I think a fair-minded person with a care for truth and honesty in language use has to have some concern about the grossly exaggerated headlines seen recently.
"From hero to zero" went one, more involved with bad rhyming than an engagement with truth. Bloomfield’s credibility, status, mana is now non-existent?
Now we have this. "Heads have to roll over border catastrophe, but whose head should it be?"
Catastrophe? Really? Come on, journos. I know selling news is more difficult nowadays, but now we'll have to find a new word to describe a sudden disaster because 'catastrophe' has been demeaned.
You want me to believe you? Don't exaggerate. Be truthful, factual, reasoned, honest, uncompromised. (I’d accept near catastrophe, possible catastrophe, potential catastrophe but there must be that qualifier…)
Agreed mac1….I have heard RNZ call the Covid 19 border operations a "debacle, catastrophe and shambles" while it is nothing of the sort. There appears to be an agenda here….
A few isolated incidents and one major cock-up (aided by the Nats Chris Bishop-the media should be finding out who his friend is in the UK that asked him to help the 2 UK women escape quarantine and what was actually said by Bishop to border authorities.His often-reported claim that he was "helping constituents" is obviously bollocks, and why did one of the women lie about her symptoms?) is not a shambles.
The current situation seems to be that widespread testing has revealed no outbreak at all and border checks caught a third case in a manner that showed it was working effectively.
I heard along the grapevine that she had asthma (totally unverified). My uncle who grew up in NZ hardly every comes back because coming here really screws with his asthma. Maybe she thought it was the transition to NZ that was aggravating her asthma (on top of family stress) rather than covid-19.
The only way to stop Covid-19 is to close the border and this is not going to happen for a lot of reasons due to people having rights and for economic reasons.
Perhaps the media can tell me how to prevent Covid-19 from entering the country without closing the border?
Reading the Press today Mac1, I was surprised at the mellow tone. Even the Editorial and 4 of the "journalists" had a "lets keep this in perspective" tone. Yet over the previous few days the Press "journalists" were in full "disaster/shambles/heads must roll" persuasion, and sickening.
And to think that 61,000 + NZers have been helped to return at a cost of $80million, and this slip up is the worst? Hells bells! 3,000 more are expected next week and there is always a risk.
Reports of Nurses on quarantine duty being abused and sent home in tears by rude uncooperative "inmates" makes you wonder just how ungrateful some people are.
There's a whole generation of young people who wallow in hyperbole. In the process some of the best words in the English language have been thoroughly demeaned. Awesome is a case in point. I hate to think where a lot of these youngsters are going to be with their lives when they hit their 40s and 50s.
Because they only have to run with the nut bar hard right loony lines for a few days to shift voters. Then they go go back to 'fair and balanced, then everyone forgets the mad irrational bullshit the MSM in this country spin on a all to regular basis.
This is right out of the play book of Cambridge Analytic – but who even wants to think about strategies and fear tactics at this stage of an election. Let alone having to cope with the fact the far right own the media landscape.
the linguistic impoverishment of the 'journos' involved – they are just bad writers
not enough time for them to think properly and produce something considered and original, rather than just reproduce the simplest emotional responses
many of the journos are not much more than ideological workers – labourers in the National Party's vineyard of ideas – their most urgent responsibility currently is to keep Todd in the game.
I think the quest for clicks has generated so many outrageous headlines, that it has become self defeating. like being faced with a zealot on the street carrying an end of the world sign, most normal people now ignore the outlandish headlines as being the cries for attention by fools. I do wonder if the herald is finally figuring this out. clowns like hosking and his partner, do their cause no good with stupid headlines. clear thinking people give them a wide berth, so they end up with a smaller and smaller audience of rusted on acolytes.
I think the proof-reading and headline writing for our 2 main newsprint outfits has been contracted out to Australian entities in a bid to save money, my understanding is that this happened quite some years ago. I would like someone to confirm or deny this.
This is the public posture Trump has taken since the 2016 election and through his years in the White House. He has downplayed or dismissed the Russian attack, even though the US intelligence community has concluded it occurred and was mounted by Vladimir Putin in part to help Trump win.
(A recent Senate Intelligence Committee report cited an intelligence intercept of a communication from a Russian cyber-operative who described Election Night this way:
“On November 9, 2016, a sleepless night was ahead of us. And when around 8 a.m. the most important result of our work arrived, we uncorked a tiny bottle of champagne…took one gulp each and looked into each other’s eyes…We uttered almost in unison: ‘We made America great.'”)
Still, even in the privacy of the Oval Office, Trump would not discuss with his top national security aide the Russian intervention—or, worse, the prospect of a repeat performance.
“Trump believed that acknowledging Russia’s meddling in US politics, or in that of many other countries in Europe and elsewhere, would implicitly acknowledge that he had colluded with Russia in his 2016 campaign,” Bolton writes.
Bolton may indeed be providing some interesting reading right now. But he's still among the frontrunners for the title of most odious swampthing to ever work in Washington. Even considering the strong run being made by the Mango Moronavirus.
The fucker refused to front up to testify when it might have a difference to the country late last year and earlier this year, even hiring lawyers to shield himself from doing that. It's now clear that was just a play to protect his personal potential book profits.
By all means, get the details from his book. Preferably by reading other reports of the contents, not by buying the book which might put money in his pockets. But remember, it's not evidence for rehabilitation of Bolton's reputation. Much more the opposite, in fact.
After Dirty Tricks was published some National supporters refused to read it because the information was stolen. Suppose Whistle Blowers should be ignored?
The difference is that Bolton was a very highly regarded Repug in very good standing with the party and the conservative side of US politics in general. So it's kinda like if Dirty Politics had been written and published by some Nat eminence grise like say Wayne Eagleson or Peter Goodfellow
That's what they said but the truth was… they didn't want to know the truth.
They were the same people who happily ignored the fact Cameron Slater and crew got into the back end of Labour's computer system and stole membership lists which included personal details.
But not before the vile excuse for a human pissed and moaned about food-insecure children being fed during a pandemic.
Katie Hopkins has had her Twitter account permanently banned for “hateful conduct”, the social media giant has confirmed.
The former reality TV star-turned-far right commentator has a long history of pro-Trump, pro-Brexit and anti-immigration views, and had more than one million followers on the platform.
The poll, by Horizon Research, asked voters who was best placed to manage the pandemic response.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was ahead on 66 per cent, well in front of Opposition leader Todd Muller who polled 14 per cent.
ACT leader David Seymour came next, polling 4 per cent.
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters scored 3 per cent, while Green co-leaders James Shaw and Marama Davidson each scored 1 per cent.
…
When broken down, all demographics except those with a household income above $200,000 and those who gave their party vote to the Conservative Party in 2017 rate Ardern as the best leader to manage the response.
Jackson Hospital pulmonologist William Saliski cleared his throat as he started describing the dire situation created by the coronavirus pandemic in Montgomery to its City Council before they voted on a mandatory mask ordinance. "It's been a long day, I apologize," he said.
