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Open mike 21/05/2020

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, May 21st, 2020 - 114 comments
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114 comments on “Open mike 21/05/2020 ”

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  1. Observer Tokoroa 1
    21 May 2020 at 6:54 am

    Better the devils you know…

    Simon Bridges works tirelessly in front of the camera. His face is the most known in the length and breadth of Aotearoa. Forever portraying Himself. Bits and Pieces.

    While his unsteady assistant Paula, plays bowls from time to time, blatantly releasing highly private material. Her Face is likely well known too.

    Which is why I hope Simon Bridges – New Zealand's most known man – gets confirmed in the role he chooses this coming Friday.

    We will miss him like heck – if he throws in his Towel. Camera tossed from the Sky Tower. And all that.

    Two Faces National. These two are the Only persons known in the National paddock.

    And God forbid, if David Seymore's strange dancing ass gets accepted. Bodies all over the place. Endless Bodies. Endless bodies and big money everywhere. No Thanks

  2. Sanctuary 2
    21 May 2020 at 7:25 am

    Fascinating interview with Hooten on RNZ – he is knifing Bridges hard and talking up Todd Muller (who?).

    The National party chickens are coming home to roost, with the number of fundies who have won seats meaning the social conservatives and liberal are now split into two factions – in one corner we have the Evangelical wing & the culture warriors coalesced around Bridges and his happy clappy brother in law, in the other the pragmatic, power at all costs brigade with Todd Muller and Nikki Kaye (likely to lose her seat on this polling).

    • tc 2.1
      21 May 2020 at 8:07 am

      Rent a rant doing as instructed or just having some fun probably filling up airtime.

      They risk doing worse with an unskilled media operator but that's not an issue when the media's in your corner is it.

      • Sanctuary 2.1.1
        21 May 2020 at 8:17 am

        Well, Michelle Boag, the wicked witch of Waiheke, is also putting the boot into Bridges on RNZ and pushing Muller just now. She is more grandiloquent than connected these days, but she probably represents a strand of National party grandee thinking.

        Simon might be in front today, but the push to persuade the wavering MPs is clearly on and if tonight poll is equally bad for National then it may be Simon loses, or worse wins on his own vote only.

        • tc 2.1.1.1
          21 May 2020 at 8:45 am

          Anything but real news I guess these days…..she's just another opinionator

        • Muttonbird 2.1.1.2
          21 May 2020 at 9:06 am

          Do you think Simon is bright enough to vote for himself?

          • mac1 2.1.1.2.1
            21 May 2020 at 9:33 am

            Not so stupid as to offer a deal to Muller, "You vote for me and I'll vote for you!"

        • McFlock 2.1.1.3
          21 May 2020 at 10:43 am

          I'd be interested to know if any of these speculating talking heads have clients in the national caucus.

  3. Observer Tokoroa 3
    21 May 2020 at 8:31 am

    The Farm takes over ?

    So – with Todd Muller – working on placing the Farmers as the Government of New Zealand, the Cities and Towns will turn their backs on Mr and Mrs Gum boots.

    Don't do it Todd Boy. Cities and Industries, And multiple essential things are required in a Nation.

  4. ScottGN 4
    21 May 2020 at 8:37 am

    It’s quite something isn’t it, the way National Party commentators are practically willing the country into an historic recession so they can say “I told you so”.

    • tc 4.1
      21 May 2020 at 8:52 am

      Granny's done her bit today on that with the mouth being feed (nz businesses) biting the govt over not being like Oz.

      • Sanctuary 4.1.1
        21 May 2020 at 9:17 am

        The Herald's ambient bias is amazing. Trevett practically urging National to "not lose ground" is quite something.

        And Hosking, he is frantic with worry.

        • ScottGN 4.1.1.1
          21 May 2020 at 9:38 am

          Just as well hardly anyone reads it nowadays.

          As for the Nats losing ground. Colmar Brunton that’s due tonight was apparently polling up until yesterday evening so may capture some of the public sentiment developing as the proverbial hit the fan for the Nats.

