So while Omicron variants 4 and 5 spread the jabbed up (neither being jabbed nor with "natural immunity" prevents infection) there is the risk while going to vote.
The election comes in time to prevent Netanyahu going to court. There is about another year in the USA to go – presumably the GOP primary race would result in a stay of court proceedings for Trump.
I agree with the sentiment of this comment more than the facts as, the NAIRU theory (which Summers is likely applying) fundamentally rejects there being any useable Phillips curve trade off between unemployment and inflation.
This is a shocker interview with Julie Chapman, head Honcho of Kids Can. They are launching an appeal for funds because student poverty has never been worse.
''The principal of Henderson Intermediate, Wendy Esera, has been in education for 44 years and says student poverty is the worst she's seen.''
I know some of this because my aunty was a primary school junior syndicate team leader. She was often buying shoes and clothes for about eight students in her class.
We have all read the headlines you may say!
Yeah, but I'm talking circa 2009. So I'd guess Chapman isn't exaggerating to gain extra funding given the present situation. The interview also talks of teachers ringing Kids Can in tears. Again I can believe that because my aunt burnt out and became ill. She retired before her time.
The problem for me is with a question Kerre asked. Kerre said the government has pumped millions into this problem…where has the money gone? Good question. We know the school lunch scheme can be wasteful. And we know some parents… well, aren't good parents. The common retort is to say most parents are good parents and are honestly struggling and are doing the best they can. I don't doubt that, but I believe the numbers of sub standard parents is being underestimated. That area needs to be tightened up. But that means overhauling WINZ. If National attempt this once they become the government, their bull in a second hand store approach, will make things worse for everyone, including good parents.
Next time you are in the supermarket and you see someone using a turquoise/ blue looking credit card you will know that's a Winz emergency food grant card. I see them on a regular basis. And sometimes the food choices in those trollies are appalling. And worse, one off, very expensive items: eg naan bread or a tray of donuts. These aren't a good choice of food item for a struggling family.
What a worthless comment. Don't forget it's taxpayer's money. In other countries they would be at the dump scavenging for food. The short answer to be truthful from my perspective is no. Do the people of Ukraine deserve the luxury of peace now and again? Yes, they deserve peace all the time. But in their present situation that cannot happen. Same with our Winz clients. In case you haven't noticed they are in an emergency situation. And, no, I don't have all the answers. All I know is it's people like you who are part of the problem.
What a worthless comment.
… All I know is it's people like you who are part of the problem.
Poor people pay tax too, but good to know someone's keeping an eye on how 'the poors' pay at supermarkets – really shows your true worth, and true colours, imho.
Why poverty in New Zealand is everyone's concern
Liang describes poverty as a "heritable condition" that perpetuates and amplifies through generations: "It is also not hard to see how individual poverty flows into communities and society, with downstream effects on economics, crime and health, as well as many other systems. Loosen one strand and everything else unravels."
A Kete Half Empty Poverty is your problem, it is everyone's problem, not just those who are in poverty. – Rebecca, a child from Te Puru
Think about it. The benefit maybe $500 but they receive $400 in their hand as PAYE deducted. But the total $500 Gross benefit is just given to them funded from actual working tax payers tax paid.
Malcolm's 2017 analysis appealed to me. NZ is wealthy – redistributing a little more of that wealth would work wonders, imho. For example, I'd happily contribute to the tax on wealth proposed by the Green party – might not be required to contribute that much personally, but it's a decent thing to do.
Greens call for urgent action to fix tax system [26 April 2022]
“The most straightforward solution is to introduce a Capital Gains Tax or a Wealth Tax on individuals’ net wealth over $1 million – not including mortgages and other debt. This would only apply to the wealthiest six percent of New Zealanders."
Too much wealth is concentrated in the hands of a small number of Kiwis, and that's for real.
The Sad Slide of a Once Equal Nation [4 July 2017]
New Zealand, by most yardsticks, used to rival equal nations like Denmark. But New Zealand’s incomes have become much more unequal – and its problems much more pressing. Steeply progressive taxes could reverse that dynamic.
''NZ is wealthy – redistributing a little more of that wealth would work wonders, imho. For example, I'd happily contribute to the tax on wealth proposed by the Green party.''
The way I see it, taxing wealth runs into problems sooner or later. It will stifle innovation and be open to further creeping tax takes in one form or another in the future. The rich will a find a way to continue avoiding a wealth tax meaning more government resources to catch them. Savings may suffer and then the wealthy start looking overseas to move assets and business.
But for me it boils down to an envy tax for wealthy people. Many who have built businesses and wealth up from scratch. I wouldn't have the cheek to tax the fruits of their labour.
That said you may have seen the headlines awhile back where some wealthy individuals said they should be paying more tax. I say good on them. That's what democracy should be about. Not all rich people are rich pricks.
Sooner or later the government always wants more. Even if only temporally.
''Under this proposal, the total tax on an income of $40,000 would drop from $6,020 to $4,000, and the total tax on a $400,000 income would rise from $122,920 to $206,000.''
The way I see it, taxing wealth runs into problems sooner or later. It will stifle innovation and be open to further creeping tax takes in one form or another in the future. The rich will a find a way to continue avoiding a wealth tax meaning more government resources to catch them. Savings may suffer and then the wealthy start looking overseas to move assets and business.
Yes, that certainly is one way to see it. But what's the evidence that supports the way you see it? Apart from some “rich pricks” avoiding paying their fair share of tax – that’s a given. [Btw, why do you call them “rich pricks“? Are you suggesting that being rich increases your chances of becoming a prick?]
For example, is envy relevant to Danish innovation? Are Danes queuing to leave home? According to this 31 March 2022 article, NZ is the 10th happiest country, but Denmark is stable in 2nd place.
And the happiest place on spaceship Earth, for the 5th year running? Finland, despite being next door to Russia – who would have thunk it!
These Are the Happiest Countries in the World
Once again, the Nordic countries reign supreme. For the fifth year in a row, Finland is number one when it comes to happiness. The country consistently ranks among the top education systems in the world, occasionally beaten out by countries like South Korea, Japan, and Singapore. Much of that success comes from a widespread reverence for teachers, who are required to have a master’s degree (their education is state-funded), and a pedagogical system that focuses less on quantitative testing and more on experiential learning and equal opportunity.
Blade having a good supply of food for lunches so no one feels left out is more important than your bean counting solution which stigmatizes those who are hungry .Blade do you suggest that those poor parents all be trained to be better parents.That would require a massive investment of social workers fixing the housing crisis fixing the intergenerational neglect and abuse. Universal benefits require much less bearaucracy to implement. Malnurishment has longterm effects meaning society will pay more in the future from poor education poor health leading to multiple generations of poverty unrealised potentials. Blade you are Morally and emotionally aloof punish the poor for being poor for making poor decisions because of poor education coming from poor families. Logic type thinking is emotional aloofness a type of mental disorder where people don't care about their fellow human beings. Neo liberal economics plays one sector the money hoarders against those who don't have the luck to be born into a non dysfunctional well off lifstyle.Blaming the poor for being poor drag themselves up by their bootstraps when in reality less than 5% of people who are born into poverty break the cycle. Neo Liberal politicians use unemployment to control inflation then blame the unemployed for their predicament ,When the poor are being kept poor to make the economy run under this model!
Hey Blade next time you're at a supermarket judging what the poor can or can't have, do the world a solid favour and pull out your own card and pay for them.
And see if you can do it while keeping your mouth shut.
Hey, Ad. Who was judging? Just stating a fact from my perspective.
I am paying. No need to pull out my card. What have you ever given to charity? Probably like some socialists I know… when it's time for the the hat to go around, they are in the toilet having a dry one.
This is what a judgemental asshole sounds like when commenting on the poor:
And sometimes the food choices in those trollies are appalling. And worse, one off, very expensive items: eg naan bread or a tray of donuts. These aren't a good choice of food item for a struggling family.
Stick your facts up your ass and donate more instead.
If you think that's judgemental, that's how the poor feel with your eyes on them.
True dat. Maybe useful as an occasional reminder of just how deceitful and self-serving a 'player' can be (reminiscent of Dirty Politics) – but every day?!!
Ah, Robert. Of course you would turn up. But with what?
''Blade, while searching for something to inflame readers of The Standard, settled upon this.''
As a matter of fact this problem is about to explode. That's a whole new generation of malcontents in the making. Maybe coming to a street near you.
Now child poverty was a mainstay of Labour's agenda. And they delivered big bucks to try and fix the problem. It hasn't worked. So what the hell is National going to do? And will the problem become any better.
''Tomorrow, it'll be something else of a similar nature, with similar intent and effect.''
What type of wankery is that meant to mean? You are a Letie, yet I see little empathy. This should be your patch of concern. Maybe because it only effects mainly brown kids in some cases.?
Give us some ideas, Robert. I have some. I doubt you have any.
Boo hoo, "rich pricks" "can't criticise the poor" – 'priceless'. "Rich pricks" need hobbies, and some get off on kicking people while they're down, imho.
Ruthanasia was controversial as the National Party had fought the 1990 election on a manifesto promising "The Decent Society" and implicitly repudiating the radicalism of the Fourth Labour Government.
Yes. I can give you personal experiences if you want?
Quote:
''The Ka Ora, Ka Ako programme was first rolled out to primary schools with high levels of need in 2019. The funding was expanded to some high schools in 2020 and 2021, at a cost of $220.6 million over two years.''
Now, I need to ask myself a question: Am I being trolled, or is the ideological castle being challenged by barbarians at the gate. Probably the latter, leading to the former.
There's another evaluation coming out from the expanded programme as well.
Stuff's Act-led foolishness is the reddest of red herrings when the actual policy results are more young people are less hungry and are learning better.
It's not about the success or otherwise of the programme. And Julie Chapman has said it isn't working in many cases…. It's about the waste. Waste means a waste of taxpayers money and faults somewhere in the delivery of the programme.
Yeah , and if we cut the waste, a whole lot more poor folk can be helped. And once again, I remind you – ITS NOT THE GOVERNMENTS MONEY TO WASTE..IT'S OURS.
the branch of linguistics and logic concerned with meaning. The two main areas are logical semantics, concerned with matters such as sense and reference and presupposition and implication, and lexical semantics, concerned with the analysis of word meanings and relations between them.
the meaning of a word, phrase, or text.
The fact is the people own the government…at least they should.
Utter BS again, we don’t “own the government” and neither “should” we. It’s clear why you must rely on TB talking points to form your ‘opinions’ because you have not the slightest clue of how things are in the real world, let alone how they should be. You live in a TB fantasy world in which the Wizard is called Mikey.
Nope, you’re wrong, I don’t diss the sites and TB, I diss the lazy unthinking army of braindead zombies who rely on them for their cognitive existence and I diss the maleficent malcontents who use the talking points and propaganda from those sites and TB for nefarious agendas and interests. Put it all on the table and let the sunshine in, is my motto.
You’re troll-like by refusing to point to an answer that reflects or represents the way you ‘see it’. So, you were just wasting my time with your link to Quora. Yup, definitely troll-like behaviour.
BTW, your concern about my peril is quite endearing but I can assure I’m fine.
Its a lot more fundamental than semantics. If the government is dependent on tax payers to provide the money then it would clearly be impossible to change currencies. Countries relatively recently have retired entire currencies and replaced them with new ones (for various reasons).
