaccine roll outs in the OECD and not increasing ICU capacity is a success.
In MIQ no one with half a brain should give a damn about yet another whining multimillionaire's story about his trip. There's been several of those self-entitled stories. Of course they will compare it to everywhere else. When everywhere else is a nightmare.
The saliva testing procurement procurement process is not evidence of whether it would be needed now.
The NZ COVID Era success measures are pretty easy, and you can benchmark them to any country our size or over, all you like, with just a wee movement of your fingers on your keyboard:
– Headline unemployment and labour underutilisation. Near best in world for 2020 and 2021.
– GDP growth. Top 15% of world.
– COVID mortality. Lowest 2% of countries per 1,000.
– COVID morbidity. Lowest 2% of countries per 1,000
– Social license and civic unrest. Exceedingly low, and a remarkably popular government.
– Percentage of population in lockdowns, or even severe restrictions. Short and sharp. Good comparator for size of country is Austria. Check them out now.
– Electronic card spending compared to 2 years ago, and NZ consumer confidence. Approximately same as 2019.
– Massive shift in economy away from commodity education and commodity education towards higher productivity sectors. In fact the July 2021 EY report says New Zealand is – for now – in the No 1 position in the global fight against the negative economic and health impacts associated with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Always plenty to complain about I'm sure. Just not much of it here.
"As of yesterday D-G Bloomfield confirmed ICU capacity was fine. "
Oh so it's all ok then. Despite what the people actually delivering the service say.
I also think this is a stupid position (or politically motivated). Despite there being problems during a global pandemic within a country wracked by neoliberalism including decades of fuckery with the health system, we've still had relatively few lockdowns, few deaths, fewer long covid cases than if we'd… what exactly?
The case and mortality numbers are low due to luck and geography, primarily. My view is the government responded well in 2020, but then rested on their laurels. The vaccine roll out was too late and too slow, the ability of hospitals to deal with a surge has not be resolved and the debacle around the nasal swab contract, when regular testing is being rolled out in many other first world countries, are just some examples.
But everything else? Most places could have shut airports and ports of entry if they'd had the will. Some politicians tried to half-arse it or leave it up to personal responsibility, and thousands of their citizens died. those are the major factors.
We had some luck – Wellington delta tourist comes to mind – but most of it was actually down to competent leadership and coordinated comms. Not perfect, but at least an "A" grade compared to the US/UK "E".
"The only way geography had a significant effect was that we saw Europe fuck it up."
Nope. We have a massive advantage being an island in terms of controlling who comes in and out of our country. We are also a long way from the most commonly used transport routes.
"Not perfect, but at least an "A" grade compared to the US/UK "E"."
Some comparison. I prefer to think how we could have done if we had rolled out the vaccine program earlier, made better decisions around saliva testing and spent some of the 100bn debt we've racked up actually on healthcare.
Hong Kong is a major trade route, and has territory on the mainland.
Then of course there's China itself – big trader, known for not being contained on an island.
Not to mention many of the African nations with low covid rates, land borders, and healthy trade and transit cargo levels.
As for grade, you can captain hindsight every step. But how many governments handled it better than NZ, in the real world? And what did they do differently?
" But how many governments handled it better than NZ, in the real world?"
I guess that depends on how you define 'better'. Comparisons are difficult because of differences in geography, population density, types of government and health systems. And what is the measure – is it health outcomes? Economic outcomes?
We could us Queensland's data. Similar population to NZ. We've had 9,652 cases, 38 deaths. Q'land have had 2,112 cases and only 7 deaths. Or we could use Ireland, similar population, 516,000 cases and 5609 deaths.
Rather than cherry pick, I'd rather compare what we've done with what we could have done better. It's not all been bad, but some of it has been.
So what did Queensland do that we didn't and same for Ireland?
I will also point out that the difference between 0.7/100k and 0.3/100k is pretty darn close, statistically. Especially when compared to Ireland's 112/100k.