"The units are full with critically-ill COVID patients," Saliski said. About 90% of them are Black. He said hospitals are able to manage for now, but it's not sustainable. "This mask slows that down, 95% protection from something as easy as cloth. … If this continues the way it's going, we will be overrun."
[…]
Instead, the council killed the ordinance after it failed to pass in a 4-4 tie, mostly along racial lines, with Councilman Tracy Larkin absent. Councilman Clay McInnis voted with three Black council members — Calhoun, Oronde Mitchell and Audrey Graham — in favor of the ordinance. Lyons, Charles Jinright, Richard Bollinger and Glen Pruitt voted against it.
Testing on Day 1 might encourage less rigour in handling isolation of travellers. Too many early negative tests. Better to act as if everyone is infectious.
Some of us have been saying just that since this thing kicked off back at the end of January.
But no, no. Uncle Ashley held the line that PPE were not needed (by homecare workers and clients) unless there was a positive test. And those with no symptoms are still struggling to get tested.
I have read that the optimal day to test is day 3. Testing at the airport too early.
I suspect you have misunderstood what you have read. Positivity upon testing is related to time after infection. A test on day 1 into NZ is likely to be as useful as a test of day 3. Regardless the most important issue is ensuring those entering at the border don't infect anyone that they have travelled into NZ with and even more critically that once they have arrived they are able to infect anyone in NZ.
Testing at the border wouldn't pick up people who caught it on the plane, but it would probably pick up the folks who infected the people on the plane. So the entire plane can go into tighter quarantine than the basic isolation.
Then towards the end of iso, people can be tested again as a final confirmation.
Let's have more negative tests on day 1 or 3 so more people with the virus can go to funerals. [/sarc]
That is literally what Chris Bishop wanted, let's not forget. He assumed they had been tested and the test was negative. They should have been tested (he was right about that) but he assumed an incubation period of 5 days.
After months of being told how long the incubation period is, that does not suggest National are competent to make decisions for anyone, never mind the whole country.
That is literally what Chris Bishop wanted, let's not forget. He assumed they had been tested and the test was negative. They should have been tested (he was right about that) but he assumed an incubation period of 5 days.
Remember their recent leader leader wouldn't take Bloomfield's word about the life-cycle of this disease (epidemic committee) so don't expect too much intellect from National.
Problem with testing upon arrival in NZ is the time for processing of samples and reporting will still mean that those arriving will have already moved to a hotel by the time they have their first result back.
I dod suspect there will be significant tweaking to the system over the next 2-4 weeks to improve triaging of incoming travellers and minimise/eliminate the possibility of cross infection amongst those isolating upon entry into NZ.
It seem a no brainer that they should have between 7 and 14 different hotels for quarantine (no idea how many are arriving each day ) and only people from the same day or two go to the 1st motel then the next couple of days go to the next one etc .
It would stop the problem of day 14s mingling with day 3s
I'm not clear how moving people every couple of days reduces opportunities for contact. It would seem to increase them considerably.
Human error would multiply too ("I told the nurse in Hotel number 1, and here you are in Hotel number 4 asking the same questions, why can't we deal with the same people each day, right hand doesn't know what left hand is doing" …).
Seriously, nothing about this is a no-brainer. People trying to make it work have spent hundreds of hours on it, making thousands of decisions about practical problems large and small, and any one mistake creates a headline. We are just captains on the couch.
OK, I misunderstood "go to the next one etc". Sorry.
In the end the inescapable problem is that they are in hotels. One thing that authorities haven't communicated effectively is why the quarantine needs to be in hotels with "normal" guests. In terms of perception, that is a gift to the media. Even if the risk is tiny, the public mood is so skittish that misinformation spreads like … well, like a virus.
Wag that is exactly what Judith Collins said yesterday, new hotel for each day and sanitized between groups. Instead these fuckwits hold a wedding in the room that the people exercise in that day. It sure ain't rocket science.
So much for tightening the borders and test test test, We were lied to.
The New York Times reports that Facebook took down Trump campaign advertisements that "prominently featured a symbol used by Nazis to classify political prisoners during World War II."
The symbol was a red triangle, which ran alongside ad copy that said, “Dangerous MOBS of far-left groups are running through our streets and causing absolute mayhem.”
[…]
Mark Bray, a historian at Rutgers and the author of “Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook,” said that “the origin of the symbol is universally agreed to be with the Nazis and the concentration camps.” He added that the red triangle was not part of the symbolism of antifa in the United States.
The fact that the triangle has been reclaimed by some anti-fascists, Mr. Bray said, does not give the Trump campaign license to use the same symbol to attack antifa. “This is a symbol that represented the extermination of leftists,” he said. “It is a death threat against leftists. There’s no way around what that means historically.”
Agh those subconscious buggers lurk,,but if you dont let them out and make damned sure you dont pass them on to the kids like they where handed to you , does that mean your really not racist??
I didn't think I was sexist until the day I asked the woman behind the counter if I could speak to one of the mechanics. She said perhaps she could help." To my shame I told her what my problem was with the clear intention of showing that it needed a mechanic.
She looked me straight in the eye and gave me a first rate answer to my problem. Why did I doubt her ability? Because she was a woman???
Can anybody clear some thing up for me .I've looked at immigration NZ but am really none the wiser. A permanent resident visa – can someone stay outside the country and turn up here for a brief holiday annually or every so often and then apply to have it transfered from passport to passport. So there is no way that they are habitually resident here or paying tax or anything else? And if that is so can they come back here under the current border controls ( despite maybe having not lived here for several years) and just take welfare etc. If they can I'm not sure that I am very impressed with it as a system.
Have a look at the INZ guide INZ1176 on their website. It should answer most of your questions.
It comes back to the word 'permanent' in the visa title. Once a decision is made it is 'permanent', with a few exceptions. Have look also at the conditions for granting permanent residence.
If you are suggesting we should only allow temporary residence to non-citizens, then I presume you have good plan for managing all the practical implications of that situation?
In the past I have run across people who had returned to work here after spending 6-10 years out of the country working back in their citizenship country and I was under the impression that they only had a permanent resident visa. Hence the question.
I wasn't actually suggesting anything just curious as to how this all worked. However, I have worked with a number of people with permanent resident visa's who subsequently relocated – to be near other family members- and are unlikely to return here. The guide mentioned doesn't really hel.p
There is a huge issue here that shows how foolish (or disingenuous) it is to simply assume it's all sorted for those who have residence claims, and so we can now start processing and inviting into NZ thousands of people who have none (e.g. on student visas).
TV1 had a story on this tonight (not online yet), I think 80,000 was the number quoted – will check. That is, people who are entitled to come to NZ, under existing (pre-Covid) rules.
Here's an example of the problems, reported today:
The dairy industry employs around 30,000 people – 4500 are migrants.