Consider the situation in France in 1999. At this time France has decided to adopt the Euro and replace the Franc. In your conception the government is a bit stuffed because nobody outside the government has any Euro in France. That's going to be a problem because you can't collect Euro from people who got none making adopting the Euro problematic.
Once we realize its government money however the way this works is simple to understand. The government will spend Euro, Tax in Euro and issue exchanges for Franc as the public wants. In fact this is what was implemented across multiple European countries at the same time.
In my opinion, the French approach demonstrates what can be done by communities when food–and teaching children to love eating healthy food–is a priority. Note: unlike the United States, there is no national school lunch program in France. All of the lunches you’ll read about here are funded by local municipalities. Three-course (or even four-course) freshly-prepared hot lunches are provided to over 6 million French children in the public school system every day. Even without national subsidies, these meals cost, on average, $3 per child (and prices for low-income families are subsidized),
I understand that, Ad. And have downloaded the report from the link you've posted to read on another device. I did have a look at the summary though, and the measurement criteria.
I was posting the links because the French school lunch intention, implementation and experience seems to have a wider perspective that may be valuable to consider (from the 2nd link):
Here’s a quote from the website of a school near Paris: “Mealtime is a particularly important moment in a child’s day. Our responsibility is to provide children with healthy, balanced meals; to develop their sense of taste; to help children, complementing what they learn at home, to make good food choices without being influenced by trends, media, and marketing; and to teach them the relationship between eating habits and health. But above all else, we aim to enable children to spend joyful, convivial moments together, to learn a ‘savoir-vivre’, to make time for communication, social exchange, and learning about society’s rules–so that they can socialize and cultivate friendships.”
And, actually, in practice, sometimes they both look unappealing and are poor nutrition.
A friend who is a teacher at one of the schools with the free lunch programme, has been posting photos.
They hit a new low last week: 1 stale white bread bun, with a slice of processed cheese and a smear of jam (yes in the same bun). That was it.
The kids didn't eat it (not surprisingly, I wouldn't have).
The teachers did an emergency trip to the supermarket, and came back with bread, and peanut butter. So the kids had something in their tummies for the rest of the day.
There was a very nice brochure sent out to parents, describing (with pictures) what will be provided. However, the quality has been on a significant downwards spiral. And the quality checks that the Ministry are supposed to carry out — have been completely absent.
Look, I know (believe me, I know), feeding kids is tricky. One week they're all over tomato and cheese sandwiches, the next they turn their noses up at exactly the same thing.
But, providing a basic wholemeal bread sandwich with a decent filling, isn't rocket science – and doesn't need to cost the earth. Mandarins are cheap at this time of year, as are kiwifruit. One in each lunchbox is a quick and easy way to get some vitamins (especially Vitamin C at this time of year) into the kids.
I get the feeling that some of the contractors are making a healthy profit, and the kids aren't getting a healthy meal.
Initially It was. That's the problem. And if you believe all schools give unwanted spare lunches away you are dreaming. We are talking double handling and poor focusing on individual school needs.
Your opinion is incorrect Blade. Another example from your link "Crawford and Walters send surplus lunches to community centres, where any member of the public can pick them up that afternoon"
Some supermarkets do self police what comes to the check out. I know a loved one always made sure she was buying essentials when she was given food grants. She made sure she bought items she couldn't normally cover in her benefit such as kitchen spray cleaning or vitamins anything too expensive to fit in her normal supermarket shop. Granted she thought the checkout tellers were "nazis" but accepted it.
Yes, I have noticed policing of food grants is different depending on the supermarket. My local supermarket caters to the low earner /beanie demographic. They can buy whatever they want. However, that may be because the people that frequent my local aren't the type you say no to. The bash is always a possibility. So maybe they just take the path of least resistance. I don't know. However, if all supermarkets are meant to be limiting what a food grant can purchase, I believe that needs to be enforced.
And maybe do away with benefit payments altogether, and have a central hub that pays for everything? A bureaucratic nightmare at present to implemented for sure. But if you consider we are close to becoming a cashless society, it would be an easy step in future.
BTW – was your loved one using the old paper food grant transaction, or did they have the much easier card system? The old system could hold a line of shoppers up for ages while everything was checked.
Then you appear to have no self awareness. Obviously you are hearing something from me Blade, or else you wouldn't be replying. One wonders if you spend your time skulking around supermarket checkouts. It's clear that what you want to do is police what beneficiaries receive and what they spend their money on, because you are under the delusion that beneficiaries are spending your money. Well, it's not your money and what people spend their money on is none of your business.
Yes, it's my money…taxpayers money. I have a right to stick my nose in. Stop playing your silly games. This WAS a socialist paradise. But not anymore.
''One wonders if you spend your time skulking around supermarket checkouts.''
''It's called situational awareness. And no, I don't skulk around supermarkets. I have better things to do. That you haven't noticed what I notice means you are half asleep…as your comments show.''
No, it is not your money Blade, as I have already explained to you in another post. Obviously you don't have better things to do and you have no right to stick your nose into someone else's business.
A garage mechanic is spilling 150mls of oil every time he does an oil change. That's a lot of oil depending on how many cars he services in a working week. That's money down the drain that could be used for other garage essentials or expenses.
Solution: sack the mechanic if he's at fault. However, if he's spilling oil because of the way the garage is configured, or because he has to follow guidelines on how the oil change must be done, then those hinderances must be removed or altered to streamline the operation, stop wastage and save money.
No it wouldn't. Household budgets and efficiencies apply in principle across the board. Sort it out…not by increasing bureaucrats. But by holding them responsible for the jobs they do.
Wag your finger at those spoiled little brats at school who won’t eat their provided lunches, courtesy of the Taxpayer. Perhaps they should learn how precious food is and the resources that go into producing and transporting it and perhaps they should learn to minimise and manage waste; don’t they teach them anything useful at school nowadays??
I agree with the your last paragraph. The little brats haven't time to be taught how precious food is because climate change, Maori culture and other environmental issues are being taught.
Therefore, let's check where the money is going from government, and the criteria to distribution of free food lunches in school. Then cut out or cut back on schools wasting kai ( maybe make kids a accountable). For example my nephew attends what would be a decile 8 school. He forgoes his substantial breakfast and lunch available from his home in favour of a three course meal at school. These schools should be cut from the free food programme for starters.
Since when does central government provide 3-course meals to decile 8 or any decile schools?
Sounds like you’re making up shit again.
Of course, kids are too busy during their lunch breaks with learning about CC, Māori culture, and other environmental issues to focus time on food. These kids have such limited attention span, can only focus on one thing at a time, that they use talkback as their main source of ‘information’ later in life.
You obviously haven’t raised any children yourself because you’d know that home-packed lunches (not so much the snacks, funnily enough) often come back home unfinished and sometimes even untouched. That’s what afternoon tea and fridges are for, brilliant inventions!
Let the waste minimisation and management start at home, continue at school, and last a lifetime. A bit like learning, really. You didn’t click on any of the links, clearly.
Um, no, they literally don't. A government budget is nothing at all like a household budget. That's a ridiculous assertion. Governments can create legal fiat currency backed by natural resources and labour, and it can license banks to create credit, which does the same thing. Countries have been doing this for centuries – households can't. And unlike a business a state can't just fire non-productive units – well, they can, but that would be a crime against humanity.
Furthermore bureaucrats perform actual functions and are too busy to also have to put up with the kind of performance assessments you are suggesting, because that would give them even less time to do their jobs, making them even less efficient.
But the spending goals of governments and households are simply not the same. The purpose of a government budget is to help the entire economy, whereas a household budget is mainly concerned with its own financial situation.''
You are quite correct with some of your assertions. However, both government and households have the following in common:
How is the government similar to households?
Much like households, governments have regular income and expenditures. They both take on outside debt and if their debts get too high, they can get into trouble. But unlike households, governments can, and do, print money. Governments also have the power to change their income levels by raising taxes.
I wrote:
'' Household budgets and efficiencies apply in principle across the board.''
For example, apart from the obvious similarities, households can act in a limited way like a government.
''Governments also have the power to change their income levels.''
So do households if you think about it. Take on boarders for example.
Of course there are differences like tax take and printing money.
Of late I have come to consider that government finances are indeed more like a households than not, despite the constant refrain that they are not (methinks they protest too much)….while governments may have the ability to theoretically 'print' money while households do not, the consequences of abusing this are the same as for a household that overindulges on credit….perhaps the real difference between households and governments is not so much in the field of finance but rather in the ability to enforce its will….. so long as it can.
''Perhaps the real difference between households and governments is not so much in the field of finance but rather in the ability to enforce its will….. so long as it can.''
You're diversion trolling. The healthy school lunches programme is nothing like running an SME, they're completely different in scope, intent, and implementation. Private households are a different thing yet again.
Blade: while you're here: you’ve sparked my interest with what you wrote earlier about your organic farm and your use of rock-dust, seawater, lawn-clippings and biochar for making your 10 acres fertile. It’s your biochar that I’d like to ask you about, if I may.
Where do you get it from? How much do you need for your 10 acres and how do you apply it? I’ve read about the value of biochar and some of the historical uses. You mentioned “activating” your biochar before applying it; how do you do that? It all sounds innovative and exciting!
'I'm sorry, Robert. I gave you my best before; wasted my precious time on you. And my reward was you shat on me. I like to think I learn from my mistakes. It’s a pity because I have a real passion for this stuff and I like helping those out who have a similar passion.
Sad that you can't bring yourself to share your intimate knowledge of those subtle organic practices you employ. Who knows what else you get up to on the farm that would be of interest to other gardeners and farmers here on The Standard. Your use of vortex technology for potentising water for your crops sounded fascinating! Oh, that we could hear more about that! And deploying rock dust as a long-term, slow-release fertiliser – how forward-thinking that sounds! Then topping-up your nutrient applications with sea-water! Wowsers!
Our loss, I suppose. No-one would have expressed their incredulity, had they know you'd take such offence to being tested that way.
Hei aha (I slipped that in because of your Maori heritage).
"Sort it out…not by increasing bureaucrats. But by holding them responsible for the jobs they do."
Please refrain from making sensible comments like this on here. Now go wash your mouth out………they must not be held to account. It is not the Labour way.
Kerre said very little and was clearly fishing. Fortunately, her guest, Julie Chapman of KidsCan was very professional and didn’t take the obvious bait and she made a few good points. It was actually not too bad an interview.
As for results, well, don’t let a few facts get in the way of Blade’s and your narrative:
In fact, she cites exactly that as the reason she came to politics:
Jacinda first acted on the instincts that led her to politics, after seeing rampant inequality in Murupara as a little girl.
“I always noticed when things felt unfair,” she says thoughtfully. “Of course, when you’re a kid, you don’t call it social justice. I just thought it was wrong that other kids didn’t have what I had. When we moved to Morrinsville, I was eight years old, and I started doing something about it – joining human rights groups at school and things like that.”
Press releases by Government, to be more precise. You know, that lot that has the big picture.
I also listened to the podcast and heard what Julie Chapman said. Funnily enough, she did acknowledge the Government report. You may have missed it, in your rush.
I agree with your comment that it was not a bad interview. But people like Wendy Esera are clearly seeing a different picture than is being presented by the governments spin.