      • mpledger 4.1.2
        21 May 2020 at 9:21 am

        Oz was doing really well until there was an outbreak in a meatworks in Victoria. Now they are back to where they were 30 days ago.

        Meatworks have been hit particularly hard in Canada and the USA as well.

        From what I heard they have been doing social distancing in NZ in meatworks and running double shifts. But that's led to problems with drought stricken farmers trying to get rid of stock and finding it hard to book in.

        Here's a graph (I hope)

  5. Herodotus 5
    21 May 2020 at 8:56 am

    An AMAZING person who can nail her comments – I hope she goes far in the future, a real gem. I wouldn't be surprised if these same essential workers are the same that I see receiving handouts at Christmas time

    But don't worry something is happening within National that is FAR MORE IMPORTANT !!

    South Auckland cry: 'NZ wants to rebuild, but it's on our backs'

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12333389

  6. Muttonbird 6
    21 May 2020 at 9:03 am

    Farrar watch:

    Kiwiblog's best commenter is theorising the National Party leadership challenge is a set up to make Simon look strong. They're all in on it, apparently.

    Wouldn't like to be the National Party if this is true and the public find out…

    • Sanctuary 6.1
      21 May 2020 at 9:20 am

      Kiwiblog is ridiculous and irrelevant these days, Farrar has turned it into a platform for a parade of has-been detritus defending 1980s neoliberalism and the comments have re-housed all the wing nuts from whaleoil.

      Farrar himself just wants to keep the money coming in to Curia, so he’ll hunt with the hares and run with the hounds.

      • infused 6.1.1
        21 May 2020 at 9:36 am

        his site traffic says otherwise.

        • Sacha 6.1.1.1
          21 May 2020 at 9:40 am

          A lot of people like watching bumfights for entertainment.

          • Sanctuary 6.1.1.1.1
            21 May 2020 at 10:15 am

            Sometimes I go there, it is the modern day equivalent of the gruesome pleasure of a 18th Century tourist’ visiting Bedlam. A guilty pleasure, as it were.

            • Sacha 6.1.1.1.1.1
              21 May 2020 at 10:26 am

              The technicolour pustulence can be appealing when you're passing through. I do worry about some of the locals. The promoter always seems to be rolling in cash, villagers scrabbling at his hem.

        • mpledger 6.1.1.2
          21 May 2020 at 1:51 pm

          If you believe his site traffic statistics.

          IRC Whale Oils were like 2/3 apple safari views …

          • I Feel Love 6.1.1.2.1
            21 May 2020 at 2:31 pm

            It's an ugly site, I had a look the other day, just looks old, boring, stale…

    • Peter 6.2
      21 May 2020 at 9:35 am

      For the public to find out there'd have to be a leaker and that's unlikely to happen isn't it? Chuckle chuckle.

      Mind you if you're 'Kiwiblog's best commenter' you'd probably be quite good at playing the Kiwiblog/Farrar bullshit game and floating bullshit to create a picture you want painted.

      The funny thing is that while I think Bridges is a twerp and an embarrassment to National there are other perspectives. I think for a supposed intelligent person he is dumb. He may not have got in a position to do something terrible, his Strike Force Raptor troops sorting the people were words, all piss and wind, he didn't get a chance to unleash them. On Thursday morning he's a political pariah. Did he perpetrate any evil?

      John Key, 'Sir' John Key is a hero. His words about the GCSB may have been all piss and wind when it came to their relationship to truth and deed, but he had to chance to, and did what went on.

      Line them up. One is like shandy made with non-alcoholic beer and one is Sunset Very Strong Rum with its 84.5% of alcohol.

      • Sanctuary 6.2.1
        21 May 2020 at 10:21 am

        If David Cormack is to be believed Simon Bridges had a evangelical conversion to a full on God botherer a couple of years ago. If that is true, it would explain his near fanatical conviction that he must – MUST! – bring down these Godless socialists.

        • Sacha 6.2.1.1
          21 May 2020 at 10:30 am

          Wasn't his brother-in-law already on that path?