Federated Farmers dairy industry group chair Chris Lewis estimates 100 of those migrants are stuck overseas due to Covid-19. …
"The problem we've got is Mother Nature doesn't wait for politicians and in the next few weeks calving starts.
"If the Government do allow them to come back in then they have to quarantine for two weeks, we need a clear cut decision from our Government saying yes or no if this is going to happen."
So should those 100 be allowed in, immediately? Yes, because they are needed? Or No, because they pose a risk? We could make a case for either, but if "Yes", then multiply that number many times over, and then find them all a place in a secure quarantine location.
Then multiply it many times more, for the extra people the Opposition want to bring in.
There are quite a number of 3 month jobs around the first part of the season. Why not advertise and fill the jobs locally and pay decent wages. 100 is a tiny number out of the workforce total.
Once someone gets a permanent resident visa, there is no expiry date, and no requirement to actually reside here. To answer your initial question, yes.
I actually thought we might try to employ our own citizens first – in particular those returning from Australia – but apparently not. Income levels have been waived also. Bit of a kick in the guts for the unemployed.
The move is part of a suite of changes to the Arms Legislation Bill, which saw the Labour Party give in to most of NZ First’s demands.
…
But this backdown wasn't necessary. Gun control is a hugely popular issue in urban New Zealand. Labour could have simply publicly blamed NZ First for the delay, then campaigned on passing the law without their amendments. Instead, they chose to chicken out, and grovel to a coalition partner who is actively sabotaging a core part of their agenda, when they had no real need to.
Not so. What the coalition govt have actually done is what they said they would do. The fact they are going to do it in a different way over a longer time frame than some would like the reality of MMP. The real world of a coalition govt is not a case of 'black and white' decisions, it is about negotiating agreement on legislation that wasn't settled in the coalition agreement. To suggest that a disagreement should be halted and left to the election to decide is not to take MMP seriously (and to assume that future election would necessarily provide a stronger position from which to negotiate).
We voted for MMP precisely to avoid single parties being able to dominate the parliamentary and legislative process. It seems rather odd to now criticise an MMP government for managing the electoral cards it was dealt under a system we voted for.
The post is out of date, the reforms (including a register) were passed on Thursday night.
If we ever needed an example of the vagaries of media attention spans, it is before us right now. A year ago gun reform was THE issue and everybody was talking about. Now we have the legislative response (part 2) and nobody is talking about it.
The clown from nrt has got himself a bit excited . Why is every farmer going to suddenly by an ar15 because they are allowed a semi auto for pest control?
Not many would have had them pre the buy back and I cant see them all rushing out to get one even if it becomes possible.
Yeah, he would have helped his case if he’d actually looked up what’s required to get an endorsement to have a semiauto, they’re still a prohibited weapon. It isn’t that easy, and you really need one to get one.
A .22 or shotgun for rabbits, probably fairly easy if you’re in Otago. Can’t see this being too much of a problem. Get caught with the shotgun down the maimai and it could be tricky. I note that parries aren’t on the list of pest species, we have to do work on them here and you’re not getting anywhere with just two shots (even with 5 you’ve got to control your shots)
An AR15 for goats, well you’d need a pretty bad goat problem and then you’d be getting the pros in and probably a chopper as well. The number of farms that would fall into that category would be pretty small, and large properties that would be well controlled.
DOC and the chopper people, well that’s effectively the same as it was up to the mid 80’s when it all got a bit loose and we ended up where we are now.
I did goat control work for the Forest Service in early 80’s and the dept had an AR, mainly for chopper work, but we could use it if we didn’t have a rifle. Everyone hated the thing, guys would pay for, and cart around heavier calibre ammo for their heavier sporting rifle rather than put up with the AR, it was so unsuited to what we were doing on the ground. Different story out of the chopper, but we did very little of that.
Most people muster the gaots where possible, best hourly rate I've ever had by a long way .
Had a mate get all worked up about the banning of semis for culling ,he calmed down when I pointed out that the deer cullers of yore used crappy old 303s with 5 shot mags and where deadly with them .
Best demonstrators stand back while tens of thousands of tRump cultists pack themselves into a hot arena yelling and coughing all over each other, sans masks or distancing because they ain't no soy boys, and fuel the spike .
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday threatened unspecified action against any protesters at his weekend re-election rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in a warning that his campaign said was not directed at peaceful demonstrators.
“Any protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes who are going to Oklahoma please understand, you will not be treated like you have been in New York, Seattle, or Minneapolis. It will be a much different scene!” Trump wrote on Twitter.
Looking at the stereotypical Trump rally attendee, they appear to be mostly old, fat and prime candidates for immune deficient diseases.
Given covid's attachment to these sort of people, one would hope the campaign team aren't planning on holding too many shindigs in marginal states. After all, all votes matter in swing states.
If the Prophet of Pestilence wishes to hold his rallies, and his MADAmorons wish to attend them with the entirely predictable infectious results, why would one hope against that happening in marginal states? Votes do indeed matter – if that specific segment self-selects out of the voting pool, how is that a bad thing?
Obviously peoples lives, even if they are republicans, are something to cherish and not wish over for something like politics.
But just supposing in the soup of infection those convention halls will be, it will be something to watch for, to see if those marginals are affected by attendees contracting and/or dying from it.
There was no social distancing. We were sat in the middle of a row of four people – we had people right up against us," she said.
"Masks were not compulsory, the flight attendants were only wearing a mask and no other PPE … and the flight itself seemed to be very crammed, very busy."
On Air NZ's website it says that under alert level 1 social distancing is no longer a requirement.
Masks now have to be worn on flights. But surely this alert level 1 only applies within New Zealand after quarantine has been completed? Why would Airnz ever imagine it applies on an inward bound from overseas flight? Or that they could put people straight onto a domestic flight before quarantine?
She reports that the quarantine at her hotel was very strict. Good.
But I wish the media would stop promoting the notion that Ashley Bloomfield is personally responsible for the world. Does he have to issue orders to every airline now, even outside NZ? How is he supposed to enforce that?
Just a bit concerned over the numbers of returning NZers.
But why?
Have they all been trapped as tourists while visiting? Or all living in Australia?
Or, as I fear, have they found out the places they have called home for the last few years do not have the level of welfare support that NZ is giving its NZ-based citizens who have lost their NZ-based jobs.
I know that for access to super you have had to have been resident in NZ for the XXX of YYY years.
Do we have any restrictions for these incoming citizens who have been permanently resident overseas, before they are able to claim the $$$$ especially the $490 per week. If my skepticism is correct then expect to see these people returning back overseas to their homes there once they get back on their feet here at the expense of resident NZers.
Does anyone know if returning NZers can just step out their quarantine and straight into claiming a benefit, housing support etc despite not contributing here for what may be a few years.
Sounds mean-spirited I know. Some of the behaviour reported on and the moaning about quarantine by our returning NZers makes me wonder though.