Unlike some I don’t see it as “different” and as a binary; both views are valid and they’re complementary; they’re literally different PoVs. Julie Chapman also agreed with Esera’s comments. This is not just semantics and I genuinely believe that Esera, Chapman, the PM and many (?) in Government would agree on most things and could come to a very good understanding amongst themselves because they have very similar goals, i.e., common ground. Kerre was the odd one out or tried to play the Devil’s advocate, but she was not convincing.
Not true to suggest nothing has been done Gypsy, for example, "More than 380,000 primary mental wellbeing sessions have been delivered and more than 900 additional FTEs are working to support mental wellbeing in the community"
"A review has found no change in access to specialist mental health services in five years despite the Government's $1.9 billion cash injection in 2019. The review has also found that one-in-five people in New Zealand are not followed up after discharge from acute inpatient mental health units."
"… that just five new places for acute mental health patients had been added since 2019…"
"…it also highlighted a lack of accountability over the package, with different agencies focussing on their area, without a cohesive overarching plan to work together."
"More than 380,000 primary mental wellbeing sessions have been delivered and more than 900 additional FTEs" is significant and are facts Gypsy, the claim that nothing has been done is false, also the $1.9b allocation is for four years, and it’s only two years in.
"Matt Doocey and the National Party have a lot to answer for because of their nine years of neglect to the mental health system."
Little said the money is being spent and it is making a difference.
"Of the $1.9 billion, about $800 million of it went to a variety of other Government departments – Corrections, Education, and the Ministry of Social Development to do a range of mental health things for their area.
"For the Ministry of Health, the $1.1 billion they've got, over a four year period nearly half a billion dollars is going into what we call the Access and Choice program. Two years into that program we've added 850 full-time equivalent roles or people to the frontline of mental health.
"It is simply not correct for people like Matt Doocey and others to say the money is going nowhere. It is going all over the place and it is making a difference."
I'm not sure who claimed 'nothing has been done'. In mental health, as in other areas, this government seems quite adept at spending a lot of money but getting little in the way of results.
If you don't accept what I'm saying, perhaps you'll take the word of Andrew Little himself:
As usual, your comments are so misleading that they border on being disingenuous.
Allocating government funds ≠ spending government funds
In Budget 2019 the Government announced $1.9b for mental health, with $235 million set aside for building mental health and addiction facilities.
National's mental health spokesperson Matt Doocey revealed just $500,000 of $235m set aside for new mental health facilities in Budget 2019 had been spent, or 0.2 per cent.
"In mental health, as in other areas, this government seems quite adept at allocating and/or spending a lot of money but getting little in the way of results."
Why would I be? Because you stop your misleading comments and become an honest debater who acts in good faith and whose comments I can trust?
Your comment is just another pathetic attempt at painting the Government in a bad light; it’s essentially meaningless, but good for a negative vibe, which is the gist of almost all your comments here.
"Your comment is just another pathetic attempt at painting the Government in a bad light; it’s essentially meaningless, but good for a negative vibe, which is the gist of almost all your comments here."
I'm not sure why you find this surprising, the current government has been particularly woeful over the last 12 months.
I find it surprising that so many of the commenters continue to be so supportive of the current lot despite their poor performance.
Really? Where did I say that I find it surprising that Gypsy is doing his usual BS?
I find it surprising …
You find it surprising because you conflate anti-government propaganda and robust criticism of government. You also conflate commenters who don’t swallow the usual BS from RWs with devoted supporters of government who dare not speak poorly of said government.
No wonder that some deluded dimwits say that it is “tribal”, FFS; it is truly an idiotic argument.
Pointing out that the government spent 0.2% of an allocation in 2 years may be 'meaningless' to you, but it is a pattern of wasteful and/or ineffective spending by this government.
You didn’t point out any such thing in your comment @ 3:24 pm. It was another broad-brush pathetic swipe at Government without any substance or content matter. It was bumper sticker BS: cheap, lazy, sticky, and unseemly.
Allocating ≠ spending
You’re clutching at straws; the money will be spent, in due course, or it will be re-allocated, as and when required by the circumstances. That’s what prudent governments do.
I didn’t link to your comment because I replied to it, as you can see from the nesting and from the start of my reply, which was the end of your comment to which I replied, i.e., Happy now?
Too hard for you to connect the dots?
Yours was this one (https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-21-06-2022/#comment-1895979) @ 3:24 pm, and as you can see, it was so generalised that it would just about cover any accusation one could aim at Government, which was entirely your intention, of course.
And here you’ve taken the opportunity again, as usual, to list your litany of anti-government headlines and other dirt that you could throw at them. No commentary, no explanation, no argument, just scrolls of negativity, which you call “examples”. Your pointless point scoring is tedious and doesn’t add anything of value nor does it contribute to discussion.
You’d expect to see results from 0.2% spent since it had been allocated and then whinge & moan that it is “wasteful and/or ineffective spending by this government” because there are not as many results yet as you’d wish while there still is 99.8% to be spent, obviously. As Louis has already pointed out repeatedly, there are results and things are happening in this space. But as usual, you ignore, deny, and obfuscate, because it doesn’t suit your anti-government narrative.
So, now you move the goalposts from poor/wasteful spending to ‘why has it not been spent yet’. Clutching at straws to get your hit.
The real question is why you’re such a disingenuous commenter here who’s playing games all the fucking time.
Nice try, but no, I’m not trying to shut down discussion but rather the opposite, I’m trying to keep it honest and in good faith. You’re playing games here and not engaging in good faith, which is why you and I butt heads and why I’m trying you steer you back on track or I will (no try) shut down your playing games.
We all expect results and I believe most if not all of us are underwhelmed by and disappointed with the little progress so far, and that indeed includes the Minister although you worded that really poorly. More money will be spent (cf. mental health allocations in Budget-2022; I’ll spare you the Government press releases because you seem to have developed such an aversion to them) and more results are coming, with time.
What you did @ 5:29 pm (https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-21-06-2022/#comment-1896020) is known as link-spamming, which is warned against in this site’s Policy. It’s often used by trolls and others who don’t want to engage or are too lazy to put their own arguments in writing. Here, it can be a reason for banning. But you already know this.
My swallow reflex has nothing to do with your inability to follow the flow of comments here. It’s a sad diversion attempt on your behalf.
It’s funny how your wrong assumption gave you the self-invitation to go off on another rant-list of headlines pretending this is the ‘discussion’ I’m trying to shut down.
And Blade quoted/paraphrased Kerre, so you indirectly quoted/paraphrased Kerre, or are you simply quoting Blade now for his opinions only, which he gets from TB, BTW? Stop playing games here.
Yeah, you quoted Blade who quoted Kerre, we agree on this, and you agreed with Blade and Kerre’s opinion. You happened to point to the part of Blade’s comment where he quoted Kerre. And you copied & pasted it too @ 3.6; the italics are irrelevant. So, stop playing games here.
Nope. The topic has been on government spending money and not getting results, or wasteful/ineffective spending. You've spent a hell of a lot of time engaging in a diversion if you think it is one.
"I don’t need to defend any of your strawmen."
Ha! You need to look up the definition of straw man. Or maybe try to engage in good faith by trying to explain how the government you're defending could spend $600k on office space, $51m on consultants and buy 5 houses for a project it canned!
That’s correct and you linked it to mental health spending and Louis responded to that @ 3.6.2. You went along nicely until you suddenly and out of the blue decided to divert away to KB in the middle of the tread on mental health spending. In fact, you made a whole song & dance musical over the 0.2% spent so far.
I don’t need to defend your strawmen nor engage with them. It is part of your diversion strategy, a gish gallop of gaslighting gripes.
"You went along nicely until you suddenly and out of the blue decided to divert away to KB in the middle of the tread on mental health spending."
The KB comment was entirely relevant. It went to the heart of the comment Louis made about the mental health plan being a 4 year spend. I likened that comment to KB being a 10 year plan to build 100,000 homes. It’s not an unreasonable comparison.
Nope, KB and mental health spending have nothing in common other than being Government initiatives. This doesn’t excuse your diversions whenever you choose to and/or whenever it suits you; it’s a whateboutery variant. One plan is in progress, the other is still in progress after a major reset. Both are delivering results.
"Nope, KB and mental health spending have nothing in common other than being Government initiatives. "
In the context of Louis' comment, the thing they have in common is government failure. The spending of only 0.2% of an allocation when we have a mental health crisis is very similar to only building 1362 out of 100,000 houses promised when we have a housing crisis.
That has already been countered too and you’re simply parroting your own headlines again: Government failure and crises – just negative narratives from you. The only ‘similarities’ are your enormous umbrella of negativity and antipathy towards the current Government. Things are in progress, things are happening, results are being and will be delivered. No failure but developments with adjustments and recalibration along the way – that’s life. Tough for you to swallow, I realise.
Kerre's opinion is not fact and so if you accept an acknowledgement by the minister at being frustrated at the pace, why cant you accept the following quote
"Matt Doocey and the National Party have a lot to answer for because of their nine years of neglect to the mental health system."
Little said the money is being spent and it is making a difference.
"Of the $1.9 billion, about $800 million of it went to a variety of other Government departments – Corrections, Education, and the Ministry of Social Development to do a range of mental health things for their area.
"For the Ministry of Health, the $1.1 billion they've got, over a four year period nearly half a billion dollars is going into what we call the Access and Choice program. Two years into that program we've added 850 full-time equivalent roles or people to the frontline of mental health.
"It is simply not correct for people like Matt Doocey and others to say the money is going nowhere. It is going all over the place and it is making a difference." (See 3.6.2.1.1 for the link).
An interesting note: 5700 medical workers, drs and nurses were brought into the country when the border was closed.
See Incognito's response to you and yes, KB was a 10 yr plan, there's been a reset and the govt have, so far, also built thousands of state and transitional housing as well, with more currently under construction.
"we have added over 9,000 warm, dry public homes to the stock – with over 7,400 of them being brand new builds. We have also supported the addition of more than 3,500 transitional homes (a mix of government and community housing provider-led builds)"
"KB was a 10 yr plan, there's been a reset and the govt have, so far, also built thousands of state and transitional housing as well, with more currently under construction."
The 'reset' was the result of the failure of the scheme. The state houses built are not kiwibuild.
Instead of acknowledging the modest but undeniable progress to date you post silly slants from three and half years ago again demonstrating that you’re not commenting here in good faith.
But why ignore the following Gypsy? it's part of this govt's massive building plan that includes Kiwibuild.
"we have added over 9,000 warm, dry public homes to the stock – with over 7,400 of them being brand new builds. We have also supported the addition of more than 3,500 transitional homes (a mix of government and community housing provider-led builds)"
Exactly, “was”, past tense and before the Great Reset.
How long are you going to keep your in head in the sand and ignore that the world has moved on and that things have changed? As long as it suits your narrative?
"Kiwibuild is PART of the govt's housing building program Gypsy."
The government promised to build 100,000 houses over 10 years for private ownership. By June 2022 they said they would have built 28,000 homes. They have built 1365. You can spin that anyway you choose, the government can 'reset' all it likes, but it's failure by any measure.
Like I said Gypsy, there has been a reset, which you can't dismiss because it doesn't suit you and any homes built after National left a housing crisis would be a success. Example, from your link, "Developments like Panmure in Auckland that include KiwiBuild are seen as a success: not just new homes, but a whole new way of living" "the success the Government has had in other areas of housing policy"
National promised more affordable homes, promised to build thousands of new state houses by selling off 8000 existing houses would you believe but delivered an unprecedented housing crisis instead. National also didn't deliver on it's later promise to build 34,000 homes in Auckland either.