          • Sanctuary 6.2.1.1.1
            21 May 2020 at 10:51 am

            Yes he is. The quiet infiltration of hard core evangelicals into National is something our ultra media opinionistas seem determined not to discuss, but it is clearly fuelling this split in National.

            • Sacha 6.2.1.1.1.1
              21 May 2020 at 11:19 am

              If the tory christians lose this caucus tussle, maybe the fortunes of minor parties of that space get a boost. Be interesting to hear how it plays out in the Nat party hierarchy beyond caucus, where the real power resides.

            • Adrian 6.2.1.1.1.2
              21 May 2020 at 11:34 am

              All those kiddy-fiddlers from those collapsed so-called "Christian "parties had to go somewhere.

        • roblogic 6.2.1.2
          21 May 2020 at 11:39 am

          Matthew 21:12-13 Jesus throws the moneylenders out of the temple

          Luke 4:18-19 Jesus proclaims good news to the poor and oppressed

          Matthew 25:37-40 Jesus warns of judgement against those who fail to care for the vulnerable and poor

          etc etc

          SiBri may have had a conversion to something but it wasn't the Way that Jesus preached. How easily those who dabble in church and don't bother to do the homework fall into relying on religious rules, rather than humbling themselves

  7. Adrian 7
    21 May 2020 at 9:15 am

    The funniest 5 minutes on TV in ages was the Voxpop on the Bridges debacle last night. Still laughing on the classic Nat party garden party attender whose opinion of Jacinda was she wished she was leading the Nat party but when shown photos of Muller and Kaye replied " Amy someone" and "Simon Joyce ". Go Team.

    • AB 7.1
      21 May 2020 at 9:42 am

      Loved that moment too. A reminder to us lefties that a lot of National's support is based on cultural taxonomies and hierarchies. National represent the right sort of people who pay their bills and mow their lawns. Formal ideology, or any actual knowledge of what is happening in the world, come in second. It's quite sobering really, because it's so resistant to any form of persuasion, and insulting it just strengthens the underlying prejudice that the left is uncouth and unpleasant.

      • greywarshark 7.1.1
        21 May 2020 at 10:07 am

        A Well summarised and analysed I think. Why it is very hard to move intelligent and efficacious policy in NZ. The myopic citizens of the comfortably-off (never rich) who surprisingly tend to be right-wing Gnats, don't want to see reality. That is as uncouth as it was to the lords and ladies of the Regency era in the light novels I read for stress-relief. That was then says my mind but – it parallels what I see with eyes wide open now, comes in an urgent whisper from the sidelines.

      • KJT 7.1.2
        21 May 2020 at 3:18 pm

        "Pay their bills"?

        Except their tax bills?

        After some years as a tradesman, I found someone having a flash house and right wing views, was a fairly good indication that I needed to get a big deposit, up front.

  8. infused 8
    21 May 2020 at 9:32 am

    Some news for you.

    transmission gully is in the shit. government has been talking about throwing everything at it. looks like the company is about to walk away from it as it would cost less than staying.

    also, someone just took a 50ton digger to ripping parts of it up.

    covid, everyone left and went back to australia. trucks, utes were found at wellington airport with the keys still in them.

    make of that what you will.

    • ScottGN 8.1
      21 May 2020 at 9:45 am

      Someone should ask Simon Bridges about that. When he gets a breather from the Nats infighting. That project has been heading for disaster even while he was the Transport Minister trying to persuade everybody it was on time and under budget.

      • infused 8.1.1
        21 May 2020 at 9:50 am

        I can tell you it mostly was. It was a couple of harsh winters and now covid, which I think has put the nail in.

        • ScottGN 8.1.1.1
          21 May 2020 at 10:06 am

          What harsh winters? What a load of bollocks. That project was a dog from the start. National happily awarded the PPP to an Australian company who didn’t really have a clue what road building in NZ’s tricky geological conditions would require. So far the project has needed about 50% more earthworks than originally specced. They were bringing workers in from Australia, who’ve all gone home because of Covid. The ripping up the tarmac that you’ve mentioned is probably the latest effort at relaying work due to mistakes by the building consortium.

