As John Wight so succinctly states on his Twitter page
”There is a way to put an end to the death, economic destruction and misery that the coronavirus has brought us. Eliminate the virus. Its possible to eliminate the virus – learn the lessons from China, New Zealand, South Korea and others who have pursued a #ZeroCovid strategy. “
Unfortunately, Johnson’s government and 40 years of free market fanaticism has meant the UK is more vulnerable to its effects.
Firstly, the cult of the individual has meant people are less willing to act in solidarity with others.
Secondly, the physical effects of neoliberalism has resulted in greater poverty, poorer health and more obesity, making more citizens vulnerable to worse effects from the virus.
[Again, no link 🙁
I made a genuine attempt to find the quote on Twitter or John Wright but nada.
Have five days off to practice linking – Incognito]
New Zealand is at least as individualistic as Britain, is on average poorer, is much more unequal as a society, and has a far weaker and unsophisticated state.
We have won so far because geographical isolation gave us about a week of decision-making space to lock down hard. We had very narrow vectoral gateways that were easy to shut, and they held.
And as NSW and Victoria shows, in the words of Han Solo, "Great kid, don't get cocky."
I don't accept this Treetop. Where a pandemic is causing hundreds of thousands of deaths the UK government could have evoked special powers to protect the population.
But Boris is no Jacinda-he listened to the money-men and left the borders open while supposedly attempting to control Covid with a chaotic and inconsistent rules that seemed to change every few days. Surprisingly this resulted in complete failure.
The best example is the tracing system used in the UK. 22 billion pounds (!!) has been spent on this-it was a complete disaster; never worked.
The latest Boris bollocks is the new super-infective Covid story-this is to cover for the latest u-turn on the stupid 5-day Christmas relaxation of Covid controls. According to the BBC last night this mutant (all viruses mutate) has been around since September so doubtless has long since spread around the world.
"We have won so far because geographical isolation gave us about a week of decision-making space to lock down hard."
The extra week was helpful – but much more important was being prepared to make that decision to lock-down hard. The Tory party would have been incapable of such a decision no matter how many extra weeks they were handed – and that was Ed's point. A National government here would have (most likely) been unable to make that decision. Scomo looked like he wasn't capable of that decision – but fortunately state premiers took it out of his hands. It took some guts to defy the belief of the most powerful sectors of society that they have an unfettered right to ongoing capital accumulation under all circumstances. Ardern had the guts and humanity to do it. However this remarkable effort at kicking business into line looks like it was just a one-off.
Yes AB, for a few glorious weeks the PM and Robbo did substantially put public health before private profit–which millions will likely regard with fondness for some time.
But, the lockdowns were accompanied by all manner of “COVID Capitalism”–billions in high trust model bailouts to employers, and millions for second tier $490 pw beneficiaries–while the historical poor languished.
If the PM cannot recover that approach, COVID will be back with bells on via unwise international bubbles, and her legacy will be “Blair Lite”, and unnecessarily miserable lives for hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders.
"New Zealand … as Britain…is much more unequal as a society, …"
Do you have any evidence for that assertion? Last time I saw reports on this NZ was almost identical with the UK (eg on Gini) and on some other measures less unequal than some Scandinavian countries.
The reason most Kiwi European ancestors came here in the first place was to escape the limitations of the feudal English class system & its associated atrocities ( in my ancestors case the Highland Clearances & the Irish Famine). On my visits to the UK over the years it didn't seem that much had changed in 200 years.
Covid has the potential to bring the health system of heavily infected countries to its knees. The main defence is a level 4 lockdown and this requires the cooperation of the citizens in that country.
Unemployment is the second biggest problem and for the 1-10 who get long Covid (unwell after 3 months from being infected) the road ahead is a more uncertain one. The health system and housing is put under further strain.
The more limited basic resources become, stress levels increase and for some finding enough to eat is going to preoccupy them on a daily basis.
Even with vaccinations Covid is going to be an ongoing threat as seen with the latest highly infectious strain likely to have come from mink.