"Fletcher Building chairman's praise for KiwiBuild
KiwiBuild may have failed to hit its targets, but it has brought about a culture change in the building industry, according to Fletcher Building's chairman. "It has focused the industry around affordable housing,"
"An interesting note: 5700 medical workers, drs and nurses were brought into the country when the border was closed."
Do you have a link to the data (apart from the whole Parliamentary session)?
It seems surprising, as only 300 MIQ spaces were set aside per month for health workers (from November 21), and there were several articles about those places not being full (as the workers couldn't get through the Immigration system). I don't see how they could have got to 5,700.
Just the link to the PM's Q/A, duration: 8 mins 35secs.
Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: We currently have 20,000 nurses registered but not practising in New Zealand. One of the issues that has been raised with us when we went out and consulted is a concern that if we did not attach to the residency pathway the requirement to keep working in nursing, there may be a loss of that nursing workforce. The point is to take stress
Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I'm not going to name individual district health boards but the stats do demonstrate that we have a higher movement rate for those who have come in as migrants into the nursing workforce than the general nursing workforce. Can I also point out that this is on top of the work that we've already been doing to bring in critical purpose visas for health workers? We have had, even while our borders were closed, 5,700 critical purpose visas for health roles since COVID. We have been recruiting offshore. At the same time, we've had the Return to Nursing Workforce Support Fund to try to bring back some of those 20,000 who are trained as nurses but are currently not working as nurses. We've had the general nurses campaign; the New Entry to Practice Programme, which had $25 million put in in 2019; and we have increased our nursing workforce, as a Government, by 15 percent. We have focused on turning around an understaffed health workforce, and we continue to do so.
This lot were up to their eyeballs in debt to Waitaki District Council and Crown Irrigation Investments Ltd (Set up under Key to massively expand dairy irrigation).
Of course the shareholders might be able to finesse some kind of re-financing.
But what a great opportunity for the new Crown water entity to take over 5,500 hectares of irrigation and invite good farmers to farm for high profit and high sustainability.
It's great countryside round there – plenty of options beyond dairy if you've got a bit of water. Half the battle though, might be to aim for smaller multicrop farms, rather than unrelieved pastoral or vineyard or forestry.
Smaller farms in Korea often have rice fields, a couple of paddocks of table grapes, an enoki or shitake mushroom field, and a handful of hand raised cows – not so much a monoculture.
When Colombians elected their first leftist president ever on Sunday, they also elected the country’s first Black vice president: Francia Marquez, a single mother who worked as a maid before challenging international mining interests as a fiery environmentalist. Her victory marks a turning point in a country plagued by social inequalities and historically governed by conservative elites.
She is the real deal and could be the actual nail that fixes shut US military hijinx in arming drug cartels against poor Colombians. All that is left now is for Lula to take back Brazil. This will be a tough nut to crack with the US potentially focused on keeping Bolsonara in charge
Join our passionate panellists for this important webinar. The current Local Governance Review process provides an opportunity to think beyond current Council structures and mechanics, hear about the various perspectives, co-governance opportunities, bright spot examples and much more!
German PPI ( primary producers index) inflation goes through the roof,hitting 33.6% with electricity inflation over 90% as well as key agriculture inputs.
To alleviate the crisis,the German energy minister (green party) has asked for the decrease in electricity generation in Gas (to allow for reserves to be sustained for winter) and asked for the increased generation by coal thermal plants.
The UK and Austria have also reinstated coal fired generation.
The German payment of 15B euros to subsidise the thermals,is twice the forex reserves of Pakistan which cannot afford the high spot rates for LNG forced by European demand.Hence Pakistan goes to severe conservation.
Great that a Minister took the hint before the Fletchers Gib Board story went even more ballistic.
"The Minister for Building and Construction Megan Woods has set up a Ministerial taskforce with key construction, building consent, and supply chain experts to look at what more can be done to ease plasterboard shortages, including the potential for legislative or regulatory change."
Pretty astounding that the Minister of Consumer Affairs Mr Clark hasn't stepped in since this is a near-total-monopoly screwing the entire house construction market.
David Seymour got in on the act in Parliament. I thought the private enterprise free market approach was the way to go. Is that's what's operating? The market knows best, someone will make financial killing. Isn't that how it's meant to operate?
Surely the Government getting involved should be anathema to him.
But at least Woods is REACTING on her new brief, due to embarrassment. Fixed that for you AD.
FFS what has she been doing ?? This shortage has been an issue mid last year, perhaps it is time that ministers in this government went out and interacted with people, instead of being out of touch !!!!
"The August/September 2021 lockdowns caused significant disruption across the building industry. The lockdown created a backlog of orders for Winstone Wallboards to pick and deliver and resulted in longer lead times"
Former Aus FM, Bob Carr lays out a path by which Julian Assange could be freed by the new PM Albanese.
He laments the lack of any kind of national pride that allowed Morrison to accept such extreme treatment of an Aus passport holder and points out the obvious track record of support by Aus to all things US. Time for the lapdog to show some mongrel
Carr outlines the obvious face-saving measure that could well bring this monumentally stupid episode to a close. If the US security establishment and the Clinton Dems are the bad guys in this debacle – the entire UK establishment, their media, their Courts and Parliament have been to made to look like craven fools.
Everyone knows the original charges were politicised bollocks and the entire thing was an exercise in sustained bullying that has backfired badly. End it.
Whoever is doing the PR for Andrew Little, needs to work on his messaging.
He may be correct, in his narrow interpretation, that there is no Hospital 'crisis' – but the rest of NZ is surely seeing and hearing about one in practice at their local Emergency Department.
Denying this is simply playing into the perception that he is badly out-of-touch with reality in his Health portfolio.
I had really high hopes for health when Little became minister. TBF they were raised when Dr Clark was appointed but dashed quick smart.
Little has raised the ire of the nurses in the past with his 'blurring the numbers' during the recent wage round, between wage increase and the pay parity. Which, incidentally still isn't settled. The DHBs trying to go back on the understanding of when the pay parity would be backdated to.
As you say, Little needs better advisors. He could instruct the DHBs to agree to the NZNO's figures and wrap it up in a press release that is heavy in the acknowledgement of the dedicated service the nurses have shown through Covid, Win-Win.
At which point we will magically have enough doctors, nurses and allied medical staff, the 'postcode lottery' of healthcare will cease, health outcomes for all Kiwis will improve, and the vast sums saved will be able to be used to expand the health services. /sarc/
Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
Yesterday Winston Peters focussed his attention on the important matter at hand. Tweeting. Like the former, and quite possibly next, orange POTUS, from whom he takes much of his political strategy, Winston is an avid X’er.His message didn’t resemble an historic address this time. In fact it was more reminiscent ...
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David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
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Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
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The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
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Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Myfany Turpin, Associate Professor, Ethnomusicology, Linguistics and Ethnobiology, University of Sydney The act representing Australia at this year’s Eurovision contest has sadly not qualified for the grand final. Yet for Zaachariaha Fielding and Michael Ross, the duo that makes up Electric Fields, ...
In announcing changes to the school lunches programme, David Seymour said kids would no longer be served ‘woke’ foods. To clear up any confusion, The Spinoff has compiled a guide to the wokeness levels of some common food items. Apple = NOT WOKE Avocado = WOKE Avocado, smashed = EVEN ...
The Minister Responsible for GCSB and the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security have been notified of this review, and have been provided a finalised Terms of Reference. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Minglu Chen, Senior Lecturer, Government and International Relations, University of Sydney Robert Way/Shutterstock As the past few years have illustrated so clearly, the Australia-China relationship is complicated. As such, it is crucial for Australians to develop a more nuanced understanding of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mariana Campbell, Research Lecturer, Conservation, Charles Darwin University Marilyn Connell Australian freshwater turtles are facing an alarming trend. Almost half of these species are listed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered. The Mary River turtle (Elusor macrurus) is one of Australia’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Debbie Passey, Digital Health Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne Algorithms have become integral to our lives. From social media apps to Netflix, algorithms learn your preferences and prioritise the content you are shown. Google Maps and artificial intelligence are nothing without ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Josephine Barbaro, Associate Professor, Principal Research Fellow, Psychologist, La Trobe University Unsplash We’ve come a long way in terms of understanding that everyone thinks, interacts and experiences the world differently. In the past, autistic people, people with attention deficit hyperactive disorder ...
PNG Post-Courier Papua New Guinea’s deputy opposition leader James Nomane has accused the government of “reckless economic management” that has forced devaluation to manage loan repayments in foreign currency and placate the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Prime Minister James Marape “must stop lying to the people of Papua New Guinea”, ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Bookseller Confessional, in which we get to know Aotearoa’s booksellers. This week: Jane Arthur, author of Brown Bird, and former bookseller at Good Books.The book I wish I’d writtenI have been working on not comparing myself to others. On accepting that what I can ...
The final decision on the Wellington District Plan makes it official: High-density housing is legal across most of Wellington. Housing minister Chris Bishop has announced his decision on the Wellington District Plan, approving a series of amendments to radically upzone most of Wellington, allowing tens of thousands of new townhouses ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. “Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to ...
RNZ News As Israel presses ahead with strikes in Rafah and seizing the Rafah crossing from Egypt, aid agencies are sounding the alarm of a “catastrophic humanitarian situation”. Rafah was “significant” because it was the only part in Gaza that had not been terribly damaged by the conflict, United Nations ...
With funding set to be scrapped for the Hamilton-Auckland commuter train, Te Huia enthusiast Georgie Dansey argues for it to be thrown a lifeline. It’s 5.45am and the chain of my crappy old bike falls off slugging up the one hill in Hamilton. I contemplate yeeting the bike into the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Cooke, Honorary Fellow, School of the Environment, The University of Queensland We feel ecological grief when we lose places, species or ecosystems we value and love. These losses are a growing threat to mental health and wellbeing globally. We all see ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shauna Brail, Associate Professor, Institute for Management & Innovation, University of Toronto A shift to hybrid and remote work continues to affect worker presence in Toronto’s downtown.(Shutterstock) Downtown Toronto, the core of Canada’s largest city, continues to reel from the lingering ...
Responding to an Auditor-General's report slamming failures in the administration of the 2023 General Election, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said: ...
Productivity apps now make up a big chunk of the software market. But do they work? And why do they all have AI integrations?Despite being firmly on the record as a physical planner fan, I sometimes dream of something better than my pretty diary and its scrawled, ugly, interior ...
The Taxpayers’ Union says the Beehive need to lead by example, following reports of more than $50,000 spent upgrading video conferencing equipment and furniture in the Prime Minister’s office. Taxpayers’ Union Campaign Manager, Connor Molloy, ...