When criticising, one can compare against the perfect, or the real world. Captain Hindsight judges against perfection, but in the real world this government deserves to be graded on a curve.
"When criticising, one can compare against the perfect, or the real world. "
Comparing against the perfect is churlish. Comparing against what was possible, what we could have done better, is how any individual or group should reasonably be assessed or assess itself.
NZ geography has certainly helped us. We are miles away at the bottom of the world, with a large moat around us. Also, large majority of overseas people come in via Auckland (mostly airport) and sea port. So far fewer points of entry than a European country for example.
Britain, for example, doesn't have customs and immigration folk well-distributed across their ports of entry? These ports don't have other staff onsite?
Of course they do. All they had to do was put up a "closed" sign.
That probably explains its complete irrelevance to the post that you stuck it on.
KB specialises in being shallow and lazy commentators going for the lowest possible common denominator without bothering to engage their brain to explain the relevance of what they are blathering about.
And also also explains why I pressed the OpenMike button to consign to a post where it was vaguely relevant in.
The Taxpayers Union seem to be up to all kinds of mischief of late. I did a whois lookup on motherofallprotests.nz on dnc.org.nz
The registrant contact seems to be different to what has been reported on twitter (taxpayers union) so I dug further and looked up some more information on the NZ entity of The Campaign Company, who were registered on 4 November 2021.
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Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
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. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
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. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
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. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
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. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
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 ...
Asia Pacific Report From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps. And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
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Damn good song – I like the way that they reused the old highwayman song and gave alternate lyrics
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxfDnMhZFi4
+10 well done.
An NZ version would be interesting.
What a mealy mouthed, sour graped and pathetic little prick of a man!. Yes, I know who he is. Chris Bishop's father!
https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/127018250/is-ardern-abdicating-the-leadership
Soper has a rival for the most detestable journalist in the country.
Shocked me that anyone would produce such vile…..must out into garden to immerse in beautiful sights and sounds.
I don’t think his analysis is all that wrong, he just wastes far too many words on extraordinarily petty personal insults & general sniping.
Surprised Stuff published it. I wouldn’t have.
His analysis is completely wrong where the prime minister is concerned. He's a misogynistic creep and should be called out on it.
In fact I’d go further and say he is a lying a*****e.
One example: every APEC the leaders have a photo in their silly shirts etc. Does the leader of the host country get lambasted for being soft and weak? No. They do a zoom version of the same photo in NZ. He ridicules Ardern as if she’s “rolling out mush”.
I don't have the same respect for Ardern's talent as a PM as you do. Beyond the things she's famous for & the carefully manufactured & cultured image, there's not a lot of clever work going on in the engine room behind her.
What qualities do you admire in a leader Gezza?
I think media and PR is probably the most important skill,given democracies are usually consensus driven politics.
Just like health officials form Covid policy to the major degree and the P.M and associates present it to the public.
Take a look at Todd Muller,supposedly competent but communication skills were glaringly absent.
Nationals most popular leader epitomised the smile and wave m.o and his carefully crafted persona gelled with the voters.
Very little real substance behind his 'success'.
That’s a very good first question, Blazer. I want to spend some hours thinking about it before replying to that one.
…………………………..
“Nationals most popular leader epitomised the smile and wave m.o and his carefully crafted persona gelled with the voters. Very little real substance behind his ‘success’.”
………………………….
Interesting you should say that. I certainly wouldn’t disagree with your opinion there. You may not recall me saying so previously on YNZ, but I sometimes watch The House at Question Time & I’ve commented on there that I see quite a few parallels between Ardern & Key in their debate & answer styles in The House.
Ardern is a lot more garrulous than Key ever was but they display a lot of the same smart-arsery when set up by their principal lieutenants to get a dig in to the Oppos by having someone else deliver the cutting remark, without tainting their own carefully crafted image.