2021 is going to require a shift in resources to have a functioning health system in heavily infected countries.
[You’re correct that I have an agenda, which is to entice commenters here to use links when/where appropriate.
Can you please tell us what personal problem you have with linking?
As I mentioned, I cannot find that particular tweet, tweeter, or a reference to it, and I did make an effort and although I got the name of the tweeter wrong, the quoted text didn’t give me a result. How much time should I have to spend on finding a bloody tweet that you failed to link to?
In addition, you made the same error in your e-mail address again 🙁
You’re making working for Moderators here when we want to wind back and relax.
Stop the nonsense and provide links when appropriate/required and you’ll disappear off my radar, it’s that simple.
On the other hand, if you see an ‘agenda’, you will stick to your MO and turn it into a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I will move you to Pre-Moderation to give you one more chance to provide a LINK.
Take it or leave it and take your ‘agenda’ BS with you, thank you – Incognito]
Please try to sort out linking on your phone. FYI, I’m not on Twitter and I have troubles with that medium as well. It’s ok to ask for help and if it gets too technical, and the problem is on this site’s side, we call for the SYSOP 😉
For those interested in a medium-long read on the geopolitical implications of the COVID19 epidemic, here's a good one from the EU's Policy Department for External Affairs (kind-of like the State Department).
The first section assesses the geopolitical trends antedating the pandemic and measures its present and expected impact on them, while the second section lays out the space for action and change created by the disruption.
In the third section, the interplay of trends and uncertainties is explored in three scenarios set in 2025:
Interesting read but somewhat overtaken by events, it was released in Sept 20 so predates the US election and the December Covid surge.
The prospect of a new cold / somewhat warm war of democracies vs the rest (China + Russia, in that order) would be a rather precarious place in our part of the world.
Will be good to see the December or March updates as much as an Asia / Pacific focused version, which I suspect could be rather dark reading. We are living in interesting times
It seems astounding that we are using seasonal worker accommodation as emergency housing and that we are now kicking vulnerable families out to accommodate seasonal workers coming in to pick fruit.
There is something very wrong in that equation…
This is going to get very ugly very quickly… the damage from the housing shortage is going to be intergenerational. Its pretty clear kids need a stable home environment to do well at school etc. Keeping the landlord class happy is not a solution…
A mass building programme is needed… not cheap money pumped into the market lifting price on an already constrained supply.
Will they learn anything from the enormous expense of dealing with the fallout of mistreating people in state care?
More generations of righteously angry dysfunctional adults. Billions more for the taxpayer to shell out. So long as the landholders make a killing today, right? Figures to tout to the press. Look at our GDP! (but do not look in the gutter there, where your fellow citizens now live).
Many lives with potential being limited due to being callously treated. The outcome is clear due to being harmed and reharmed by not being listened to and having to fight government agencies for neglect and criminal acts occurring.
This was done to children at the hands of the state.
I stopped my MP the other day on a road near by to his electoral office and told him how frustrated with ACC I was and that the government need to pull the act apart for mental injury and to rewrite it. Gave me 10 mins of his time. It will take time to work through was his response. I then told him that my gut bleeds with GAVE and that I need to avoid stress. I asked him if he was aware of a correlation between autoimmune conditions and PTSD? I have grown very impatient with the system and I feel as though nothing will change for me unless I review in the district court.
I will not give in to a system which has treated me so appallingly. Shame that my energy is being used up on fighting for my rights. I keep hitting a brick wall because of how ACC are not dealing with all of the components and separate incidents.
If that Chinese collected fishing fleet comes Australia's way, it will certainly come the way of the Pacific islands which we protect – so our navy is going to have its work cut out for it.
Lysenko served as a captain in that country's fishing fleet for 17 years and then in the merchant marine. In this book as much argument as memoir he accuses the U.S.S.R. of depleting the oceans of the world by overfishing; having by now ruined many of its own territorial waters, he charges, the Soviet fleet is turning to other areas. The nations involved, asserts Lysenko, must face down the Soviets before their fishing grounds, too, are destroyed.