An objective list of the 50 most powerful people in New Zealand, as judged by the Spinoff Editorial Board. It’s power list season, baby, and we want in on the action. Sure, there’s the rich list and the powerful “c-suite” list and the young people with power (hmmm) but here, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thalia Anthony, Professor of Law, University of Technology Sydney ShutterstockThis article contains information on deaths in custody and the names of deceased people, and describes ongoing colonial violence towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. First Nations people in Australia ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alex Simpson, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Macquarie University Netflix Baby Reindeer’s phenomenal success has much to do with its writer and lead, Richard Gadd, who plays Donny in a tender semi-autobiographical account of sexual abuse, harassment and stalking. Gadd’s story has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Collins, Laureate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Newcastle KarolinaGrabowska/Pexels If you didn’t have food allergies as a child, is it possible to develop them as an adult? The short answer is yes. But the reasons why are much ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Moon, Professor of History, Auckland University of Technology Ans Westra, self-portrait, c. 1963. National Library ref AWM-0705-F They try but invariably fail – those writers who believe they are capable of encapsulating in prose or verse the essence of ...
Stewart Sowman-Lund looks at the growing concern around the world in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. What’s all this? When Covid-19 arrived on our shores in early 2020, some argued we were too slow, or crucially, ill-prepared for a pandemic. So ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Franco Montalto, Professor of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering and Director, Sustainable Water Resource Engineering Laboratory, Drexel University Water runs into a storm drain in a Los Angeles alley on Aug. 19, 2023, during Tropical Storm Hilary.Citizen of the Planet/Universal Images ...
The inquest into the death of Gore toddler Lachlan Jones has turned up a new witness who says he saw two teenagers and a small child in a high vis vest in the area where the boy’s body was found the day he died. Lachie’s body was discovered face up ...
Stories from the tenancy trenches, featuring spider infestations, cupboard rats and same-sex discrimination. Lucy’s brother was living in a damp 1930s building in Mt Eden where “he had to tie the cupboard doors closed so the rats didn’t get in”. Although he shared custody of his six-year-old son, his property ...
Simeon Brown, Chris Luxon, and Wayne Brown climbed into a hole and announced a plan to solve Auckland’s water woes. This is how it’ll work. New Zealand’s pipes are munted. They’re cracked and leaking, and struggling to handle all the extra poos excreted by our rising population. It’s a big, ...
Opinion: Nicholas Khoo looks at two key points in the high-stakes foreign policy pact debate – and asks if NZ can engage with as little drama as possible. The post Where to next for the Aukus ruckus? appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A,DIV,A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Wednesday 8 May appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Opinion: ‘Reference-class forecasting’ is at the heart of improving pricing a project and identifying the expected timeframe but it doesn’t appear to be in use here The post ‘Think fast and act slowly’ is failing big projects appeared first on Newsroom. ...
What do a sombrero in Argentina and cognitive driving tests have in common? Don’t worry, we’re not setting up a bad joke. Hinengaro Clinic dementia clinician Gregory Winkelman has the answer on today’s episode of The Detail. “We ask a patient’s spouse or son or daughter: If you went to ...
Wellington long jumper Phoebe Edwards is back and she’s having fun again. Until this year, Edwards, a top athlete in her teens, had never competed as a senior athlete in New Zealand. In March, the 26-year-old won a national long jump title in a lifetime best of 6.28m after ...
After replacing a fifth of their caucus in just four months, the Greens’ opportunity to reset, reshuffle and refocus on the Government is quickly slipping away The post Persistent Green Party scandals delay caucus reset appeared first on Newsroom. ...
I knew Taika Waititi quite well when he was a kid. His mother lived in a tall narrow house in Aro St, and my youngest sister had a similar house two doors along. They were both single mums, they each had a son aged seven. Taika and my nephew Stepan ...
Opinion: “As time passes, knowledge of the circumstances of the August 2016 outbreak will fade and its immediate impact will be lost.” This statement is from the 2017 report of the Official Inquiry into the Havelock North campylobacteriosis outbreak. The then National-led government established the inquiry after the outbreak left ...
ANALYSIS:By Olli Hellmann, University of Waikato When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day today on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also to mark a defining event for national identity. The battle of Gallipoli against ...
By Robin Martin, RNZ News reporter A New Zealand local authority, Whanganui District Council, has passed a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, condemnation of all acts of violence and terror against civilians on both sides of the conflict and the immediate return of hostages. It comes as ...
Asia Pacific Report The Aotearoa chapter of the Women’s International league for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) has appealed to the New Zealand government to call out Israel over the “cruel and barbaric use of force” in Gaza and demand a permanent ceasefire. The league’s open letter was sent to Prime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will invest $566 million over a decade on data, maps and other tools to promote exploration and development in Australia’s resources industry. The project will fund “the first comprehensive map of what’s ...
Asia Pacific Report Following an open letter by Auckland University academics speaking out in support of their students’ right to protest against the genocidal Israeli war on Gaza, a group of academics at Otago University have today also called on New Zealand academic institutions to “repair colonial violence” and end ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Linda J. Graham, Professor and Director of the Centre for Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology Ryan Tauss/ Unsplash, CC BY Two male students have been expelled from a Melbourne private school for their involvement in a list ranking female students. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The Reserve Bank is now assuming Australians will see no interest rate cuts this year – and quite possibly none before the next federal election, due next May. That’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Hayward, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, RMIT University The Victorian budget offered more of the same on Tuesday, with the only change being how the budget papers were packaged. The usual shrink wrap was gone, hinting at savings in the pages ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Coalition is demanding extensive amendments to the government’s legislation targeting non-citizens who refuse to co-operate with their removal. In a dissenting report to the senate inquiry into the legislation, the Coalition says it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vanita Yadav, Senior Research Fellow, Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney University Brett Boardman/Belvoir The complex and grappling issue of violence against women takes centre stage in the soul-stirring solo dance drama Nayika: A Dancing Girl. During a dinner conversation ...
Disruption to patient care from a nationwide junior doctors strike is bordering on unsafe, a senior doctor claims, despite what health officials say. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Diepstraten, Senior Research Officer, Blood Cells and Blood Cancer Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute Ground Picture/Shutterstock The anti-cancer drug abemaciclib (also known as Vernezio) has this month been added to the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to treat certain ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dominic McAfee, Postdoctoral researcher, marine ecology, University of Adelaide Robbie Porter, OzFish Unlimited Around Australia, hundreds of people are coming together to help a once-prized, but decimated and largely forgotten marine ecosystem. They’re busy restoring Australia’s native oyster and mussel reefs. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Webb, Lecturer, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology Austin Human/Unsplash How does Earth stop meteors from hitting Earth and hurting people? –Asher, 6 years 11 months, New South Wales Alright, let’s embark on a meteor ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rory Mulcahy, Associate Professor of Marketing, University of the Sunshine Coast Professional sports organisations regularly promote and develop initiatives to support diversity, equity and inclusion. While sport has the power to change attitudes by sparking conversations about political issues and social ...
Comment: The weekly Monday post-Cabinet press conference is a useful forum for observing Christopher Luxon and how he is developing into the job of Prime Minister. He attempts to convey the impression of a man of action, speaking fast, delivering memorised National Party strategies in a connect-the-slogans kind of way, ...
Money is changing hands in Israel – those who bet on an election before their 5th vaccine jab have won. Israel is to have its 5th election since 2019.
https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/06/21/israeli-government-dissolves-parliament-calls-new-elections/
So while Omicron variants 4 and 5 spread the jabbed up (neither being jabbed nor with "natural immunity" prevents infection) there is the risk while going to vote.
The election comes in time to prevent Netanyahu going to court. There is about another year in the USA to go – presumably the GOP primary race would result in a stay of court proceedings for Trump.
Home of the brave..
https://twitter.com/lilyastrah/status/1538722392087744512
Their whole country is stuffed.
https://twitter.com/IrvingSwisher/status/1538976082849931267
Mind you, it is unsettled everywhere right now..
https://twitter.com/ryan__jg/status/1539020574910910465
Some discussion around what a "Phillips curve model of inflation (with some 'glorified moving average' fudge variables wedged in)" means,
http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/?p=49871
I agree with the sentiment of this comment more than the facts as, the NAIRU theory (which Summers is likely applying) fundamentally rejects there being any useable Phillips curve trade off between unemployment and inflation.
This is a shocker interview with Julie Chapman, head Honcho of Kids Can. They are launching an appeal for funds because student poverty has never been worse.
https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/kerre-woodham-mornings/audio/julie-chapman-kidscan-ceo-as-they-launch-urgent-appeal-to-help-families-with-school-costs/
Quote:
''The principal of Henderson Intermediate, Wendy Esera, has been in education for 44 years and says student poverty is the worst she's seen.''
I know some of this because my aunty was a primary school junior syndicate team leader. She was often buying shoes and clothes for about eight students in her class.
We have all read the headlines you may say!
Yeah, but I'm talking circa 2009. So I'd guess Chapman isn't exaggerating to gain extra funding given the present situation. The interview also talks of teachers ringing Kids Can in tears. Again I can believe that because my aunt burnt out and became ill. She retired before her time.
The problem for me is with a question Kerre asked. Kerre said the government has pumped millions into this problem…where has the money gone? Good question. We know the school lunch scheme can be wasteful. And we know some parents… well, aren't good parents. The common retort is to say most parents are good parents and are honestly struggling and are doing the best they can. I don't doubt that, but I believe the numbers of sub standard parents is being underestimated. That area needs to be tightened up. But that means overhauling WINZ. If National attempt this once they become the government, their bull in a second hand store approach, will make things worse for everyone, including good parents.
Next time you are in the supermarket and you see someone using a turquoise/ blue looking credit card you will know that's a Winz emergency food grant card. I see them on a regular basis. And sometimes the food choices in those trollies are appalling. And worse, one off, very expensive items: eg naan bread or a tray of donuts. These aren't a good choice of food item for a struggling family.
https://www.aaap.org.nz/fix_winz_food_grants. ( open letter to the government)
So the poor are not allowed to have a luxury item now and then after living on baked beans on toast and a bowl of rice for weeks on end?
What a worthless comment. Don't forget it's taxpayer's money. In other countries they would be at the dump scavenging for food. The short answer to be truthful from my perspective is no. Do the people of Ukraine deserve the luxury of peace now and again? Yes, they deserve peace all the time. But in their present situation that cannot happen. Same with our Winz clients. In case you haven't noticed they are in an emergency situation. And, no, I don't have all the answers. All I know is it's people like you who are part of the problem.
Poor people pay tax too, but good to know someone's keeping an eye on how 'the poors' pay at supermarkets – really shows your true worth, and true colours, imho.
If your kete is full, then there's really no decent reason to be 'sharing hesitant.'
Many poor people are not tax payers. If they are only receiving a benefit they are not net tax payers.
Many rich people don't pay Tax either, money hiding in Trusts etc, yet my taxes go to little Sebastion and Eugene's Private School Education.
Beneficiaries pay tax.
https://www.govt.nz/browse/tax-benefits-and-finance/tax/income-you-pay-tax-on/
Think about it. The benefit maybe $500 but they receive $400 in their hand as PAYE deducted. But the total $500 Gross benefit is just given to them funded from actual working tax payers tax paid.
It’s all make believe accounting to keep the bean counters happy.
The point is Jimmy, beneficiaries pay tax.
Nothing I haven't alluded too. Any ideas?
So you say.
Malcolm's 2017 analysis appealed to me. NZ is wealthy – redistributing a little more of that wealth would work wonders, imho. For example, I'd happily contribute to the tax on wealth proposed by the Green party – might not be required to contribute that much personally, but it's a decent thing to do.
Too much wealth is concentrated in the hands of a small number of Kiwis, and that's for real.
https://inequality.org/
More ideas on this in the 13 March 2022 comment I linked to @3.1.1.1.