PS: Sir John Key’s success, imo, was always built off the solid, dependable work of his Deputy, Sir Simon William (Bill) English KNZM. Without Bill, Key had nuthin.
Very glowing praise for a very average career politician .
Inherited the spoils of Cullens masterly economic management and just borrowed and kept borrowing.
Ignored the housing crisis,defunded public services to try and achieve budget surplus and failed miserably.
Halted contributions to the Cullen Fund,halved Kiwisaver contributions and enjoyed a thoroughly undeserved reputation as a 'safe pair of hands'.
His 'rockstar economy' relied on property inflation and ramping immigration to boost GDP….and now we are left to deal with the… dire effects.
That's right,and what happened to us NZ getting parity with Aussie,we only got closer when the Aussies slipped backwards.
edited: income and living standards.
@ B
What did the sarcastic, acerbic Cullen do about the housing crisis, btw? When did it start?
'
PS: Sir John Key’s success, imo, was always built off the solid, dependable work of his Deputy, Sir Simon William (Bill) English KNZM. Without Bill, Key had nuthin.'-quote in context.
When the 'crisis' started is debateable.
We know up until at least 2017 the Govt of the day said there was no crisis.
Dunno what the heck happened there – half my 1st sentence is missing. It said:
“B If “solid, dependable work” is your idea of “glowing praise” you’d wet yourself if you saw my email copied to the CEO of CCDHB.”
When you say the start of the housing crisis is “debatable”, do you mean it probly* started during the Clark/Cullen regime?
*probly – a new word that means the same as “probably” but is shorter, has fewer syllables, & seems to be increasingly favoured by a clutch of new, young tv cub reporters.
You leave saint Cullen alone , kiwisaver was a master stroke . As long as no fucks with it itll help so many kiwis into houses and into old age.
"Halted contributions to the Cullen Fund".
That is certainly a great deal more sensible than our current lot are doing. The Cullen Fund, as originally set up, was to be the recipient of excess Government revenue, ie taxes. The theory, which made no economic sense by the way, was that we would save the money up today and spend it in 40 years or so.
What are we doing now? We are borrowing money which we put into the Cullen Fund. At some future date we may get something out of the fund with which, if we are very lucky and manage to keep our politician's grubby little paws off it in the meantime, be able to repay the borrowing.
The best thing we can do with the Cullen Fund is to wind it up and spend the money on Covid support expenditure and not borrow all of the $100,000,000,000.00 that Robertson is lumbering us with.
alwyn I say alwyn….don't you realise the Cullen Fund was the reason English could make such large borrowings from international financiers.
Have you offered your advice to Norway regarding their National Fund!
50 billion Alwyn .
Speaking to the then Michael Cullen,he felt it to be, one of the only ways of putting some wealth into a low wage economy.
Bill was not particularly solid – we saw the measure of the man with Solid Energy, for which he was responsible minister. Under his watch it fell apart and had to be hocked off in pieces for a song. Not the sort of trick one would have seen from a safe pair of hands.
Bill English lost our respect over his behaviour about the other Todd. (Barclay). He tried to hide his part in that, and had to alter his Police statement.
Jacinda Ardern does not need your affirmation Gezza. As I said when you described her grasp of the English language in very caustic terms, ICU.
Bill English and his mate Bill Birch did untold harm with their contract acts austerity and tax cuts.
You ask “What did Cullen do?” He called out the “Rich pricks” he began a savings scheme which assists first home buyers and encourages the habit of saving and will assist many at retirement.
He left the country in a sound state, even Bill English admitted that.
Of course Ardern doesn’t need my affirmation, Patricia. Who on earth would think she did?
We’ll have to wait a bit & see what kind of Financial Manager Robertson is. He’s running a fairly conservative fiscal policy according to most commentators, & it’s not fixing many of the problems in our society at the bottom end. In fact it may even be excerbating them.