This should concern all NZ’ers, at the prospect of the Chinese Fishing Fleet establishing a base in PNG. But given silence of the NZG & political party’s during the election of the activities of the Chinese in& around Galápagos Islands and it intrusions in NZ’s EEZ Nth- Nth East of the Kermadec Islands was quite deafening. This only the thin edge of China’s attempt to destroy the fishing grounds of Sth PAC, Tasman Sea & the Southern Ocean through their shameful practice of unreported, unlicensed & over catching all fish species it pillage
I must add the Chinese Fishing Fleet also escorted by it’s Coastguard Ships which are just as big as the RNZN ANZAC’s & would be able to out Gun the RNZN OPV’s. The sensor fit on those ships are similar to what our ANZAC’s have. The new SOPV with an option for a 2nd one is now must be a Priority for this NZG or else the NZG will lose control, access and it’s ability to enforce the rules to open sea fishing. As the Chinese don’t give a shit because all Liberal Democracies are all talk & no action and what I mean by that not prepared to give the order to use lethal deadly
force even when they are in the right.
With the effects of CC we are nolonger living in a “Benign Strategic Environment” & in fact I don’t believe we were never in such a an environment because the world see’s NZ as the gateway to the Southern Ocean. It only going to get worst with the effects of CC for the under resourced, undermanned NZDF in our region to the Nth, West, east and South especially the Southern Ocean including the Antarctic itself.
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Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
The protest outside the White House correspondents’ dinner hotel. Image: Anatolu video screenshot APR More than two dozen Palestinian journalists had called for a boycott of the dinner, writing an open letter urging their American colleagues not to attend. “You have a unique responsibility to speak truth to power and ...
“Our exporters should, therefore, be deeply concerned that the Fast-track Approvals Bill was not assessed for consistency with any of our free trade commitments prior to being introduced to the House,” says Gary Taylor, Chief Executive of the Environmental ...
NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff is calling on all political parties to support the new Member’s Bill from Labour’s workplace relations and safety spokesperson Camilla Belich MP that would ensure negligent companies are held accountable when their employees ...
A historian with a track record of predicting US election winners tells RNZ's Sunday Morning that President Biden looks to be on track for another term, but things could still go wrong for him. ...
A historian with an uncanny track record of predicting US election winners tells RNZ's Sunday Morning that President Biden looks to be on track for another term, but things could still go very wrong for him. ...
Ngaio Marsh House is one of Christchurch’s best kept secrets – and contains more than a few mysteries of its own.Trust Ngaio Marsh to leave more than a few mysteries scattered through her house long after her departure. For a start, there’s the curious concrete portal in the garden, ...
Appointment viewing has been lost to the mists of time, but memories of Montana Sunday Theatre can still be conjured by hitting play on a particular piece of classical music. “You’re not going to be able to sell it.” Over 30 years on, Karen Bieleski still recalls how the task ...
Performance Review King Luxon sat behind His massive polished oak desk. It is Performance Review time. There is a knock on the door. “Enter!” says the King. In steps Minister of Disabilities and Carer Pedicures, Penny Simmonds. “I can explain everything …” she begins. “Fine,” says King Luxon, pressing the ...
The pair opened their first fully collaborative exhibition, Nina for Flowers, last Saturday. Gabi Lardies visited their studio to find out who Nina is and what working together was like.‘It didn’t start out like, ‘This is a show about Nina,’” says Josephine Jelicich, gripping a thermos of peppermint tea. ...
Thank you, Dr Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner, for your brilliant invention. I’m another mid-20s Kiwi who had an OE last year. I hopped on my bicycle where France meets the Atlantic and cycled east. I pedalled through the Loire Valley, down rivers lined with willows and ancient wisteria-draped chateaus. I relished ...
Asia Pacific Report From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps. And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
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The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
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The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
I feel for the people of the U.K.