''NZ is wealthy – redistributing a little more of that wealth would work wonders, imho. For example, I'd happily contribute to the tax on wealth proposed by the Green party.''
The way I see it, taxing wealth runs into problems sooner or later. It will stifle innovation and be open to further creeping tax takes in one form or another in the future. The rich will a find a way to continue avoiding a wealth tax meaning more government resources to catch them. Savings may suffer and then the wealthy start looking overseas to move assets and business.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300044327/the-crucial-feature-of-the-greens-wealth-tax-that-would-exempt-most-family-homes
But for me it boils down to an envy tax for wealthy people. Many who have built businesses and wealth up from scratch. I wouldn't have the cheek to tax the fruits of their labour.
That said you may have seen the headlines awhile back where some wealthy individuals said they should be paying more tax. I say good on them. That's what democracy should be about. Not all rich people are rich pricks.
Sooner or later the government always wants more. Even if only temporally.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-denmark-economy-idUSKBN23U1SE
https://inequality.org/research/sad-slide-equal-nation/
''Under this proposal, the total tax on an income of $40,000 would drop from $6,020 to $4,000, and the total tax on a $400,000 income would rise from $122,920 to $206,000.''
Yes, that certainly is one way to see it. But what's the evidence that supports the way you see it? Apart from some “rich pricks” avoiding paying their fair share of tax – that’s a given. [Btw, why do you call them “rich pricks“? Are you suggesting that being rich increases your chances of becoming a prick?]
For example, is envy relevant to Danish innovation? Are Danes queuing to leave home? According to this 31 March 2022 article, NZ is the 10th happiest country, but Denmark is stable in 2nd place.
And the happiest place on spaceship Earth, for the 5th year running? Finland, despite being next door to Russia – who would have thunk it!
Blade having a good supply of food for lunches so no one feels left out is more important than your bean counting solution which stigmatizes those who are hungry .Blade do you suggest that those poor parents all be trained to be better parents.That would require a massive investment of social workers fixing the housing crisis fixing the intergenerational neglect and abuse. Universal benefits require much less bearaucracy to implement. Malnurishment has longterm effects meaning society will pay more in the future from poor education poor health leading to multiple generations of poverty unrealised potentials. Blade you are Morally and emotionally aloof punish the poor for being poor for making poor decisions because of poor education coming from poor families. Logic type thinking is emotional aloofness a type of mental disorder where people don't care about their fellow human beings. Neo liberal economics plays one sector the money hoarders against those who don't have the luck to be born into a non dysfunctional well off lifstyle.Blaming the poor for being poor drag themselves up by their bootstraps when in reality less than 5% of people who are born into poverty break the cycle. Neo Liberal politicians use unemployment to control inflation then blame the unemployed for their predicament ,When the poor are being kept poor to make the economy run under this model!
Hey Blade next time you're at a supermarket judging what the poor can or can't have, do the world a solid favour and pull out your own card and pay for them.
And see if you can do it while keeping your mouth shut.
Hey, Ad. Who was judging? Just stating a fact from my perspective.
I am paying. No need to pull out my card. What have you ever given to charity? Probably like some socialists I know… when it's time for the the hat to go around, they are in the toilet having a dry one.
This is what a judgemental asshole sounds like when commenting on the poor:
And sometimes the food choices in those trollies are appalling. And worse, one off, very expensive items: eg naan bread or a tray of donuts. These aren't a good choice of food item for a struggling family.
Stick your facts up your ass and donate more instead.
If you think that's judgemental, that's how the poor feel with your eyes on them.
Blade, while searching for something to inflame readers of The Standard, settled upon this.
Tomorrow, it'll be something else of a similar nature, with similar intent and effect.
Bad faith player.
Well said, Robert.
True dat. Maybe useful as an occasional reminder of just how deceitful and self-serving a 'player' can be (reminiscent of Dirty Politics) – but every day?!!
Ah, Robert. Of course you would turn up. But with what?
''Blade, while searching for something to inflame readers of The Standard, settled upon this.''
As a matter of fact this problem is about to explode. That's a whole new generation of malcontents in the making. Maybe coming to a street near you.
Now child poverty was a mainstay of Labour's agenda. And they delivered big bucks to try and fix the problem. It hasn't worked. So what the hell is National going to do? And will the problem become any better.
''Tomorrow, it'll be something else of a similar nature, with similar intent and effect.''
What type of wankery is that meant to mean? You are a Letie, yet I see little empathy. This should be your patch of concern. Maybe because it only effects mainly brown kids in some cases.?
Give us some ideas, Robert. I have some. I doubt you have any.
''Tomorrow, it'll be something else of a similar nature, with similar intent and effect.''
"Just stating a fact from my perspective."
Ideas, Robert. Where are your ideas? I don't want deflections.
Well said Robert….I don't read his trash any more.
I'm surprised you read my trash in the first place.
Quite funny – a previously unseen aspect of your personality, Blade!
Geez, you are the biggest waste of space on this site. Yet people admire you. Now that's funny.
The defence will rest. Such anger and angst. Let's just keep the status quo..kapai. We can't criticise the poor…only rich pricks.
I thought this from you, Blade, was priceless!
"Hey, Ad. Who was judging? Just stating a fact from my perspective."
Well and weaselly done!
With regard your reply @ 11:59, I’ll quote you;
“What a worthless comment”
Well and weaselly done!
“What a worthless comment”
Boo hoo, "rich pricks" "can't criticise the poor" – 'priceless'. "Rich pricks" need hobbies, and some get off on kicking people while they're down, imho.
Really? Do link.
Yes. I can give you personal experiences if you want?
Quote:
''The Ka Ora, Ka Ako programme was first rolled out to primary schools with high levels of need in 2019. The funding was expanded to some high schools in 2020 and 2021, at a cost of $220.6 million over two years.''
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/125079039/thousands-of-taxpayerfunded-school-lunches-left-uneaten-by-students
Now, I need to ask myself a question: Am I being trolled, or is the ideological castle being challenged by barbarians at the gate. Probably the latter, leading to the former.
Thank you. That's helpful.
Such profound intellectual laziness you have.
You can check out the actual results from the programme here.
Ka Ora Ka Ako | Healthy School Lunches: interim report – Education in New Zealand
There's another evaluation coming out from the expanded programme as well.
Stuff's Act-led foolishness is the reddest of red herrings when the actual policy results are more young people are less hungry and are learning better.
It's not about the success or otherwise of the programme. And Julie Chapman has said it isn't working in many cases…. It's about the waste. Waste means a waste of taxpayers money and faults somewhere in the delivery of the programme.
Yeah, it's about the waste!
A sheep farm in Arabia, anyone? Or a flag referendum?
….or many tens of billions on roads. That is the real scandal about National.
Talk about dinosaurs.
What about waste?
The same accusations at the time were hurled at the flag referendum.
''https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/272446/flag-referendum-'waste-of-money''
You shot yourself in the arse, Tony. Only a Lefty can do that.
Yes it really is about the success of the programme.
Everything else is just media hype that fools like you buy into.
Every policy to the poor has waste, what matters isn't the waste.
It's how you help people.
And this programme is helping people by the hundred thousand.
Yeah , and if we cut the waste, a whole lot more poor folk can be helped. And once again, I remind you – ITS NOT THE GOVERNMENTS MONEY TO WASTE..IT'S OURS.
No it's not.
"Taxpayers don't own their taxes"
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/money/2021/01/analysis-government-funds-are-not-taxpayer-money-media-and-politicians-should-stop-confusing-the-two.html
semantics
noun
The fact is the people own the government…at least they should.
Utter BS again, we don’t “own the government” and neither “should” we. It’s clear why you must rely on TB talking points to form your ‘opinions’ because you have not the slightest clue of how things are in the real world, let alone how they should be. You live in a TB fantasy world in which the Wizard is called Mikey.
Incognito
Depends on how you see your government. I see it like these guys.
https://www.quora.com/Who-owns-the-government
Funny how a Leftie doesn't see it that way. But you guys do have some strange ideas.
Yup, doesn’t surprise me that a TB junkie uses Quora for ‘info’.
In your own words, if you can, which of the answers in Quora best describes the way you ‘see it’? I’m sure you have a favourite.
See my original statement then take your pick of comments.
You diss sites and information and talkback you don't like at your peril.
Nope, you’re wrong, I don’t diss the sites and TB, I diss the lazy unthinking army of braindead zombies who rely on them for their cognitive existence and I diss the maleficent malcontents who use the talking points and propaganda from those sites and TB for nefarious agendas and interests. Put it all on the table and let the sunshine in, is my motto.
You’re troll-like by refusing to point to an answer that reflects or represents the way you ‘see it’. So, you were just wasting my time with your link to Quora. Yup, definitely troll-like behaviour.
BTW, your concern about my peril is quite endearing but I can assure I’m fine.
Its a lot more fundamental than semantics. If the government is dependent on tax payers to provide the money then it would clearly be impossible to change currencies. Countries relatively recently have retired entire currencies and replaced them with new ones (for various reasons).
Consider the situation in France in 1999. At this time France has decided to adopt the Euro and replace the Franc. In your conception the government is a bit stuffed because nobody outside the government has any Euro in France. That's going to be a problem because you can't collect Euro from people who got none making adopting the Euro problematic.
Once we realize its government money however the way this works is simple to understand. The government will spend Euro, Tax in Euro and issue exchanges for Franc as the public wants. In fact this is what was implemented across multiple European countries at the same time.
Those lunches look unappealing, even if they have nutritional value.
It may be worth looking at successful lunch programmes to see what can be learnt. Universal lunch provision may also reduce social stigma.
French school dinners: https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/this-is-how-french-school-lunches-are-different/
Another article with some of the downsides:
https://karenlebillon.com/french-school-lunch-menus/
Great article, Molly. Something new has to be tried.
No, there are no signs of stigma just because not all schoolchildren don't get them.
No, the policy design isn't the same as for the French and neither is the menu.
Healthy school lunch programme pays off | PPTA
I understand that, Ad. And have downloaded the report from the link you've posted to read on another device. I did have a look at the summary though, and the measurement criteria.
I was posting the links because the French school lunch intention, implementation and experience seems to have a wider perspective that may be valuable to consider (from the 2nd link):
And, actually, in practice, sometimes they both look unappealing and are poor nutrition.
A friend who is a teacher at one of the schools with the free lunch programme, has been posting photos.
They hit a new low last week: 1 stale white bread bun, with a slice of processed cheese and a smear of jam (yes in the same bun). That was it.
The kids didn't eat it (not surprisingly, I wouldn't have).
The teachers did an emergency trip to the supermarket, and came back with bread, and peanut butter. So the kids had something in their tummies for the rest of the day.
There was a very nice brochure sent out to parents, describing (with pictures) what will be provided. However, the quality has been on a significant downwards spiral. And the quality checks that the Ministry are supposed to carry out — have been completely absent.
Look, I know (believe me, I know), feeding kids is tricky. One week they're all over tomato and cheese sandwiches, the next they turn their noses up at exactly the same thing.
But, providing a basic wholemeal bread sandwich with a decent filling, isn't rocket science – and doesn't need to cost the earth. Mandarins are cheap at this time of year, as are kiwifruit. One in each lunchbox is a quick and easy way to get some vitamins (especially Vitamin C at this time of year) into the kids.