I would guess that some will try to leave England and somehow i can't blame them. Trying to live trhough the mess that is Brexit is one thing, but trying to survive Bojo's covid 19 response is something else altogether. . i have a friend who has huge issues getting her visa renewed, and she has a job and has lived there now for a few years with her partner.
Chances are that anyone returning now will still have a 12 week stand down as they will not have worked in NZ as is required to actually receive unemployment benefits . They might be able to get a hardship grant if they have no income to support themselves. In saying that it could very well be that they are asked to 'use all alternative options' first before they actually get a penny. I also took the Covid – 19 unemployment benefit to be applied to NZ based citizen/resident.
So maybe its a bit of both, legal issues that force them home (Brexit is hell on migrants in the UK), maybe some pressure from the family too, and maybe a return as suddenly any savings might be actually good enough to buy a house in NZ – which is one of the reasons my friends went overseas. Make good money, save, return and start something of their own. People i know in OZ have no intention of coming here.
Possible stand down if the 13 weeks applies, otherwise no. To get the special $490, have to have lost a job in NZ due to Covid-19, so they probably won't be eligible for that.
You wouldn't get a 13 week stand-down for leaving your job if returning from overseas. The hardest aspect of advocacy work to some extent was trying to dispel myths that prevailed in the community such as when you got a 13 week stand-down, that you had to spend all your money/redundancy before getting a benefit, you could spend 3 nights a week together before it was considered a relationship – and in some small defence of the staff that they got paid bonuses for declining food grants.
It was difficult enough fighting WINZ for not following their own policies without the community saying many of the same things. The actual policy manuals have been on-line for years now.
Clients returning to New Zealand from overseas
A non-entitlement period is not considered when a client returns to New Zealand after working overseas. Clients returning to New Zealand after working overseas do not receive a voluntary unemployment stand-down.
Chatter around Queenstown is that a lot of expat New Zealanders are getting out of Europe, Asia and US as quickly as they can, buying here, and maybe selling up there. Realestate agents are busy and builders have a sudden urgency in their step.
The bit they’ve got wrong is that the top (the Shania Twains) drive the market here, they don’t, it’s driven by New Zealanders and Australians wanting a bit of the ‘Queenstown Lifestyle’ for a few years.
Like I said, they waffled around it. To spruik you need some small truth to spruik and try to turn into a boom. Unfortunately that’s the way markets, politics, and forums like this work. I’m just saying what appears to be going on
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This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- 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. ...
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 ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
Two-thirds of the country think that “New Zealand’s economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful”. They also believe that “New Zealand needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful”. These are just two of a handful of stunning new survey results released ...
In today’s digital world, screenshots have become an indispensable tool for communication and documentation. Whether you need to capture an important email, preserve a website page, or share an error message, screenshots allow you to quickly and easily preserve digital information. If you’re an Asus laptop user, there are several ...
A factory reset restores your Gateway laptop to its original factory settings, erasing all data, apps, and personalizations. This can be necessary to resolve software issues, remove viruses, or prepare your laptop for sale or transfer. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to factory reset your Gateway laptop: Method 1: ...
“You talking about me?”The neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hall’s “Glide Time” caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
Roger Partridge writes – When the Coalition Government took office last October, it inherited a country on a precipice. With persistent inflation, decades of insipid productivity growth and crises in healthcare, education, housing and law and order, it is no exaggeration to suggest New Zealand’s first-world status was ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In 2022, the Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education employed 308 staff, according to an Official Information Request. Earlier this week it was announced 202 of those staff were being cut. When you look up “The New Zealand Curriculum” on the Ministry of ...
Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
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. ...
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. ...
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 ...
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, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In the free-for-all between the Australian government and Big Tech boss Elon Musk this week, the government had to be on a winner. Most people would have little sympathy with Musk’s vociferous opposition to ...
Asia Pacific Report Chief Mandla Mandela, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa and Nelson Mandela’s grandson, has joined the Freedom Flotilla in istanbul as the ships prepare to sail for Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. Mandela is also the ambassador for the Global Campaign to Return to ...
Pacific Media Watch Journalists who report on environmental issues are encountering growing difficulties in many parts of the world, reports Reporters Without Borders. According to the tally kept by RSF, 200 journalists have been subjected to threats and physical violence, including murder, in the past 10 years because they were ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
ACT's Rural Communities and Veterans spokesman Mark Cameron responds to cancellations and protests of ANZAC Day commemorations in Wellington. He says, "These pitiful attempts to detract from ANZAC Day are not at all indicative of the feelings of mainstream ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Pōneke based peace activists staged a silent protest at the ANZAC day service to highlight New Zealand’s complicity in war and genocide, and urge the government to take concrete steps to stop the genocide in Palestine. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Magdalena M.E. Bunbury, Postdoctoral Researcher, James Cook University Burial with a horse at the Rákóczifalva site, Hungary (8th century AD).Sándor Hegedűs, Hungarian National Museum, CC BY How do we understand past societies? For centuries, our main sources of information have been ...
Amanda Thompson doesn’t really do Anzac Day. But what she does do is remember the people she knew who had a lifetime to remember stuff they didn’t really want to, because of a war they didn’t ask for. And she does make Anzac biscuits.First published in 2021.All my ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathryn Willis, Postdoctoral Researcher, CSIRO Xavier Boulenger/Shutterstock In the two decades to 2019, global plastic production doubled. By 2040, plastic manufacturing and processing could consume as much as 20% of global oil production and use up 15% of the annual carbon ...
With our collective remembrance, and steadfast belief in our common humanity, we strengthen our hope and resolve to do what we can to foster dialogue and understanding, and to heal divisions in our pursuit of peace. ...
Principal reasons for the opposition is the loss of the public’s democratic right to have “a fair say” and the vital need for a government free from corruption, said Casey Cravens of Dunedin, president of the New Zealand Federation of Freshwater ...
Never mind the scoreboard – in the 2000 Bledisloe Cup decider, the real trans-Tasman battle was won before kickoff.First published in 2016. The dawn of the new millennium was a dark time for the All Blacks. Their final game pre-Y2K was a 22-18 loss to South Africa in the ...
I’m on the wrong side of 40, I never pursued creative work and now my job is killing my soul. Help! Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,May I start with the least original conversation opener you’re likely to hear around the motu at the moment, particularly in Wellington: ...
“Never again - No AUKUS” was the message of the wreath laid at this morning’s national ANZAC Day commemorative service at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park this morning by the Stop AUKUS group. ...
Until this month, Auckland swimmer Hazel Ouwehand had never met a qualifying time in an Olympic event for a New Zealand team, even as a junior. Now she’s very likely off to the Paris Olympics after swimming well under the qualifying standard in the 100m butterfly twice – both in ...