As John Wight so succinctly states on his Twitter page
”There is a way to put an end to the death, economic destruction and misery that the coronavirus has brought us. Eliminate the virus. Its possible to eliminate the virus – learn the lessons from China, New Zealand, South Korea and others who have pursued a #ZeroCovid strategy. “
Unfortunately, Johnson’s government and 40 years of free market fanaticism has meant the UK is more vulnerable to its effects.
Firstly, the cult of the individual has meant people are less willing to act in solidarity with others.
Secondly, the physical effects of neoliberalism has resulted in greater poverty, poorer health and more obesity, making more citizens vulnerable to worse effects from the virus.
[Again, no link 🙁
I made a genuine attempt to find the quote on Twitter or John Wright but nada.
Have five days off to practice linking – Incognito]
New Zealand is at least as individualistic as Britain, is on average poorer, is much more unequal as a society, and has a far weaker and unsophisticated state.
We have won so far because geographical isolation gave us about a week of decision-making space to lock down hard. We had very narrow vectoral gateways that were easy to shut, and they held.
And as NSW and Victoria shows, in the words of Han Solo, "Great kid, don't get cocky."
Nice Star Wars quote Ad! Don't forget Han Solo also said "I have a bad feeling about this".
Britain is an island. It could have locked down and closed the borders but chose not to for economic and political reasons.
Absolutely. Yes, many more gateways in. But proportionally many more resources to do so.
You don't need to be an island (China). You need the will to do it.
Does Britain only becomes independent when they leave Brexit?
If so closing the border would have been complicated.
I don't accept this Treetop. Where a pandemic is causing hundreds of thousands of deaths the UK government could have evoked special powers to protect the population.
But Boris is no Jacinda-he listened to the money-men and left the borders open while supposedly attempting to control Covid with a chaotic and inconsistent rules that seemed to change every few days. Surprisingly this resulted in complete failure.
The best example is the tracing system used in the UK. 22 billion pounds (!!) has been spent on this-it was a complete disaster; never worked.
The latest Boris bollocks is the new super-infective Covid story-this is to cover for the latest u-turn on the stupid 5-day Christmas relaxation of Covid controls. According to the BBC last night this mutant (all viruses mutate) has been around since September so doubtless has long since spread around the world.
Totally agree Ad with your summation.
"We have won so far because geographical isolation gave us about a week of decision-making space to lock down hard."
The extra week was helpful – but much more important was being prepared to make that decision to lock-down hard. The Tory party would have been incapable of such a decision no matter how many extra weeks they were handed – and that was Ed's point. A National government here would have (most likely) been unable to make that decision. Scomo looked like he wasn't capable of that decision – but fortunately state premiers took it out of his hands. It took some guts to defy the belief of the most powerful sectors of society that they have an unfettered right to ongoing capital accumulation under all circumstances. Ardern had the guts and humanity to do it. However this remarkable effort at kicking business into line looks like it was just a one-off.
Yes AB, for a few glorious weeks the PM and Robbo did substantially put public health before private profit–which millions will likely regard with fondness for some time.
But, the lockdowns were accompanied by all manner of “COVID Capitalism”–billions in high trust model bailouts to employers, and millions for second tier $490 pw beneficiaries–while the historical poor languished.
If the PM cannot recover that approach, COVID will be back with bells on via unwise international bubbles, and her legacy will be “Blair Lite”, and unnecessarily miserable lives for hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders.
[Fixed typo in user handle]
"New Zealand … as Britain…is much more unequal as a society, …"
Do you have any evidence for that assertion? Last time I saw reports on this NZ was almost identical with the UK (eg on Gini) and on some other measures less unequal than some Scandinavian countries.
The reason most Kiwi European ancestors came here in the first place was to escape the limitations of the feudal English class system & its associated atrocities ( in my ancestors case the Highland Clearances & the Irish Famine). On my visits to the UK over the years it didn't seem that much had changed in 200 years.
You must be almost as old as Methuselah; how many Super Gold Cards do you have?