          • infused 8.1.1.1.2
            21 May 2020 at 1:27 pm

            different weather up there mate. go read the reports on the slosh and frozen soil. the last winter or the one before where it rained so much no work could be done for months. same reason kapati express way keeps having issues, drainage to do with how the roads were laid. that was the fault of the contractors though, who are actually being contracted to fix it 😀

            • weka 8.1.1.1.2.1
              21 May 2020 at 3:22 pm

              Last two winters down south have been bloody odd. There's a hole at the bottom of my road that the council has been meaning to fix for 12 months. Some of that is other reasons but the weather has definitely been an issue. Too much rain.

          • infused 8.1.1.1.3
            21 May 2020 at 1:29 pm

            the road was ripped up by an angry employee a few days ago. it's being kept hush hush. not a lot of goodwill out there.

        • KJT 8.1.1.2
          21 May 2020 at 10:19 am

          Contractors that don't know, weather occurs. LOL.

      • RedBaronCV 8.1.2
        21 May 2020 at 10:11 am

        According to my local info it was about a year behind 2 years ago

    • Andre 8.2
      21 May 2020 at 9:48 am

      The sales pitch for PPPs like Transmission Gully was that the private parties would finance all the upfront costs and build it and wear the risks, and would then make their money by getting paid an ongoing annual fixed fee starting from when it was opened and operating.

      So if the company is about to just walk away, then it looks to me like the PPP model says we should get all the work done so far for free, and the government could then just go ahead and complete the job and get it done at reduced cost with the bonus of not having to pay the annual operating fees.

      Or did the National government lie about what PPPs really are and pull a bait and switch on us all when they signed up to the project?

      • Adrian 8.2.1
        21 May 2020 at 11:39 am

        Exactly, and all the gear is leased so let the leasor take it back and then rent it for a fraction of the price and get the new MOW finish it. Sorted.

    • RedBaronCV 8.4
      21 May 2020 at 10:08 am

      There were always a couple of vehicles used by The Transmission gully workers around our way at night – must have accommodation in the area. Vehicles were there post lockdown but haven't seen them just recently. The plot thickens

  9. joe90 9
    21 May 2020 at 9:45 am

    Marvelous.

  10. RedBaronCV 10
    21 May 2020 at 9:57 am

    Just browsing through the Health website and looked at the workforce tab. Asking both employees and organisations to register their needs.

    My questions are:

    – When and how and where the contracts to the agencies below awarded- what fees if any do they receive from public money or does the employer pay as usual and why was the decision made to use these two firms?

    Beyond has been around a fair while and has always looked to be a mid – upper level agency but the Accent Health if I have the right one looks like it specialised pretty much in the recruitment of overseas health workers and getting visas. Not an obvious choice?

    – while there may be a need to allocate available trained staff across the public health system – is this also being used to allocate people to by the private for profit healthcare sector in particular the aged care and outsourced care giving contracts? If it is being used by for profit providers why are they not being advised to advertise over the usual websites and for that matter be required to pay decent wages and have decent conditions of work?

    -should public money be used to enhance private contracts

    – Is the contract tracing outsourced and if so are they accessing the app data?

    https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-resources-health-professionals/join-covid-19-surge-workforce

    How are workers assigned to roles?

    Accent Health Recruitment is matching health workers to roles by considering the qualifications and skill sets required, the location where the worker is needed, and the hours they would need to work. Beyond Recruitment is assisting with additional screening questions and reference checks to help determine suitability.

    • greywarshark 10.1
      21 May 2020 at 10:18 am

      Matthew Paris from UK on Radionz this morning gave me a hollow laugh. Their private company Serco, the efficient operator of all things, has been given the government contract to be part of the Covid-19 tracing system.

      Lots of people signing up for it, it would probably have ended up looking like running a bounty-hunter system like in the old USofA. And ballsed up right at the start, they sent one of the applicants a file with addresses of all the other applicants and Matthew Paris says, they now all know those contacts.