Wellington inner city violent crime is up p, for example, ever since they started moving gang members & associates & partners & people with all sorts of problems not being sorted (eg mental health issues) into “emergency accommodation” in city motels & hotels.
There are occasional reports of similar problems in other places as it has become realised MSD/Housing under Labour is very slow to act at all on problem tenants.
Prison muster is down, but nationally violent crime is up. Connected?
Gang recruitment well outpacing police recruitment.
Child povidy continually reported to be worse – or at least no better.
Queues at Foodbankd reportedly longest ever.
Ardern has over time now become a high profile constantly-on-tv micro-managing expert on the minutiae of Covid. That should be Hipkins’ job, imo.
A good PM should be working on getting her ministers to sort out this other stuff, imo.
English also rorted the MP's housing allowance by claiming his primary residence was in Dipton.
The 'double dipper from Dipton' – just another parasite
Your aligning Key and Jacinda through their responses to questions in the House is way off the mark, Gezza: Key was a smarmy pr*ck, leveraging opportunities to smear the Opposition at every turn, where Jacinda politely answers challenges from the frustrated Opposition kindly (almost always) and truthfully – this is very frustrating for the Opps, Collins and cohorts, but there you are: she's poles apart from their way and top of the pile; much to their chagrin! 🙂
Either you don’t watch much Question Time or you put your rose-coloured blinkers on when you do.
I often watch Question Time, Gezza, as I did when Key was PM. I saw him trial various unpleasant provocations/slap-downs/outrages/shitty behaviours; the sorts of things Jacinda does not do.
Grant, Chris & formerly Winston do that for her; all she has to do is agree.
Robert … we know Key is a prick,Ardern is a much better person,but she is garrulous I'm afraid,too my mind.
Gezza ….had to look that one up "garrulous,she is.
How wrong you are, Gezza! Jacinda forges on, her critics rant and rave but make no ground. She's made of stern stuff.
I’m not wrong. You just can’t see it. Too tribal, probly.
Gezza, I suspect, is concern trolling!
Well, if I was, that would be a first time for me. But I’m not. So maybe just go back to sleep, or at least let sleeping dogs lie & don’t try to pick a fight over an error on your part?
I am not politically tribal, as I have said here before.
Although I would not willingly personally take on the life of a poitician, & particularly a Cabinet Minister – one worth their salt, who works hard & long and takes their responsibilities seriously – I have what I consider to be a healthy cynicism for politicians of all shades in all parties.
And the longer they’ve been in Parliament the more cynical I tend to be about them, particularly if they hadn’t achieved much of note earlier in the careers.
In this instance I think you are right. I enjoy Gezza's mother nature videos and some of his general comments, but he is oh so wrong about Jacinda.
She's not perfect (no-one has ever suggested she is) but she is very astute and has an inner steel about her. There are habits of hers that do annoy me but won't go into them here. However most people can see she is one of the most genuine politicians that has been around for some time.
However most people can see she is one of the most genuine politicians that has been around for some time.
I’ ve been thinking about that, after you said it. I think you’re probably right. But she’s just a professional pollie, wanted a career in politics.
Little probably in it with the aim of making things better for at least union members in NZ. Dunno about Hipkins. Political animal I think, maybe. With Robertson, I think it’s also just his chosen career from some time back. Had his eye on politics.
But the measure of all of them will be what lasting good (or ill) they achieve, for NZ as a whole, as a social & economic nation & entity, looking back. And at the moment, take Covid out of the mix, & there’s not a lot of improvement to see yet.
I struggle to figure Ardern out. She is a terrific communicator, is likeable and warm, has built huge political capital. Yet for all that her government has failed by many of it's own measures, and you can add to that much of what now passes as it's response to Covid. Is that down to Ardern's failings, or is she doing her best with a government of limited ability?
John Key surrounded himself with smarter competent people. Jacinda has not. Many ministers Kelvin, Poto, Twyford etc. promoted well beyond their means. This is why they are failing to achieve much.