Covid has the potential to bring the health system of heavily infected countries to its knees. The main defence is a level 4 lockdown and this requires the cooperation of the citizens in that country.
Unemployment is the second biggest problem and for the 1-10 who get long Covid (unwell after 3 months from being infected) the road ahead is a more uncertain one. The health system and housing is put under further strain.
The more limited basic resources become, stress levels increase and for some finding enough to eat is going to preoccupy them on a daily basis.
Even with vaccinations Covid is going to be an ongoing threat as seen with the latest highly infectious strain likely to have come from mink.
2021 is going to require a shift in resources to have a functioning health system in heavily infected countries.
See my Moderation note @ 8:42 AM.
I mentioned the link to John Wight.
Not John Wright.
Anyway, the decision has been made.
Happy Christmas.
i
[You’re correct that I have an agenda, which is to entice commenters here to use links when/where appropriate.
Can you please tell us what personal problem you have with linking?
As I mentioned, I cannot find that particular tweet, tweeter, or a reference to it, and I did make an effort and although I got the name of the tweeter wrong, the quoted text didn’t give me a result. How much time should I have to spend on finding a bloody tweet that you failed to link to?
In addition, you made the same error in your e-mail address again 🙁
You’re making working for Moderators here when we want to wind back and relax.
Stop the nonsense and provide links when appropriate/required and you’ll disappear off my radar, it’s that simple.
On the other hand, if you see an ‘agenda’, you will stick to your MO and turn it into a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I will move you to Pre-Moderation to give you one more chance to provide a LINK.
Take it or leave it and take your ‘agenda’ BS with you, thank you – Incognito]
See my Moderation note @ 11:08 AM.
I think this is the link.
John Wight (@JohnWight1) / Twitter
I am finding it hard to link from my phone.
From now onwards I shall link everything.
I was not meaning to cause you aggravation.
So sorry.
Thank you.
Please try to sort out linking on your phone. FYI, I’m not on Twitter and I have troubles with that medium as well. It’s ok to ask for help and if it gets too technical, and the problem is on this site’s side, we call for the SYSOP 😉
Have a good Christmas too.
Let’s see if this works:
https://twitter.com/Fio_edwards/status/1340379263409729536
For those interested in a medium-long read on the geopolitical implications of the COVID19 epidemic, here's a good one from the EU's Policy Department for External Affairs (kind-of like the State Department).
The first section assesses the geopolitical trends antedating the pandemic and measures its present and expected impact on them, while the second section lays out the space for action and change created by the disruption.
In the third section, the interplay of trends and uncertainties is explored in three scenarios set in 2025:
-Strategic Distancing;
-Europe in Self-isolation; and
-Lockdown World.
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2020/603511/EXPO_STU(2020)603511_EN.pdf
Hopefully the Lowy Institute will do something similar for the Asia-Pacific realm.
Interesting read but somewhat overtaken by events, it was released in Sept 20 so predates the US election and the December Covid surge.
The prospect of a new cold / somewhat warm war of democracies vs the rest (China + Russia, in that order) would be a rather precarious place in our part of the world.
Will be good to see the December or March updates as much as an Asia / Pacific focused version, which I suspect could be rather dark reading. We are living in interesting times
Agree – pretty hard moment for analysts to stay in front of this speed of social evolution. But it's a good source which will of course update.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/300188321/seasonal-workers-and-holidaymakers-to-displace-homeless
It seems astounding that we are using seasonal worker accommodation as emergency housing and that we are now kicking vulnerable families out to accommodate seasonal workers coming in to pick fruit.
There is something very wrong in that equation…
This is going to get very ugly very quickly… the damage from the housing shortage is going to be intergenerational. Its pretty clear kids need a stable home environment to do well at school etc. Keeping the landlord class happy is not a solution…
A mass building programme is needed… not cheap money pumped into the market lifting price on an already constrained supply.
Talking of house prices, how about a one million dollar home in Otara.
South Auckland's face is changing as house prices skyrocket | Stuff.co.nz
Will they learn anything from the enormous expense of dealing with the fallout of mistreating people in state care?