      How the UK thought that their contracting out was going to be better for this delicate and important task than direct control I don't know. But under present political strictures from the USA's Milton Friedman et al it seems that UK gummint and others of similar mien (mean!), is set at being nothing but an expensive employment agency for ambitious nouveau riche jerks after perks.

  11. Janet 11
    21 May 2020 at 11:02 am

    Yeah , I have always thought a 4 day working week was the right balance in life, particularly if working for someone else! Bring it on Jacinda – it won,t make any difference to me , as self -employed I work any ,or all, seven days of the week I want to, or need to.

    • RedLogix 11.1
      21 May 2020 at 11:53 am

      I recall my father once telling me a three day weekend would be perfect, "One day for the house, one day for the family and one for himself". And then he said, "Guess which one misses out at the moment".

  12. AB 12
    21 May 2020 at 12:08 pm

    Data manipulation in Florida and Georgia by Republican administrations to support re-opening of the state. Listen from 1m19s through to about 2m22s. Amazing. And so delusional to believe they could get away with it – at least when Stalin always reported exceeding his 5-year plans for steel production, there was no public information eco-system that allowed people to check.

  13. Muttonbird 13
    21 May 2020 at 12:24 pm

    Poor old Mike. Yesterday he claimed National could still win but today has conceded defeat.

    Still claiming National won the election in 2017, etc. And on the Labour led government which has gained plaudits all over the world for its pandemic response he has this to say:

    As opposed to a circus of a panicked, self-absorbed, spineless, self-interested former government that gave up at the first sign of trouble.

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12333626

    If TVNZ put him in as debate moderator again the country should hit the streets in protest.

    • Dennis Frank 13.1
      21 May 2020 at 3:54 pm

      Try reading that bit you quoted again, in context! He's actually putting the boot into the Nats. And that's after a moment of honesty: "I have no idea." 🙃

      • Muttonbird 13.1.1
        21 May 2020 at 4:49 pm

        Ah well. He's not a good writer, is he. None on these broadcasters seem to be yet they are all given opinion column inches.

        It is telling he has thrown in the towel though!

  14. pat 14
    21 May 2020 at 12:59 pm

    "Unfortunately, for the last half-century, the prevailing political message in many countries has been that governments cannot – and therefore should not – actually govern. Politicians, business leaders, and pundits have long relied on a management creed that focuses obsessively on static measures of efficiency to justify spending cuts, privatization, and outsourcing.

    As a result, governments now have fewer options for responding to the crisis, which may be why some are now desperately clinging to the unrealistic hope of technological panaceas such as artificial intelligence or contact-tracing apps. With less investment in public capacity has come a loss of institutional memory (as the UK’s government has discovered) and increased dependence on private consulting firms, which have raked in billions. Not surprisingly, morale among public-sector employees has plunged in recent year"

    https://www.interest.co.nz/opinion/105135/mariana-mazzucato-and-giulio-quaggiotto-show-why-countries-embraced-proactive-state

    So true…Will we finally learn the lesson?

    • KJT 14.1
      21 May 2020 at 10:18 pm

      I suspect the slow start to Kiwibuild had more to do with that, and a lack of spare capacity, than anything else.

      • pat 14.1.1
        21 May 2020 at 10:22 pm

        Perhaps…although it was the wrong policy in any case. Something that likely would have been realised in time had the state capability existed.

    • greywarshark 14.2
      22 May 2020 at 11:05 am

      I thought this was an excellent extract to pass on pat. I have quoted it and you in a comment on TDB in Waatea News today. More people should read this summation I believe, and perhaps we could see more clearly.

  15. David Mac 15
    21 May 2020 at 3:27 pm

    Imagine if it seeded here. A Scott Base lab's popular Emperor Penguin turns ill. They pop it on a flight to the Christchurch vet school. Prof + 20 students develop a weird cough. As soon as they twigged I'd hope our Government would slam down on the region/city and secure it tightly. Stop all domestic movement. Aircraft, cars, buses, taxis trains, bikes, pedestrians, insist everyone locks down hard. With the exception of departing international flights. There will be lots of people not feeling well that need to get home to all points on the globe. I think we should follow WHO guidelines and halt all domestic movement but allow taxi, bus and Uber movement to the departure terminal of the Christchurch international airport.