Thanks Jimmy. If that is the case, I wonder if that is her misreading people's ability, or just a shortage of talent to choose from?
Jimmy's right,Labour are short of talent,she has let one or two have a good go,but they fu@k up,take Twyford. I am most disapointed with Ms Russell,had high hopes their,smart educated but turns out to be smartarse and probably educated beyond her intellect,could make mention of others but think that will do for now.
IMO Jacinda has about 3 "heavy lifters" doing the majority of the work.
Hipkins (who is over worked…if there was another competent person, they should be given Education), Robertson and Little.
Compare this cabinet to Helen Clark's if you don't want to compare to Nats. Helen also surrounded herself with talent.
Nonsense, Jimmy. Key's "smarter competent people" were Brownlie, Smith at al. Unpleasant bullies, skilled at bullsh*tting and bullying. Jacinda's ministers are real-enough people, not pumped-up, Neo-lib bully-boys! You're welcome!
They may be real, but there have been too many who have not delivered. And too many key issues that labour promised to address and have failed.
Well that is your opinion of those ministers but they certainly had more life and business skills (and had even had jobs in the real world!) than many of the current Labour MP's. And I agree, Key did had some not very good ones and he demoted or got rid of them.
be clear'-Poto is a huge flop imo.
Key had plenty of deadweights around him…Parata but one example.
The question to ask yourself is, if you were running a medium sized business or charitable organization or whatever, which Labour MP's would you employ or contract in your business/ organization?
Eg. We would only employ Poto in the warehouse packing orders. (Hopefully she wouldn't stuff that up).
Sure he did – like Paula Bennett, Judith Collins, Stephen Joyce, Gerry Brownlee, and so on. The only fractionally competent minister Key had was Finlayson.
For communication to work properly you need to engage your brain before opening your mouth. I'm afraid that when their is nothing to connect to there emerges a great deal of drivel.
Bishop is showing the politics of envy while pundits admit there is no one in National who has Jacinda's abilities .
Likewise John Key had the same abilities and this is why Bishop is showing that in his opinion piece hoping Jacinda resigns throwing in the towel like John Key did leaving the door open for National.
Otherwise National hasn't got a hope is what he really fears.
N
Jacinda, resign? She won't. 🙂
She’s already said beforecthe last election that if she can’t be PM she’ll resign. She has another future roughly mapped out, in all likelihood, expecting probably several offers of lucrative sinecures from offshore.
She will remain PM, rest assured.
While National’s in the fetid & confused disarray characterised by Collins’s leadership there seems little likelihood the electorate will want to swap out one lot of underachievers for a new lot with many untested newbies & some tired old has beens.
' She has another future roughly mapped out, in all likelihood, expecting probably several offers of lucrative sinecures from offshore.'
Any evidence for this?
This is a Natz line .
If it IS, the plagiarising beggars are copying me ❗️
"Any evidence for this?"
It is my *opinion*. (Big Clue: "In all likelihood".)
Based on the talkshow she's been on in the US & on her making a fuss of Stephen Colbert.
Also, (her suggested mentor)
may provide a clue about another extremely well-paid body that might be interested in offering Ardern a job, which I reckon she'd take.
I don't think it is likely at all.
She is not Helen Clark.
She has a child and is getting married soon,and indicates she is happy to carry on.
I've never suggested she is talking about quitting if she can still be PM.
Not quite sure what your point is in even discussing this?
In answer to a direct question, before the last election, would she stay on in Parliament if she was not going to be Prime Minister again, Ardern replied, simply, & quite unequivocally, "No".
As to my speculations she would in that situation accept other offers of work, I am convinced that she would & that several offers would be made immediately she quits Parliament, if not before. People travel & take up new jobs with children all the time.
Outa here, dude. Enjoy your evening. 🖐🏼
That's it Alwyn, attack the person not the subject. Top marks for diversion.
That comment about being PM was aimed at Winston Peters. The public understood.