While Anzac Day has experienced a resurgence in recent years, our other day of remembrance has slowly faded from view.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Original illustrations by Hope McConnell.First published in 2022.The high school’s head girl and ...
Australian and New Zealand volunteers fought together in the Waikato War, yet still its place in the Anzac tradition is unacknowledged by our defence forces or Returned Services Association.First published in 2018.When I was a boy cub I attended Anzac Day services in the South Auckland suburb of ...
A poem by Wellington writer Tayi Tibble.Hoki Mai She kisses him goodbye with her eyes still wet and alight from their last swim in the Awatere river. At the train station celebration, she leads the Kapa Haka but her voice keeps breaking under and over itself like waves. ...
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World refugee day
https://twitter.com/SonnyBWilliams/status/1274021268627603462
I think a fair-minded person with a care for truth and honesty in language use has to have some concern about the grossly exaggerated headlines seen recently.
"From hero to zero" went one, more involved with bad rhyming than an engagement with truth. Bloomfield’s credibility, status, mana is now non-existent?
Now we have this. "Heads have to roll over border catastrophe, but whose head should it be?"
Catastrophe? Really? Come on, journos. I know selling news is more difficult nowadays, but now we'll have to find a new word to describe a sudden disaster because 'catastrophe' has been demeaned.
You want me to believe you? Don't exaggerate. Be truthful, factual, reasoned, honest, uncompromised. (I’d accept near catastrophe, possible catastrophe, potential catastrophe but there must be that qualifier…)
Please. We need you to be so.
Agreed mac1….I have heard RNZ call the Covid 19 border operations a "debacle, catastrophe and shambles" while it is nothing of the sort. There appears to be an agenda here….
A few isolated incidents and one major cock-up (aided by the Nats Chris Bishop-the media should be finding out who his friend is in the UK that asked him to help the 2 UK women escape quarantine and what was actually said by Bishop to border authorities.His often-reported claim that he was "helping constituents" is obviously bollocks, and why did one of the women lie about her symptoms?) is not a shambles.
The current situation seems to be that widespread testing has revealed no outbreak at all and border checks caught a third case in a manner that showed it was working effectively.
RNZ meant to say
THE REPORTING BY THE MEDIA
of Covid 19 border operations is a "debacle, catastrophe and shambles
Are they all reading from the same thesaurus?
I heard along the grapevine that she had asthma (totally unverified). My uncle who grew up in NZ hardly every comes back because coming here really screws with his asthma. Maybe she thought it was the transition to NZ that was aggravating her asthma (on top of family stress) rather than covid-19.
The only way to stop Covid-19 is to close the border and this is not going to happen for a lot of reasons due to people having rights and for economic reasons.
Perhaps the media can tell me how to prevent Covid-19 from entering the country without closing the border?
Reading the Press today Mac1, I was surprised at the mellow tone. Even the Editorial and 4 of the "journalists" had a "lets keep this in perspective" tone. Yet over the previous few days the Press "journalists" were in full "disaster/shambles/heads must roll" persuasion, and sickening.
And to think that 61,000 + NZers have been helped to return at a cost of $80million, and this slip up is the worst? Hells bells! 3,000 more are expected next week and there is always a risk.
Reports of Nurses on quarantine duty being abused and sent home in tears by rude uncooperative "inmates" makes you wonder just how ungrateful some people are.
Yes, Ian, I read the Press editorial after I wrote my piece above, and noted the backing off in the editorial as it wrote of the hero to zero meme.
But use of catastrophe continued in the article, not just in the headline. It was not only the headline-hunting sub-editor; it was there in the text.
We had a word at school for this- 'piffle', said with a puff of the breath and a flick of the hand.
The same reaction as these ingrate ‘inmates’ deserve in quarantine. Pfffft!
Decades since I heard "piffle" being used. But some "journalists" do write piffle.
We can add devastated to the list of over-used hyperbole.
There's a whole generation of young people who wallow in hyperbole. In the process some of the best words in the English language have been thoroughly demeaned. Awesome is a case in point. I hate to think where a lot of these youngsters are going to be with their lives when they hit their 40s and 50s.
A right emotional mess methinks.
Because they only have to run with the nut bar hard right loony lines for a few days to shift voters. Then they go go back to 'fair and balanced, then everyone forgets the mad irrational bullshit the MSM in this country spin on a all to regular basis.
This is right out of the play book of Cambridge Analytic – but who even wants to think about strategies and fear tactics at this stage of an election. Let alone having to cope with the fact the far right own the media landscape.
Probably a mishmash of reasons for this:
I think the quest for clicks has generated so many outrageous headlines, that it has become self defeating. like being faced with a zealot on the street carrying an end of the world sign, most normal people now ignore the outlandish headlines as being the cries for attention by fools. I do wonder if the herald is finally figuring this out. clowns like hosking and his partner, do their cause no good with stupid headlines. clear thinking people give them a wide berth, so they end up with a smaller and smaller audience of rusted on acolytes.
I agree, when I saw the "Hero to Zero" headline I just assumed "beat up" & couldn't be bothered reading.
Oddly the article headed "Hero to Zero" was reasonably fair. This makes one wonder who in the organisation ordered the beat-up headline.
I think the proof-reading and headline writing for our 2 main newsprint outfits has been contracted out to Australian entities in a bid to save money, my understanding is that this happened quite some years ago. I would like someone to confirm or deny this.
Catnip. Bolton's new book describes Chump's behaviour around Russian election interference. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/06/john-bolton-provides-a-harrowing-portrait-of-trumps-surrender-to-putin/
Bolton may indeed be providing some interesting reading right now. But he's still among the frontrunners for the title of most odious swampthing to ever work in Washington. Even considering the strong run being made by the Mango Moronavirus.
The fucker refused to front up to testify when it might have a difference to the country late last year and earlier this year, even hiring lawyers to shield himself from doing that. It's now clear that was just a play to protect his personal potential book profits.
By all means, get the details from his book. Preferably by reading other reports of the contents, not by buying the book which might put money in his pockets. But remember, it's not evidence for rehabilitation of Bolton's reputation. Much more the opposite, in fact.
That's the idea, yes.
https://twitter.com/AlBernstein/status/1273879266858426368
After Dirty Tricks was published some National supporters refused to read it because the information was stolen. Suppose Whistle Blowers should be ignored?
I doubt anyone is calling Bolton that.
Just think that Trump supporters would do the same. "If I don't read it then it didn't happen."
The difference is that Bolton was a very highly regarded Repug in very good standing with the party and the conservative side of US politics in general. So it's kinda like if Dirty Politics had been written and published by some Nat eminence grise like say Wayne Eagleson or Peter Goodfellow
That's what they said but the truth was… they didn't want to know the truth.
They were the same people who happily ignored the fact Cameron Slater and crew got into the back end of Labour's computer system and stole membership lists which included personal details.
Bolton is a war criminal who should be rotting in a jail deep in the swamps of Alabama.