  16. Fireblade 16
    21 May 2020 at 3:27 pm

    Dog eat dog at noon for Simon and Todd.

    AC/DC – Dog Eat Dog

  17. David Mac 17
    21 May 2020 at 3:34 pm

    Isn't the Todd thing a charade to make us all say in unison 'Simon won'

    • Gabby 17.1
      21 May 2020 at 8:31 pm

      Well that'd be a helluva travel tab Todd Munter's run up for the sake of a subterfuge. Pretty big bubble Munty has by the look of it.

  18. The Al1en 18
    21 May 2020 at 4:26 pm

    Any spoilers from the 1 news poll?

    • Cinny 18.1
      21 May 2020 at 5:15 pm

      Nope, but #savesimon is trending #1 on twitter thanks to the input from the left 🙂 Bloody brilliant 🙂

      Roll on 6pm, not long now

      • The Al1en 18.1.1
        21 May 2020 at 5:19 pm

        You'd think someone would have had a little tinkle, even if not a full on leak, but yeah, waiting for the likely discrepancies between polls for the line to be reported as national are pulling it back etc.

        I suppose I'll have to break a habit and actually watch tv news for a change.

  19. Peter 19
    21 May 2020 at 4:26 pm

    There's a column in Stuff written by someone called Damian Grant. The blurb at the end says " Damien Grant is a regular columnist for Stuff, and an insolvency practitioner and business owner based in Auckland. He writes from a libertarian perspective and is a member of the Taxpayers Union' but not of any political party."

    In writing about Todd Muller's writing as a 10 year of how he wanted to be American President, Grant says: " Now, I am not going to criticise a ten-year-old for outsized ambitions; this is the inevitable result of an education system that rewards participation rather than achievement."

    What? I dreamt of being an All Black, a famous pop singer and climbing Mt Everest. The inevitable result of an education system that rewards participation rather than achievement I suppose?

    I could have dreamt of being a silly arse and ended up being one. But what sort of an education system would it be if I ended up like Damian Grant?

    • The Al1en 19.1
      21 May 2020 at 4:33 pm

      Sentenced to 30 months' jail for fraud and says jail doesn’t change you, nat type shill, would rather buy a new phone than give to charity, and has an all round sort of tosser bigot vibe.

      What more do you need to know?

    • AB 19.2
      21 May 2020 at 5:46 pm

      Grant clearly doesn't know anything about the education system – it has a mania for assessment mainly due to influential nitwits (like Grant) constantly demanding it. To cut him some slack, I guess all right-wing libertarians have been pyschically scarred by seeing the state intervene strongly and competently to save people from a deadly virus. And in addition save the economy from far worse damage than it would have experienced without that interference. Kind of blows their worldview to smithereens and makes them babble incoherently.

    • KJT 19.3
      21 May 2020 at 5:58 pm

      Why are the National party propagandists so good at unconscious irony?

      After decades of pushing for an education system that rewards mindless rote learning, to pass constant narrow testing, he complains about education that "rewards participation rather than achievement".

  20. David Mac 20
    21 May 2020 at 4:29 pm

    I think Red L has read this.

    The aggressive retort by party diplomats is designed to do what it's doing. It's working. It has nothing to do with annoying us and everything to do with no fuel at Chinese bowsers being Don's fault.

  21. greywarshark 21
    21 May 2020 at 5:07 pm

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/417168/homicide-sexual-assault-charges-plummet-during-lockdown

    Overall, 22 percent fewer charges were laid in the District Court during the lockdown.

    Homicide, robbery and fraud charges all dropped roughly 40 percent while the biggest change was a 65 percent drop in sexual violence charges.

    Charges relating to family violence – expected to rise as households came under pressure in the pandemic – dropped 10 percent.