Why the fuck would any ex pm stay after losing???
Not saying shell lose ,but seriously??
.
https://vimeo.com/284841766
I had wondered where Trevor got to,seems unharmed.
Government being completely irresponsible.
Elimination ends?
Elimination ended on the 21st of September 2021, when the government, under pressure from business, gave up on their elimination strategys, and replaced it with the Three Step Roadmap out of lockdown.
Every measure of the government's covid response taken since then, has been part of the 'Three Step Roadmap' plan to open up the economy even as case numbers, hospitalisations, and deaths increase.
Bishops diatribe is a manifestation of bitter disappointment and frustration at the rights complete inability to find a leader with two brain cells to rub together. If the charge had any credibility it is blown out of the water by the Ardern Governments leadership of the Covid response to a war like no other in 100 years, and to be at the top of the league table for results in the world. Of course being the father of such a contradictory mess and confused rattleheadedness as his offspring must be galling to say the least.
New policy for the administration of Covid vaccines to young people 12-17 years in the UK.
Increase from 4 weeks to 12 weeks between first and second dose.
12 weeks from natural infection to first dose of vaccine.
The COVID-19 vaccines are safe and if you or your child has experienced no symptoms of myocarditis then there is no reason to be worried if they had their first dose at less than 12 weeks following infection.
Anyone who is concerned should be reassured that these side effects occur within a few days of vaccination. Most people recovered and felt better following rest and simple treatments.
If younger people experience any of the following symptoms after receiving their vaccination, they should call 111 or see their GP:
In younger people, protection from natural infection is likely to be high for at least 3 months so they will be protected against COVID-19 infection for some time,
I do realise that posting here on TS a link from the JCVI (Clinical advisors to the UK government for vaccination) could cop me another ban but this is very, very important.
Assuming that the jab enthused give an actual shit about prevent harm…
12 weeks is now considered the preferred period between vaccinations to give optimal protection. For anyone. I waited 8 weeks to have my second dose
Myocarditis isn't fun but in by far the majority of cases its short lived and easily managed. It's certainly preferable to covid-19.
Myocarditis isn't fun but in by far the majority of cases its short lived and easily managed.
Well, yay! for that then.
Cheers for the symptoms list, my baby turns 12 next week now I know what to watch for after the jab,
The fact that we have not had the level of cases or mortality of other country's is a combination of geography and plain luck. The response to Covid since alpha has been poor, including failure to adequately address ICU capacity, ongoing problems with MIQ, and it's mismanagement of the saliva testing roll out.
"geography and plain luck" how unkind, Gypsy, and how daft!
When it's a success "it's luck, geography!" & When we have failures"Labours fault! Shambles, useless".
pretty much.
You are a moron.
We have exceedingly specific geographic management through the DHB's, and the system is reallocating resource according to need. Re-published every 24 hours, with breakdowns to v small population centres and indeed to census meshblock data.
ICU capacity is fine according to the Director General of Health as at this morning.
MIQ is a deliberate control of international access because it is also the same as the disease vector.
Saliva testing hasn't yet been necessary if you want to move around the country. All you have to do is book, and it's free.
The rest of our globally-benchmarked success is down to both exceedingly good governmental management from top to bottom, and exceptional public compliance.
"ICU capacity is fine according to the Director General of Health as at this morning."
Yes dear.
"MIQ is a deliberate control of international access because it is also the same as the disease vector. "
Again.
"Saliva testing hasn't yet been necessary if you want to move around the country. All you have to do is book, and it's free."
Huh? Do you live in Auckland? Have you read this?
The governments response to Covid from the end of the alpha outbreak has been shambolic. Unless you think having one of the slowest vaccine roll outs in the OECD and not increasing ICU capacity is a success.
You have grasped at straws before falling straight off the cliff of facts.
As of yesterday D-G Bloomfield confirmed ICU capacity was fine. The buck stops with him to make that statement rather than any auditor.