More generations of righteously angry dysfunctional adults. Billions more for the taxpayer to shell out. So long as the landholders make a killing today, right? Figures to tout to the press. Look at our GDP! (but do not look in the gutter there, where your fellow citizens now live).
Many lives with potential being limited due to being callously treated. The outcome is clear due to being harmed and reharmed by not being listened to and having to fight government agencies for neglect and criminal acts occurring.
This was done to children at the hands of the state.
I am getting kinda pissed about the failures of the media usual suspects to hold ard-robs' feet to the fire..
..for her/their failures to do anything about the fires raging around us..
..and if they do touch fleetingly on the subjects ..they seem happy to accept any old cloth ard-rob throw @ them.
('we already gave them $25' ..and other such dissembling bullshit/whines..
the art of the challenging follow-up question..
..seems to be on some sort of long leave…
is conspicuous by its' absence..
I stopped my MP the other day on a road near by to his electoral office and told him how frustrated with ACC I was and that the government need to pull the act apart for mental injury and to rewrite it. Gave me 10 mins of his time. It will take time to work through was his response. I then told him that my gut bleeds with GAVE and that I need to avoid stress. I asked him if he was aware of a correlation between autoimmune conditions and PTSD? I have grown very impatient with the system and I feel as though nothing will change for me unless I review in the district court.
I will not give in to a system which has treated me so appallingly. Shame that my energy is being used up on fighting for my rights. I keep hitting a brick wall because of how ACC are not dealing with all of the components and separate incidents.
If that Chinese collected fishing fleet comes Australia's way, it will certainly come the way of the Pacific islands which we protect – so our navy is going to have its work cut out for it.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/chinas-fishing-fleet-heading-for-australia-amid-trade-war/S5DVWRRFTB2IPAYSB3S3KWHFLI/
Very Malthusian
Maybe a touch of Vladil Lysenko.
Lysenko served as a captain in that country's fishing fleet for 17 years and then in the merchant marine. In this book as much argument as memoir he accuses the U.S.S.R. of depleting the oceans of the world by overfishing; having by now ruined many of its own territorial waters, he charges, the Soviet fleet is turning to other areas. The nations involved, asserts Lysenko, must face down the Soviets before their fishing grounds, too, are destroyed.
Maybe…if he notes the clamour for declining resources that increases the risk of conflict.
This should concern all NZ’ers, at the prospect of the Chinese Fishing Fleet establishing a base in PNG. But given silence of the NZG & political party’s during the election of the activities of the Chinese in& around Galápagos Islands and it intrusions in NZ’s EEZ Nth- Nth East of the Kermadec Islands was quite deafening. This only the thin edge of China’s attempt to destroy the fishing grounds of Sth PAC, Tasman Sea & the Southern Ocean through their shameful practice of unreported, unlicensed & over catching all fish species it pillage
I must add the Chinese Fishing Fleet also escorted by it’s Coastguard Ships which are just as big as the RNZN ANZAC’s & would be able to out Gun the RNZN OPV’s. The sensor fit on those ships are similar to what our ANZAC’s have. The new SOPV with an option for a 2nd one is now must be a Priority for this NZG or else the NZG will lose control, access and it’s ability to enforce the rules to open sea fishing. As the Chinese don’t give a shit because all Liberal Democracies are all talk & no action and what I mean by that not prepared to give the order to use lethal deadly
force even when they are in the right.
With the effects of CC we are nolonger living in a “Benign Strategic Environment” & in fact I don’t believe we were never in such a an environment because the world see’s NZ as the gateway to the Southern Ocean. It only going to get worst with the effects of CC for the under resourced, undermanned NZDF in our region to the Nth, West, east and South especially the Southern Ocean including the Antarctic itself.
This is a good read from the NZ Army’s KEA Learning Centre.
https://kea-learning.nz/editors-pick/security-of-new-zealands-maritime-domain-is-the-defence-force-postured-to-deter-illegal-unreported-and-unregulated-fishing/