I get the feeling that some of the contractors are making a healthy profit, and the kids aren't getting a healthy meal.
From your own link Blade
"Schools either gave spare lunches to kids to take home or sent them to local foodbanks, so the programme wasn’t wasteful"
Initially It was. That's the problem. And if you believe all schools give unwanted spare lunches away you are dreaming. We are talking double handling and poor focusing on individual school needs.
Your opinion is incorrect Blade. Another example from your link "Crawford and Walters send surplus lunches to community centres, where any member of the public can pick them up that afternoon"
Some supermarkets do self police what comes to the check out. I know a loved one always made sure she was buying essentials when she was given food grants. She made sure she bought items she couldn't normally cover in her benefit such as kitchen spray cleaning or vitamins anything too expensive to fit in her normal supermarket shop. Granted she thought the checkout tellers were "nazis" but accepted it.
Yes, I have noticed policing of food grants is different depending on the supermarket. My local supermarket caters to the low earner /beanie demographic. They can buy whatever they want. However, that may be because the people that frequent my local aren't the type you say no to. The bash is always a possibility. So maybe they just take the path of least resistance. I don't know. However, if all supermarkets are meant to be limiting what a food grant can purchase, I believe that needs to be enforced.
And maybe do away with benefit payments altogether, and have a central hub that pays for everything? A bureaucratic nightmare at present to implemented for sure. But if you consider we are close to becoming a cashless society, it would be an easy step in future.
BTW – was your loved one using the old paper food grant transaction, or did they have the much easier card system? The old system could hold a line of shoppers up for ages while everything was checked.
For pete's sakes, do you hear yourself Blade?
Yes, I'm hearing myself. But I'm hearing nothing from you.
Then you appear to have no self awareness. Obviously you are hearing something from me Blade, or else you wouldn't be replying. One wonders if you spend your time skulking around supermarket checkouts. It's clear that what you want to do is police what beneficiaries receive and what they spend their money on, because you are under the delusion that beneficiaries are spending your money. Well, it's not your money and what people spend their money on is none of your business.
Yes, it's my money…taxpayers money. I have a right to stick my nose in. Stop playing your silly games. This WAS a socialist paradise. But not anymore.
''One wonders if you spend your time skulking around supermarket checkouts.''
''It's called situational awareness. And no, I don't skulk around supermarkets. I have better things to do. That you haven't noticed what I notice means you are half asleep…as your comments show.''
No, it is not your money Blade, as I have already explained to you in another post. Obviously you don't have better things to do and you have no right to stick your nose into someone else's business.
So is an independent judiciary and juries. So is having a general election every three years. So is having a free press. Your point?
Well, let's use an example:
A garage mechanic is spilling 150mls of oil every time he does an oil change. That's a lot of oil depending on how many cars he services in a working week. That's money down the drain that could be used for other garage essentials or expenses.
Solution: sack the mechanic if he's at fault. However, if he's spilling oil because of the way the garage is configured, or because he has to follow guidelines on how the oil change must be done, then those hinderances must be removed or altered to streamline the operation, stop wastage and save money.
Except that public social services are nothing like small private businesses and it would be supremely ridiculous to compare the two.
No it wouldn't. Household budgets and efficiencies apply in principle across the board. Sort it out…not by increasing bureaucrats. But by holding them responsible for the jobs they do.
Since you seem so concerned with food waste:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_waste_in_New_Zealand
https://www.wasteminz.org.nz/about/sector-groups/behaviour-change/national-food-waste-prevention-project/
https://environment.govt.nz/what-government-is-doing/areas-of-work/waste/reducing-food-waste/
https://www.mpi.govt.nz/food-business/running-a-food-business/reducing-food-waste-tips-for-businesses/
Wag your finger at those spoiled little brats at school who won’t eat their provided lunches, courtesy of the Taxpayer. Perhaps they should learn how precious food is and the resources that go into producing and transporting it and perhaps they should learn to minimise and manage waste; don’t they teach them anything useful at school nowadays??
I agree with the your last paragraph. The little brats haven't time to be taught how precious food is because climate change, Maori culture and other environmental issues are being taught.
Therefore, let's check where the money is going from government, and the criteria to distribution of free food lunches in school. Then cut out or cut back on schools wasting kai ( maybe make kids a accountable). For example my nephew attends what would be a decile 8 school. He forgoes his substantial breakfast and lunch available from his home in favour of a three course meal at school. These schools should be cut from the free food programme for starters.
"The little brats haven't time to be taught how precious food is because…"
Shouldn't your "little brats" be taught "how precious food is" at home, by their parent/s/care-givers?
I imagined you to be the "personal responsibility" kind.
Aren't you a 3 "R"s Brash-o-phile?
What did your little brats learn.. slicing mung beans to make a meal go further.
Was that your second attempt at humour?
Please use the "humour" tag.
Makes it easier to tell.
Since when does central government provide 3-course meals to decile 8 or any decile schools?
Sounds like you’re making up shit again.
Of course, kids are too busy during their lunch breaks with learning about CC, Māori culture, and other environmental issues to focus time on food. These kids have such limited attention span, can only focus on one thing at a time, that they use talkback as their main source of ‘information’ later in life.
You obviously haven’t raised any children yourself because you’d know that home-packed lunches (not so much the snacks, funnily enough) often come back home unfinished and sometimes even untouched. That’s what afternoon tea and fridges are for, brilliant inventions!
Let the waste minimisation and management start at home, continue at school, and last a lifetime. A bit like learning, really. You didn’t click on any of the links, clearly.
Um, no, they literally don't. A government budget is nothing at all like a household budget. That's a ridiculous assertion. Governments can create legal fiat currency backed by natural resources and labour, and it can license banks to create credit, which does the same thing. Countries have been doing this for centuries – households can't. And unlike a business a state can't just fire non-productive units – well, they can, but that would be a crime against humanity.
Furthermore bureaucrats perform actual functions and are too busy to also have to put up with the kind of performance assessments you are suggesting, because that would give them even less time to do their jobs, making them even less efficient.
This from Google.
''Are government and household budgets the same?
But the spending goals of governments and households are simply not the same. The purpose of a government budget is to help the entire economy, whereas a household budget is mainly concerned with its own financial situation.''
You are quite correct with some of your assertions. However, both government and households have the following in common:
How is the government similar to households?
Much like households, governments have regular income and expenditures. They both take on outside debt and if their debts get too high, they can get into trouble. But unlike households, governments can, and do, print money. Governments also have the power to change their income levels by raising taxes.
I wrote:
'' Household budgets and efficiencies apply in principle across the board.''
For example, apart from the obvious similarities, households can act in a limited way like a government.
''Governments also have the power to change their income levels.''
So do households if you think about it. Take on boarders for example.
Of course there are differences like tax take and printing money.
Of late I have come to consider that government finances are indeed more like a households than not, despite the constant refrain that they are not (methinks they protest too much)….while governments may have the ability to theoretically 'print' money while households do not, the consequences of abusing this are the same as for a household that overindulges on credit….perhaps the real difference between households and governments is not so much in the field of finance but rather in the ability to enforce its will….. so long as it can.
Depends on how you see your government. I see it like these guys.
https://www.quora.com/Who-owns-the-government
Funny how a Leftie doesn't see it that way. But you guys do have some strange ideas.
Whoops,wrong reply pat. Try this one:
''Perhaps the real difference between households and governments is not so much in the field of finance but rather in the ability to enforce its will….. so long as it can.''
Very true.
You're diversion trolling. The healthy school lunches programme is nothing like running an SME, they're completely different in scope, intent, and implementation. Private households are a different thing yet again.
Blade: while you're here: you’ve sparked my interest with what you wrote earlier about your organic farm and your use of rock-dust, seawater, lawn-clippings and biochar for making your 10 acres fertile. It’s your biochar that I’d like to ask you about, if I may.
Where do you get it from? How much do you need for your 10 acres and how do you apply it? I’ve read about the value of biochar and some of the historical uses. You mentioned “activating” your biochar before applying it; how do you do that? It all sounds innovative and exciting!
'I'm sorry, Robert. I gave you my best before; wasted my precious time on you. And my reward was you shat on me. I like to think I learn from my mistakes. It’s a pity because I have a real passion for this stuff and I like helping those out who have a similar passion.
I see you're posting with a swollen "E", Blade.
Sad that you can't bring yourself to share your intimate knowledge of those subtle organic practices you employ. Who knows what else you get up to on the farm that would be of interest to other gardeners and farmers here on The Standard. Your use of vortex technology for potentising water for your crops sounded fascinating! Oh, that we could hear more about that! And deploying rock dust as a long-term, slow-release fertiliser – how forward-thinking that sounds! Then topping-up your nutrient applications with sea-water! Wowsers!
Our loss, I suppose. No-one would have expressed their incredulity, had they know you'd take such offence to being tested that way.
Hei aha (I slipped that in because of your Maori heritage).
Redlogix seems to be a man of knowledge around these things. He may be able to help you.
Cheers, Blad.
"Sort it out…not by increasing bureaucrats. But by holding them responsible for the jobs they do."
Please refrain from making sensible comments like this on here. Now go wash your mouth out………they must not be held to account. It is not the Labour way.
"Kerre said the government has pumped millions into this problem…where has the money gone?"
Clearly not into anything that actually achieves results. But then this government has form for 'pumping' money into problems and getting little in the way of results.
Kerre said very little and was clearly fishing. Fortunately, her guest, Julie Chapman of KidsCan was very professional and didn’t take the obvious bait and she made a few good points. It was actually not too bad an interview.
As for results, well, don’t let a few facts get in the way of Blade’s and your narrative:
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/government-delivering-improvements-children%E2%80%99s-lives
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/government-lifts-66500-children-out-poverty
Press releases from the PM?
"The principal of Henderson Intermediate, Wendy Esera, has been in education for 44 years and says student poverty is the worst she's seen."
I doubt the PM would know student poverty if it bit her on the arse.
In fact, she cites exactly that as the reason she came to politics:
https://www.nowtolove.co.nz/celebrity/celeb-news/jacinda-arderns-country-childhood-2894
True, maybe I was a bit harsh. Maybe she does care. That doesn't change what people on the ground (like Wendy Esera) are observing.
Press releases by Government, to be more precise. You know, that lot that has the big picture.
I also listened to the podcast and heard what Julie Chapman said. Funnily enough, she did acknowledge the Government report. You may have missed it, in your rush.
Sure, press releases from government.
I agree with your comment that it was not a bad interview. But people like Wendy Esera are clearly seeing a different picture than is being presented by the governments spin.
Unlike some I don’t see it as “different” and as a binary; both views are valid and they’re complementary; they’re literally different PoVs. Julie Chapman also agreed with Esera’s comments. This is not just semantics and I genuinely believe that Esera, Chapman, the PM and many (?) in Government would agree on most things and could come to a very good understanding amongst themselves because they have very similar goals, i.e., common ground. Kerre was the odd one out or tried to play the Devil’s advocate, but she was not convincing.
Edit: big picture, small picture.
Not true to suggest nothing has been done Gypsy, for example, "More than 380,000 primary mental wellbeing sessions have been delivered and more than 900 additional FTEs are working to support mental wellbeing in the community"
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/next-steps-specialist-mental-health-and-addiction-services
From the article:
"A review has found no change in access to specialist mental health services in five years despite the Government's $1.9 billion cash injection in 2019. The review has also found that one-in-five people in New Zealand are not followed up after discharge from acute inpatient mental health units."