Level 3.3, orange light for Auckland? Hosking grills Bloomfield (newstalkzb.co.nz)
In MIQ no one with half a brain should give a damn about yet another whining multimillionaire's story about his trip. There's been several of those self-entitled stories. Of course they will compare it to everywhere else. When everywhere else is a nightmare.
The saliva testing procurement procurement process is not evidence of whether it would be needed now.
The NZ COVID Era success measures are pretty easy, and you can benchmark them to any country our size or over, all you like, with just a wee movement of your fingers on your keyboard:
– Headline unemployment and labour underutilisation. Near best in world for 2020 and 2021.
– GDP growth. Top 15% of world.
– COVID mortality. Lowest 2% of countries per 1,000.
– COVID morbidity. Lowest 2% of countries per 1,000
– Social license and civic unrest. Exceedingly low, and a remarkably popular government.
– Percentage of population in lockdowns, or even severe restrictions. Short and sharp. Good comparator for size of country is Austria. Check them out now.
– Electronic card spending compared to 2 years ago, and NZ consumer confidence. Approximately same as 2019.
Weekly Economic Update – 19 November 2021 (treasury.govt.nz)
– Massive shift in economy away from commodity education and commodity education towards higher productivity sectors. In fact the July 2021 EY report says New Zealand is – for now – in the No 1 position in the global fight against the negative economic and health impacts associated with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Always plenty to complain about I'm sure. Just not much of it here.
"As of yesterday D-G Bloomfield confirmed ICU capacity was fine. "
Oh so it's all ok then. Despite what the people actually delivering the service say.
"In MIQ no one with half a brain should give a damn about yet another whining multimillionaire's story about his trip. "
Do you seriously think it's only rich people? MIQ has been shambolic, a 'disaster from beginning to end'.
"The saliva testing procurement procurement process is not evidence of whether it would be needed now. "
It is evidence of incompetence. Like choosing a test that wasn't diagnostically validated, over a local supplier who's was. And we should have had the damn testing up and running months ago. But no.
"In May of this year, Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins announced saliva testing for border workers would start in June. Then in July he announced it would start rolling out in August. The promise to get saliva testing under way goes all the way back to the Simpson Roche report, which recommended the tests, back in September 2020."
You've made a valiant attempt to suggest we're doing ok, but then you fail to mention the racking up of 100bn in debt, the poor quality of much of that spend, and the resulting inflation and interest rate spikes. You've also failed to mention the 81,000 people who have faced delayed health care, and the delayed cancer screening and operations.
I also think this is a stupid position (or politically motivated). Despite there being problems during a global pandemic within a country wracked by neoliberalism including decades of fuckery with the health system, we've still had relatively few lockdowns, few deaths, fewer long covid cases than if we'd… what exactly?
The case and mortality numbers are low due to luck and geography, primarily. My view is the government responded well in 2020, but then rested on their laurels. The vaccine roll out was too late and too slow, the ability of hospitals to deal with a surge has not be resolved and the debacle around the nasal swab contract, when regular testing is being rolled out in many other first world countries, are just some examples.
The only way geography had a significant effect was that we saw Europe fuck it up.
Italy tried a lockdown after they already had thousands of cases, details got leaked early, and folks had a couple of days to carry the virus all over Europe.
By contrast, at NZ's first two cases of community transmission, we went straight to L3 and L4 two days later.
But everything else? Most places could have shut airports and ports of entry if they'd had the will. Some politicians tried to half-arse it or leave it up to personal responsibility, and thousands of their citizens died. those are the major factors.
We had some luck – Wellington delta tourist comes to mind – but most of it was actually down to competent leadership and coordinated comms. Not perfect, but at least an "A" grade compared to the US/UK "E".
"The only way geography had a significant effect was that we saw Europe fuck it up."
Nope. We have a massive advantage being an island in terms of controlling who comes in and out of our country. We are also a long way from the most commonly used transport routes.