    Majorly, lack of (alcoholic) fuel?

    • David Mac 21.1
      21 May 2020 at 5:18 pm

      "I ain't got no Woodies or DB Browns Uncle Grey but I could have the postie drop you in a little bag of Gizzy Madness my grey mango."

    • Gabby 21.2
      21 May 2020 at 8:28 pm

      Or, there's no escape.

  22. Chris 22
    21 May 2020 at 5:27 pm

    Why can't cops just use their tasers or shoot people in the shoulder or the leg or something instead of killing people?

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/news/121584925/shocked-friends-remember-taranaki-man-shot-dead-by-police

    • David Mac 22.1
      21 May 2020 at 5:40 pm

      Yeah, I've been provoked into flipping out in an outrageous way before, I'm sure I'm not alone. I'm pleased I didn't do so in front of an armed Policeman. When flipping out, calculating the status of the people about is furthermost from your mind.

      Nobody is evil to the core but it's hard not to wonder if some of these people being taken down aren't evil at all. They left their insulin in their other pants etc.

      I think you're right, we can put wild animals to sleep with tranquiliser darts, we insist on it, anything else is Barbaric, why not humans.

      • Chris 22.1.1
        21 May 2020 at 7:35 pm

        That reminds me of Nigel Latta in his Beyond the Darklands programme. A young chap had spent years drinking and driving, had been through the courts and sent to prison a number of times, but over the years he'd also killed six people. This, according to Nigel Latta, meant that he was 'evil'. It really was quite incredible. Latta's approach in that show was always to interview the subject's friends and family about the person's background to try to explain their behaviour. People who knew this chap described him as essentially a good guy who was kind and worked hard and who'd give you the shirt off his back, but that when he drank he'd do stupid things. Nobody said a bad word against this guy apart from how he was when he drank. Latta went to the trouble of talking to these people presumably to get an insight into things, but still described him as 'evil'. It was an extraordinary conclusion, especially coming from someone who holds themselves out as an expert on 'human behaviour'.

      • gsays 22.1.2
        21 May 2020 at 7:43 pm

        To think, I believed the bullshit they fed us when the Taser was added to their arsenal.

  23. Incognito 23
    21 May 2020 at 5:40 pm

    I'd be gutted if National polls over 30% tonight.

    • The Al1en 23.1
      21 May 2020 at 5:47 pm

      Don't the Brunton polls usually over egg the nat vote and squish the reds and greens?

      I'd be disappointed if they're above 35%

    • Dennis Frank 23.2
      21 May 2020 at 5:47 pm

      Gee, I hope not. You don't deserve such a fate. I'm picking they come in at 35%, Labour 50%, Greens 6%, NZF 3%, ACT 2%…

    • Muttonbird 23.3
      21 May 2020 at 5:54 pm

      It'll probably be L 42, N 39, G 4.9, NZF 8.

      "It's a miracle", Simon will say and liken himself to Lazarus (Tova already has) or even Jesus him/herself!

  24. Alec Larsen 24
    21 May 2020 at 8:24 pm

    todd muller worked for fonterra nuff said

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    As we welcome in the new year, our focus is on continuing to keep New Zealanders safe and moving forward with our economic recovery. There’s a lot to get on with, but before we say a final goodbye to 2020, here’s a quick look back at some of the milestones ...
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  • Jobs for Nature funding will create training and employment opportunities
    A major investment to tackle wilding pines in Mt Richmond will create jobs and help protect the area’s unique ecosystems, Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor says. The Mt Richmond Forest Park has unique ecosystems developed on mineral-rich geology, including taonga plant species found nowhere else in the country. “These special plant ...
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    1 day ago

  • Pre-departure testing extended to all passengers to New Zealand
    To further protect New Zealand from COVID-19, the Government is extending pre-departure testing to all passengers to New Zealand except from Australia, Antarctica and most Pacific Islands, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “The change will come into force for all flights arriving in New Zealand after 11:59pm (NZT) on Monday ...
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    1 day ago