Gitmo. With Kissinger in the next hole.
But not before the vile excuse for a human pissed and moaned about food-insecure children being fed during a pandemic.
Katie Hopkins has had her Twitter account permanently banned for “hateful conduct”, the social media giant has confirmed.
The former reality TV star-turned-far right commentator has a long history of pro-Trump, pro-Brexit and anti-immigration views, and had more than one million followers on the platform.
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/katie-hopkins-account-permanently-suspended_uk_5eece139c5b6e9623c8179bf?
What is ironic is that she retweets Trump, and yet Trump is not banned.
In other news
Reported in stuff, not Herald that i can see.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300038718/kiwis-feeling-jacindamania-in-new-poll-while-national-faces-mullermehtum
Horizon Research poll asked voters who was best placed to manage the pandemic response.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was ahead on 66 per cent, well in front of Opposition leader Todd Muller who polled 14 per cent.
When asked who the best leader for the economic recovery, 53 per cent of respondents picked Ardern, compared to 24 per cent who backed Muller.
muller will go down as an answer to a future trivial pursuit question. most people will get his name wrong….
Already do 🙂
Tudd Moller as Tom Sainsbury calls him.
Oops. Snap.
Good to add more info Sasha
Taken before this week's facial egging: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300038718/kiwis-feeling-jacindamania-in-new-poll-while-national-faces-mullermehtum
'Murica.
https://twitter.com/BradMGM/status/1273015801168171013
Jackson Hospital pulmonologist William Saliski cleared his throat as he started describing the dire situation created by the coronavirus pandemic in Montgomery to its City Council before they voted on a mandatory mask ordinance. "It's been a long day, I apologize," he said.
"The units are full with critically-ill COVID patients," Saliski said. About 90% of them are Black. He said hospitals are able to manage for now, but it's not sustainable. "This mask slows that down, 95% protection from something as easy as cloth. … If this continues the way it's going, we will be overrun."
[…]
Instead, the council killed the ordinance after it failed to pass in a 4-4 tie, mostly along racial lines, with Councilman Tracy Larkin absent. Councilman Clay McInnis voted with three Black council members — Calhoun, Oronde Mitchell and Audrey Graham — in favor of the ordinance. Lyons, Charles Jinright, Richard Bollinger and Glen Pruitt voted against it.
https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2020/06/16/montgomery-council-votes-down-mask-ordinance-doctors-disgust/3203300001/
Two more positive tests. Couple from India. Asymptomatic. Day 12 test. All others at the isolation facility to be tested.
Hmmm…how long before we test arrivals at the airport and process accordingly?
Testing on Day 1 might encourage less rigour in handling isolation of travellers. Too many early negative tests. Better to act as if everyone is infectious.
Better to act as if everyone is infectious.
Some of us have been saying just that since this thing kicked off back at the end of January.
But no, no. Uncle Ashley held the line that PPE were not needed (by homecare workers and clients) unless there was a positive test. And those with no symptoms are still struggling to get tested.
FFS. Are we taking this virus seriously or not?
I have read that the optimal day to test is day 3. Testing at the airport too early.
Social distancing all the way through the 14 day isolation is essential. Tests a good backup
I have read that the optimal day to test is day 3. Testing at the airport too early.
I suspect you have misunderstood what you have read. Positivity upon testing is related to time after infection. A test on day 1 into NZ is likely to be as useful as a test of day 3. Regardless the most important issue is ensuring those entering at the border don't infect anyone that they have travelled into NZ with and even more critically that once they have arrived they are able to infect anyone in NZ.
Testing at the border wouldn't pick up people who caught it on the plane, but it would probably pick up the folks who infected the people on the plane. So the entire plane can go into tighter quarantine than the basic isolation.
Then towards the end of iso, people can be tested again as a final confirmation.
Are they all reading from the same thesaurus?
Let's have more negative tests on day 1 or 3 so more people with the virus can go to funerals. [/sarc]
That is literally what Chris Bishop wanted, let's not forget. He assumed they had been tested and the test was negative. They should have been tested (he was right about that) but he assumed an incubation period of 5 days.
After months of being told how long the incubation period is, that does not suggest National are competent to make decisions for anyone, never mind the whole country.
Remember their recent leader leader wouldn't take Bloomfield's word about the life-cycle of this disease (epidemic committee) so don't expect too much intellect from National.
Problem with testing upon arrival in NZ is the time for processing of samples and reporting will still mean that those arriving will have already moved to a hotel by the time they have their first result back.
I dod suspect there will be significant tweaking to the system over the next 2-4 weeks to improve triaging of incoming travellers and minimise/eliminate the possibility of cross infection amongst those isolating upon entry into NZ.
I have read that the optimal day to test is day 3. Testing at the airport too early.
Social distancing all the way through the 14 day isolation is essential. Tests a good backup
It seem a no brainer that they should have between 7 and 14 different hotels for quarantine (no idea how many are arriving each day ) and only people from the same day or two go to the 1st motel then the next couple of days go to the next one etc .
It would stop the problem of day 14s mingling with day 3s
I'm not clear how moving people every couple of days reduces opportunities for contact. It would seem to increase them considerably.
Human error would multiply too ("I told the nurse in Hotel number 1, and here you are in Hotel number 4 asking the same questions, why can't we deal with the same people each day, right hand doesn't know what left hand is doing" …).
Seriously, nothing about this is a no-brainer. People trying to make it work have spent hundreds of hours on it, making thousands of decisions about practical problems large and small, and any one mistake creates a headline. We are just captains on the couch.
You dont move the people . You change motels every two days for new arrivals.
OK, I misunderstood "go to the next one etc". Sorry.
In the end the inescapable problem is that they are in hotels. One thing that authorities haven't communicated effectively is why the quarantine needs to be in hotels with "normal" guests. In terms of perception, that is a gift to the media. Even if the risk is tiny, the public mood is so skittish that misinformation spreads like … well, like a virus.
T'is a pity it too cold for tents. Could put them in paddocks in batches with paddocks as buffers.
80% of public opinion would probably support that. Government tough!
Then a sick child in a tent would be on the TV news and 80% of public opinion would be against. Government heartless!
Wag that is exactly what Judith Collins said yesterday, new hotel for each day and sanitized between groups. Instead these fuckwits hold a wedding in the room that the people exercise in that day. It sure ain't rocket science.
So much for tightening the borders and test test test, We were lied to.
Oh god I think like collins, I feel so dirty now .
They're on a roll.
/
https://twitter.com/AuschwitzMuseum/status/1273668340729499650
The New York Times reports that Facebook took down Trump campaign advertisements that "prominently featured a symbol used by Nazis to classify political prisoners during World War II."
The symbol was a red triangle, which ran alongside ad copy that said, “Dangerous MOBS of far-left groups are running through our streets and causing absolute mayhem.”