"Not perfect, but at least an "A" grade compared to the US/UK "E"."
Some comparison. I prefer to think how we could have done if we had rolled out the vaccine program earlier, made better decisions around saliva testing and spent some of the 100bn debt we've racked up actually on healthcare.
Great Britain is famed for being an island.
Hong Kong is a major trade route, and has territory on the mainland.
Then of course there's China itself – big trader, known for not being contained on an island.
Not to mention many of the African nations with low covid rates, land borders, and healthy trade and transit cargo levels.
As for grade, you can captain hindsight every step. But how many governments handled it better than NZ, in the real world? And what did they do differently?
" But how many governments handled it better than NZ, in the real world?"
I guess that depends on how you define 'better'. Comparisons are difficult because of differences in geography, population density, types of government and health systems. And what is the measure – is it health outcomes? Economic outcomes?
We could us Queensland's data. Similar population to NZ. We've had 9,652 cases, 38 deaths. Q'land have had 2,112 cases and only 7 deaths. Or we could use Ireland, similar population, 516,000 cases and 5609 deaths.
Rather than cherry pick, I'd rather compare what we've done with what we could have done better. It's not all been bad, but some of it has been.
So what did Queensland do that we didn't and same for Ireland?
I will also point out that the difference between 0.7/100k and 0.3/100k is pretty darn close, statistically. Especially when compared to Ireland's 112/100k.
When criticising, one can compare against the perfect, or the real world. Captain Hindsight judges against perfection, but in the real world this government deserves to be graded on a curve.
"When criticising, one can compare against the perfect, or the real world. "
Comparing against the perfect is churlish. Comparing against what was possible, what we could have done better, is how any individual or group should reasonably be assessed or assess itself.
NZ geography has certainly helped us. We are miles away at the bottom of the world, with a large moat around us. Also, large majority of overseas people come in via Auckland (mostly airport) and sea port. So far fewer points of entry than a European country for example.
Britain, for example, doesn't have customs and immigration folk well-distributed across their ports of entry? These ports don't have other staff onsite?
Of course they do. All they had to do was put up a "closed" sign.
Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard. – H. L. Mencken
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
This is a post about the kind of state we want.
You need to do better than quote some irrelevant bon mot.
…. but! BUT!
Borrowed the quote from KiwiBlog!
That probably explains its complete irrelevance to the post that you stuck it on.
KB specialises in being shallow and lazy commentators going for the lowest possible common denominator without bothering to engage their brain to explain the relevance of what they are blathering about.
And also also explains why I pressed the OpenMike button to consign to a post where it was vaguely relevant in.
Thanks for moving the comment.
If we cannot believe KiwiBlog – who can we believe! (/S)
The Taxpayers Union seem to be up to all kinds of mischief of late. I did a whois lookup on motherofallprotests.nz on dnc.org.nz
The registrant contact seems to be different to what has been reported on twitter (taxpayers union) so I dug further and looked up some more information on the NZ entity of The Campaign Company, who were registered on 4 November 2021.
https://opencorporates.com/filings/1058683521
Both the Director consent form and the Shareholder consent form make for interesting reading.
8257633 THE CAMPAIGN COMPANY LIMITED
Registration Date and Time 04 November 2021 12:17:02
Document Type Director Consent Form
Presenter Jordan Henry WILLIAMS
Po Box 10518
The Terrace
Wellington 6143
New Zealand
Director Consent Form
CSTOFF8628377921936996981.pdf
Size370kb
Have seen the same claim of the groundswellnz website too but I was unable to any find evidence of it.
Jordan Williams IS the TPU.
https://twitter.com/farmgeek/status/1461504564947947520?s=20
If this is doxxing I will withdraw, apologise and take my lumps for whatever you throw at me. I have only linked to publicly available information.
It's not doxing
It's good investigation which no msm journalist seems capable of