  • Bay Cadets learn skills to protect environment
    Bay Conservation Cadets launched with first intake Supported with $3.5 million grant Part of $1.245b Jobs for Nature programme to accelerate recover from Covid Cadets will learn skills to protect and enhance environment Environment Minister David Parker today welcomed the first intake of cadets at the launch of the Bay ...
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    2 days ago

  • Cook Islanders to resume travel to New Zealand
    The Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Mark Brown have announced passengers from the Cook Islands can resume quarantine-free travel into New Zealand from 21 January, enabling access to essential services such as health. “Following confirmation of the Cook Islands’ COVID ...
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  • Supporting communities and landowners to grow employment opportunities
    Jobs for Nature funding is being made available to conservation groups and landowners to employ staff and contractors in a move aimed at boosting local biodiversity-focused projects, Conservation Minister Kiritapu Allan has announced. It is estimated some 400-plus jobs will be created with employment opportunities in ecology, restoration, trapping, ...
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    6 days ago

  • Border exception for some returning international tertiary students
    The Government has approved an exception class for 1000 international tertiary students, degree level and above, who began their study in New Zealand but were caught offshore when border restrictions began. The exception will allow students to return to New Zealand in stages from April 2021. “Our top priority continues ...
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    6 days ago

  • Tiwai deal gives time for managed transition
    Today’s deal between Meridian and Rio Tinto for the Tiwai smelter to remain open another four years provides time for a managed transition for Southland. “The deal provides welcome certainty to the Southland community by protecting jobs and incomes as the region plans for the future. The Government is committed ...
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    6 days ago

  • New member for APEC Business Advisory Council
    Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has appointed Anna Curzon to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). The leader of each APEC economy appoints three private sector representatives to ABAC. ABAC provides advice to leaders annually on business priorities. “ABAC helps ensure that APEC’s work programme is informed by business community perspectives ...
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    1 week ago

  • Govt’s careful economic management recognised
    The Government’s prudent fiscal management and strong policy programme in the face of the COVID-19 global pandemic have been acknowledged by the credit rating agency Fitch. Fitch has today affirmed New Zealand’s local currency rating at AA+ with a stable outlook and foreign currency rating at AA with a positive ...
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    1 week ago

  • Additional actions to keep COVID-19 out of NZ
    The Government is putting in place a suite of additional actions to protect New Zealand from COVID-19, including new emerging variants, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “Given the high rates of infection in many countries and evidence of the global spread of more transmissible variants, it’s clear that ...
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    1 week ago

  • 19 projects will clean up and protect waterways
    $36 million of Government funding alongside councils and others for 19 projects Investment will clean up and protect waterways and create local jobs Boots on the ground expected in Q2 of 2021 Funding part of the Jobs for Nature policy package A package of 19 projects will help clean up ...
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    2 weeks ago

  • New Zealand Government acknowledges 175th anniversary of Battle of Ruapekapeka
    The commemoration of the 175th anniversary of the Battle of Ruapekapeka represents an opportunity for all New Zealanders to reflect on the role these conflicts have had in creating our modern nation, says Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Kiri Allan. “The Battle at Te Ruapekapeka Pā, which took ...
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    2 weeks ago

  • Better care for babies with tongue-tie
    Babies born with tongue-tie will be assessed and treated consistently under new guidelines released by the Ministry of Health, Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. Around 5% to 10% of babies are born with a tongue-tie, or ankyloglossia, in New Zealand each year. At least half can ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Prisoner disorder event at Waikeria Prison over
    The prisoner disorder event at Waikeria Prison is over, with all remaining prisoners now safely and securely detained, Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis says. The majority of those involved in the event are members of the Mongols and Comancheros. Five of the men are deportees from Australia, with three subject to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Pre-departure COVID-19 test for travellers from the UK and the US from 15 January
    Travellers from the United Kingdom or the United States bound for New Zealand will be required to get a negative test result for COVID-19 before departing, and work is underway to extend the requirement to other long haul flights to New Zealand, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed today. “The new PCR test requirement, foreshadowed last ...
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    2 weeks ago

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