[…]
Mark Bray, a historian at Rutgers and the author of “Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook,” said that “the origin of the symbol is universally agreed to be with the Nazis and the concentration camps.” He added that the red triangle was not part of the symbolism of antifa in the United States.
The fact that the triangle has been reclaimed by some anti-fascists, Mr. Bray said, does not give the Trump campaign license to use the same symbol to attack antifa. “This is a symbol that represented the extermination of leftists,” he said. “It is a death threat against leftists. There’s no way around what that means historically.”
https://boingboing.net/2020/06/18/trump-ad-uses-nazi-symbol-to-a.html
.
.
https://twitter.com/RexChapman/status/1273794431704076289
I'm really not a racist! But I had better check those subconscious thoughts….mmmm?
Agh those subconscious buggers lurk,,but if you dont let them out and make damned sure you dont pass them on to the kids like they where handed to you , does that mean your really not racist??
I didn't think I was sexist until the day I asked the woman behind the counter if I could speak to one of the mechanics. She said perhaps she could help." To my shame I told her what my problem was with the clear intention of showing that it needed a mechanic.
She looked me straight in the eye and gave me a first rate answer to my problem. Why did I doubt her ability? Because she was a woman???
Na because she was the receptionist.
Can anybody clear some thing up for me .I've looked at immigration NZ but am really none the wiser. A permanent resident visa – can someone stay outside the country and turn up here for a brief holiday annually or every so often and then apply to have it transfered from passport to passport. So there is no way that they are habitually resident here or paying tax or anything else? And if that is so can they come back here under the current border controls ( despite maybe having not lived here for several years) and just take welfare etc. If they can I'm not sure that I am very impressed with it as a system.
Have a look at the INZ guide INZ1176 on their website. It should answer most of your questions.
It comes back to the word 'permanent' in the visa title. Once a decision is made it is 'permanent', with a few exceptions. Have look also at the conditions for granting permanent residence.
If you are suggesting we should only allow temporary residence to non-citizens, then I presume you have good plan for managing all the practical implications of that situation?
In the past I have run across people who had returned to work here after spending 6-10 years out of the country working back in their citizenship country and I was under the impression that they only had a permanent resident visa. Hence the question.
I wasn't actually suggesting anything just curious as to how this all worked. However, I have worked with a number of people with permanent resident visa's who subsequently relocated – to be near other family members- and are unlikely to return here. The guide mentioned doesn't really hel.p
There is a huge issue here that shows how foolish (or disingenuous) it is to simply assume it's all sorted for those who have residence claims, and so we can now start processing and inviting into NZ thousands of people who have none (e.g. on student visas).
TV1 had a story on this tonight (not online yet), I think 80,000 was the number quoted – will check. That is, people who are entitled to come to NZ, under existing (pre-Covid) rules.
There are many stories about divided families, some terribly unfortunate people who are caught betwixt and between. Some examples reported here, a week ago.
Casually declaring that we should let others jump the queue (for cash, of course) is not only bad health policy, it is borderline corrupt.
TV3, not TV1.
Here's an example of the problems, reported today:
The dairy industry employs around 30,000 people – 4500 are migrants.
Federated Farmers dairy industry group chair Chris Lewis estimates 100 of those migrants are stuck overseas due to Covid-19. …
"The problem we've got is Mother Nature doesn't wait for politicians and in the next few weeks calving starts.
"If the Government do allow them to come back in then they have to quarantine for two weeks, we need a clear cut decision from our Government saying yes or no if this is going to happen."
So should those 100 be allowed in, immediately? Yes, because they are needed? Or No, because they pose a risk? We could make a case for either, but if "Yes", then multiply that number many times over, and then find them all a place in a secure quarantine location.
Then multiply it many times more, for the extra people the Opposition want to bring in.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/121844329/cant-afford-to-stay-here-cant-afford-to-go-home–the-struggles-migrants-are-facing-due-to-covid19
There are quite a number of 3 month jobs around the first part of the season. Why not advertise and fill the jobs locally and pay decent wages. 100 is a tiny number out of the workforce total.
http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2009/0051/latest/DLM1440688.html
Once someone gets a permanent resident visa, there is no expiry date, and no requirement to actually reside here. To answer your initial question, yes.
Congrats, Malala.
https://twitter.com/Malala/status/1273775945917378562
An amazing young woman.
I actually thought we might try to employ our own citizens first – in particular those returning from Australia – but apparently not. Income levels have been waived also. Bit of a kick in the guts for the unemployed.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300038780/border-restrictions-eased-for-sportspeople-infrastructure-project-workers
I'm sure any local unemployed professional sportspeople can already try out for the team, if they are good enough.
The infrastructure workers actually
Someone may have already picked this up over recent days: http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2020/06/labour-chickenshits-out-on-gun-control.html
Not so. What the coalition govt have actually done is what they said they would do. The fact they are going to do it in a different way over a longer time frame than some would like the reality of MMP. The real world of a coalition govt is not a case of 'black and white' decisions, it is about negotiating agreement on legislation that wasn't settled in the coalition agreement. To suggest that a disagreement should be halted and left to the election to decide is not to take MMP seriously (and to assume that future election would necessarily provide a stronger position from which to negotiate).
We voted for MMP precisely to avoid single parties being able to dominate the parliamentary and legislative process. It seems rather odd to now criticise an MMP government for managing the electoral cards it was dealt under a system we voted for.
The post is out of date, the reforms (including a register) were passed on Thursday night.
If we ever needed an example of the vagaries of media attention spans, it is before us right now. A year ago gun reform was THE issue and everybody was talking about. Now we have the legislative response (part 2) and nobody is talking about it.
The clown from nrt has got himself a bit excited . Why is every farmer going to suddenly by an ar15 because they are allowed a semi auto for pest control?
Not many would have had them pre the buy back and I cant see them all rushing out to get one even if it becomes possible.
Lefties truly hate farmers is all I can think.
Yeah, he would have helped his case if he’d actually looked up what’s required to get an endorsement to have a semiauto, they’re still a prohibited weapon. It isn’t that easy, and you really need one to get one.
https://www.police.govt.nz/advice-services/firearms-and-safety/apply-endorsement-and-permit-possess-prohibited-items
A .22 or shotgun for rabbits, probably fairly easy if you’re in Otago. Can’t see this being too much of a problem. Get caught with the shotgun down the maimai and it could be tricky. I note that parries aren’t on the list of pest species, we have to do work on them here and you’re not getting anywhere with just two shots (even with 5 you’ve got to control your shots)
An AR15 for goats, well you’d need a pretty bad goat problem and then you’d be getting the pros in and probably a chopper as well. The number of farms that would fall into that category would be pretty small, and large properties that would be well controlled.
DOC and the chopper people, well that’s effectively the same as it was up to the mid 80’s when it all got a bit loose and we ended up where we are now.
I did goat control work for the Forest Service in early 80’s and the dept had an AR, mainly for chopper work, but we could use it if we didn’t have a rifle. Everyone hated the thing, guys would pay for, and cart around heavier calibre ammo for their heavier sporting rifle rather than put up with the AR, it was so unsuited to what we were doing on the ground. Different story out of the chopper, but we did very little of that.
Most people muster the gaots where possible, best hourly rate I've ever had by a long way .
Had a mate get all worked up about the banning of semis for culling ,he calmed down when I pointed out that the deer cullers of yore used crappy old 303s with 5 shot mags and where deadly with them .
Told him to learn to shoot straight!!
25 new cases in Victoria today. They’ve moved to tighten up restrictions again.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/five-guests-in-your-home-victorian-restrictions-tightened-20200620-p554j5.html
Best demonstrators stand back while tens of thousands of tRump cultists pack themselves into a hot arena yelling and coughing all over each other, sans masks or distancing because they ain't no soy boys, and fuel the spike .
https://twitter.com/kurteichenwald/status/1274036213184413696
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday threatened unspecified action against any protesters at his weekend re-election rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in a warning that his campaign said was not directed at peaceful demonstrators.
“Any protesters, anarchists, agitators, looters or lowlifes who are going to Oklahoma please understand, you will not be treated like you have been in New York, Seattle, or Minneapolis. It will be a much different scene!” Trump wrote on Twitter.
https://globalnews.ca/news/7088139/donald-trump-tulsa-rally-protesters/
Looking at the stereotypical Trump rally attendee, they appear to be mostly old, fat and prime candidates for immune deficient diseases.
Given covid's attachment to these sort of people, one would hope the campaign team aren't planning on holding too many shindigs in marginal states. After all, all votes matter in swing states.
If the Prophet of Pestilence wishes to hold his rallies, and his MADAmorons wish to attend them with the entirely predictable infectious results, why would one hope against that happening in marginal states? Votes do indeed matter – if that specific segment self-selects out of the voting pool, how is that a bad thing?
Obviously peoples lives, even if they are republicans, are something to cherish and not wish over for something like politics.
But just supposing in the soup of infection those convention halls will be, it will be something to watch for, to see if those marginals are affected by attendees contracting and/or dying from it.
Fucker and his enablers don't give a rats about lives.
https://twitter.com/JDiamond1/status/1274056424558075912
If they're trying to put him in a good mood they better not make him gingerly shuffle his way down any ramps.
They may not care, but then we're not republican loonies, are we?
The Tulsa curfew is going be lifted and the Oklahoma Supreme Court has knocked back a request for the rally venue to enforce safety measures.
https://twitter.com/nbcnews/status/1273696413898153987
Jonestown gone large.
https://twitter.com/sandibachom/status/1274125540316905478
Masks now have to be worn on flights. But surely this alert level 1 only applies within New Zealand after quarantine has been completed? Why would Airnz ever imagine it applies on an inward bound from overseas flight? Or that they could put people straight onto a domestic flight before quarantine?
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/419359/flight-with-latest-covid-19-case-crammed-we-had-people-right-up-against-us
She reports that the quarantine at her hotel was very strict. Good.
But I wish the media would stop promoting the notion that Ashley Bloomfield is personally responsible for the world. Does he have to issue orders to every airline now, even outside NZ? How is he supposed to enforce that?
Me too. Lazy journos. Unthinking/ill-educated readers who believe this tosh.
Just a bit concerned over the numbers of returning NZers.
But why?
Have they all been trapped as tourists while visiting? Or all living in Australia?
Or, as I fear, have they found out the places they have called home for the last few years do not have the level of welfare support that NZ is giving its NZ-based citizens who have lost their NZ-based jobs.
I know that for access to super you have had to have been resident in NZ for the XXX of YYY years.
Do we have any restrictions for these incoming citizens who have been permanently resident overseas, before they are able to claim the $$$$ especially the $490 per week. If my skepticism is correct then expect to see these people returning back overseas to their homes there once they get back on their feet here at the expense of resident NZers.
Does anyone know if returning NZers can just step out their quarantine and straight into claiming a benefit, housing support etc despite not contributing here for what may be a few years.
Sounds mean-spirited I know. Some of the behaviour reported on and the moaning about quarantine by our returning NZers makes me wonder though.
I would guess that some will try to leave England and somehow i can't blame them. Trying to live trhough the mess that is Brexit is one thing, but trying to survive Bojo's covid 19 response is something else altogether. . i have a friend who has huge issues getting her visa renewed, and she has a job and has lived there now for a few years with her partner.
Chances are that anyone returning now will still have a 12 week stand down as they will not have worked in NZ as is required to actually receive unemployment benefits . They might be able to get a hardship grant if they have no income to support themselves. In saying that it could very well be that they are asked to 'use all alternative options' first before they actually get a penny. I also took the Covid – 19 unemployment benefit to be applied to NZ based citizen/resident.
So maybe its a bit of both, legal issues that force them home (Brexit is hell on migrants in the UK), maybe some pressure from the family too, and maybe a return as suddenly any savings might be actually good enough to buy a house in NZ – which is one of the reasons my friends went overseas. Make good money, save, return and start something of their own. People i know in OZ have no intention of coming here.
Possible stand down if the 13 weeks applies, otherwise no. To get the special $490, have to have lost a job in NZ due to Covid-19, so they probably won't be eligible for that.
You wouldn't get a 13 week stand-down for leaving your job if returning from overseas. The hardest aspect of advocacy work to some extent was trying to dispel myths that prevailed in the community such as when you got a 13 week stand-down, that you had to spend all your money/redundancy before getting a benefit, you could spend 3 nights a week together before it was considered a relationship – and in some small defence of the staff that they got paid bonuses for declining food grants.
It was difficult enough fighting WINZ for not following their own policies without the community saying many of the same things. The actual policy manuals have been on-line for years now.
Clients returning to New Zealand from overseas
A non-entitlement period is not considered when a client returns to New Zealand after working overseas. Clients returning to New Zealand after working overseas do not receive a voluntary unemployment stand-down.
https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/map/income-support/main-benefits/jobseeker-support/non-entitlement-period-should-not-be-imposed-01.html
Good to know, thanks!
Chatter around Queenstown is that a lot of expat New Zealanders are getting out of Europe, Asia and US as quickly as they can, buying here, and maybe selling up there. Realestate agents are busy and builders have a sudden urgency in their step.
This piece https://www.oneroof.co.nz/news/38047 waffles around it but confirms most of what is happening here.
The bit they’ve got wrong is that the top (the Shania Twains) drive the market here, they don’t, it’s driven by New Zealanders and Australians wanting a bit of the ‘Queenstown Lifestyle’ for a few years.
Worth noting that Oneroof are industry spruikers….much salt needed
Like I said, they waffled around it. To spruik you need some small truth to spruik and try to turn into a boom. Unfortunately that’s the way markets, politics, and forums like this work. I’m just saying what appears to be going on