"… that just five new places for acute mental health patients had been added since 2019…"
"…it also highlighted a lack of accountability over the package, with different agencies focussing on their area, without a cohesive overarching plan to work together."
"More than 380,000 primary mental wellbeing sessions have been delivered and more than 900 additional FTEs" is significant and are facts Gypsy, the claim that nothing has been done is false, also the $1.9b allocation is for four years, and it’s only two years in.
"Matt Doocey and the National Party have a lot to answer for because of their nine years of neglect to the mental health system."
Little said the money is being spent and it is making a difference.
"Of the $1.9 billion, about $800 million of it went to a variety of other Government departments – Corrections, Education, and the Ministry of Social Development to do a range of mental health things for their area.
"For the Ministry of Health, the $1.1 billion they've got, over a four year period nearly half a billion dollars is going into what we call the Access and Choice program. Two years into that program we've added 850 full-time equivalent roles or people to the frontline of mental health.
"It is simply not correct for people like Matt Doocey and others to say the money is going nowhere. It is going all over the place and it is making a difference."
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2022/03/andrew-little-defends-government-after-report-finds-no-change-in-access-to-acute-mental-health-services-despite-1-9-billion-boost.html
I'm not sure who claimed 'nothing has been done'. In mental health, as in other areas, this government seems quite adept at spending a lot of money but getting little in the way of results.
If you don't accept what I'm saying, perhaps you'll take the word of Andrew Little himself:
"Health Minister Andrew Little has admitted the Ministry of Health "has struggled to achieve as much as we would have liked them to" on mental health after a review highlighted lack of accountability."
"Health Minister Andrew Little says he is "extraordinarily" frustrated at the slow pace of the Government's $1.9 billion mental health package announced in 2019."
As usual, your comments are so misleading that they border on being disingenuous.
Allocating government funds ≠ spending government funds
"In mental health, as in other areas, this government seems quite adept at allocating and/or spending a lot of money but getting little in the way of results."
Happy now?
Which is not true Gypsy.
Yep, it as. As demonstrated in this example by their own Minister's frustration.
No it's not, as I have shown in my responses to you.
Why did it take 2 years to spend 0.2% of the allocation?
Happy now??
Why would I be? Because you stop your misleading comments and become an honest debater who acts in good faith and whose comments I can trust?
Your comment is just another pathetic attempt at painting the Government in a bad light; it’s essentially meaningless, but good for a negative vibe, which is the gist of almost all your comments here.
"Your comment is just another pathetic attempt at painting the Government in a bad light; it’s essentially meaningless, but good for a negative vibe, which is the gist of almost all your comments here."
I'm not sure why you find this surprising, the current government has been particularly woeful over the last 12 months.
I find it surprising that so many of the commenters continue to be so supportive of the current lot despite their poor performance.
Really? Where did I say that I find it surprising that Gypsy is doing his usual BS?
You find it surprising because you conflate anti-government propaganda and robust criticism of government. You also conflate commenters who don’t swallow the usual BS from RWs with devoted supporters of government who dare not speak poorly of said government.
No wonder that some deluded dimwits say that it is “tribal”, FFS; it is truly an idiotic argument.
Pointing out that the government spent 0.2% of an allocation in 2 years may be 'meaningless' to you, but it is a pattern of wasteful and/or ineffective spending by this government.
You didn’t point out any such thing in your comment @ 3:24 pm. It was another broad-brush pathetic swipe at Government without any substance or content matter. It was bumper sticker BS: cheap, lazy, sticky, and unseemly.
Allocating ≠ spending
You’re clutching at straws; the money will be spent, in due course, or it will be re-allocated, as and when required by the circumstances. That’s what prudent governments do.
"the money will be spent, in due course"
The government has spent 0.2% of the total allocation in 2 years.
Andrew Little said he was ""extraordinarily" frustrated that despite making commitments and setting aside funding they seemed to be a "long way behind actually getting a shovel in the ground".
and
"I am still trying to understand why. I am not expecting facilities to be completed or fully staffed but we seem to be a long way behind actually getting a shovel in the ground."
And then:
"Newshub also reported on Monday the lack of spending had seen just five extra acute mental health beds been added, with patients forced to sleep on mattresses on the floor because there were no mental health beds left. Little said this situation was "not acceptable".
Despite your impressive copy & pasta and formatting skills your reply lacks substance or an argument that can be responded to.
Fail
" broad-brush pathetic swipe at Government without any substance or content matter. "
You didn't link to my comment, but I assume you mean my accusations of wasteful/ineffective spending. There are plenty of examples:
Government pays up to $600k for prime Auckland office space to lie empty | Stuff.co.nz
Billion-dollar Transmission Gully opening ceremony cost $337,000 | Stuff.co.nz
Revealed: Kāinga Ora spent over $24m of taxpayer money in four years on its own office renovations | Newshub
Ministry of Social Development Zoom job expos: Taxpayers fork out more than $800,000, only 126 people attend – NZ Herald
The 'ridiculous' amount Waka Kotahi spent on two big red prop 'zeros' – NZ Herald
Government blames COVID-19 for 46 percent increase in communications staff | Newshub
I didn’t link to your comment because I replied to it, as you can see from the nesting and from the start of my reply, which was the end of your comment to which I replied, i.e., Happy now?
Too hard for you to connect the dots?
Yours was this one (https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-21-06-2022/#comment-1895979) @ 3:24 pm, and as you can see, it was so generalised that it would just about cover any accusation one could aim at Government, which was entirely your intention, of course.
And here you’ve taken the opportunity again, as usual, to list your litany of anti-government headlines and other dirt that you could throw at them. No commentary, no explanation, no argument, just scrolls of negativity, which you call “examples”. Your pointless point scoring is tedious and doesn’t add anything of value nor does it contribute to discussion.
Fail
"So, stop playing games here."
You're the one playing games. Small minded games, that avoid answering the real question of why 0.2% of the allocation has been spent and no more.
Why the fuck should I have to answer your questions about that spending? It started with your misleading and disingenuous comment @ 3.6.2.1.1.1 (https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-21-06-2022/#comment-1895969), remember?
You’d expect to see results from 0.2% spent since it had been allocated and then whinge & moan that it is “wasteful and/or ineffective spending by this government” because there are not as many results yet as you’d wish while there still is 99.8% to be spent, obviously. As Louis has already pointed out repeatedly, there are results and things are happening in this space. But as usual, you ignore, deny, and obfuscate, because it doesn’t suit your anti-government narrative.
So, now you move the goalposts from poor/wasteful spending to ‘why has it not been spent yet’. Clutching at straws to get your hit.
The real question is why you’re such a disingenuous commenter here who’s playing games all the fucking time.
"Why the fuck should I have to answer your questions about that spending?"
Because that would show you have honest intent, rather than coming in and trying to shut down the discussion.
"It started with your misleading and disingenuous comment @ 3.6.2.1.1.1 (https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-21-06-2022/#comment-1895969), remember?"
That comment is neither misleading or disingenuous.
"You’d expect to see results from 0.2% spent since it had been allocated and then whinge & moan…"
I'd expect to see results, because I'd expect to see more than 0.2% spent in 2 years. And the Minister agrees with me.
Nice try, but no, I’m not trying to shut down discussion but rather the opposite, I’m trying to keep it honest and in good faith. You’re playing games here and not engaging in good faith, which is why you and I butt heads and why I’m trying you steer you back on track or I will (no try) shut down your playing games.
Yes, your comment @ 3.6.2.1.1.1 (https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-21-06-2022/#comment-1895969) was misleading and disingenuous, as we have already established, and you agreed with my assessment because you corrected your comment @ 3:24 pm (https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-21-06-2022/#comment-1895979) signing off with Happy now?
We all expect results and I believe most if not all of us are underwhelmed by and disappointed with the little progress so far, and that indeed includes the Minister although you worded that really poorly. More money will be spent (cf. mental health allocations in Budget-2022; I’ll spare you the Government press releases because you seem to have developed such an aversion to them) and more results are coming, with time.
"No commentary, no explanation, no argument"
I gave all the commentary that was needed.
"You didn't link to my comment, but I assume you mean my accusations of wasteful/ineffective spending. There are plenty of examples:"
No doubt it's hard for you to swallow.
What you did @ 5:29 pm (https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-21-06-2022/#comment-1896020) is known as link-spamming, which is warned against in this site’s Policy. It’s often used by trolls and others who don’t want to engage or are too lazy to put their own arguments in writing. Here, it can be a reason for banning. But you already know this.
My swallow reflex has nothing to do with your inability to follow the flow of comments here. It’s a sad diversion attempt on your behalf.
It’s funny how your wrong assumption gave you the self-invitation to go off on another rant-list of headlines pretending this is the ‘discussion’ I’m trying to shut down.
Fail
There you go again. Why would Kerre say “Kerre said”? I didn't quote Kerre, I quoted Blade. Hence the italics.
And Blade quoted/paraphrased Kerre, so you indirectly quoted/paraphrased Kerre, or are you simply quoting Blade now for his opinions only, which he gets from TB, BTW? Stop playing games here.
I didn't quote Kerre, I quoted Blade, and only to point to the part of his comment I was responding to. So chill.
Yeah, you quoted Blade who quoted Kerre, we agree on this, and you agreed with Blade and Kerre’s opinion. You happened to point to the part of Blade’s comment where he quoted Kerre. And you copied & pasted it too @ 3.6; the italics are irrelevant. So, stop playing games here.
"you diverted the convo to KB,"
Yep. Because it was directly relevant to Louis 'let's hold our breath' argument.
"is known as link-spamming"
Really? Ok, I'll do one at a time.
Do you think it's a good idea to spend "up to $600,000 in rent for an empty high-end waterfront commercial office meant to house the project headquarters for the cancelled bike bridge over the Waitematā Harbour."? And that for a lease that began "three weeks before the Government scrapped the proposed $785 million Northern Pathway project in October.'?
Now what category would you put that into? Wasteful? Ineffective? Good grief it's probably both.
And then to top it off, Sam Stubbs gave the 2020 'Wastie' award to the $51m spent on 'consultants' for the same project.
He wrote this:
"But the ridiculousness (and ugliness) of a separate cycle bridge over Auckland Harbour was obvious the day it was announced. Even the most flattering illustration couldn’t make it look like anything more than a hurried afterthought. A Newshub poll showed over 80 per cent of the public opposed the idea. But the bureaucrats in charge thought they knew better, which is presumably why they bought five houses in Northcote Point in preparation for its construction."
They bought 5 houses FFS!
Defend that.
You created a diversion away from the topic of discussion to a different one that has undergone a reset.
All commenters are expected to have read, understood and abide by this site’s Policy; it’s at the top of each and every OM:
You’re creating another diversion here. Why don’t you stick to the topic and when you’ve run out of arguments you just go to bed.
I don’t need to defend any of your strawmen. You need to stay on course.
"You’re creating another diversion here."
Nope. The topic has been on government spending money and not getting results, or wasteful/ineffective spending. You've spent a hell of a lot of time engaging in a diversion if you think it is one.
"I don’t need to defend any of your strawmen."
Ha! You need to look up the definition of straw man. Or maybe try to engage in good faith by trying to explain how the government you're defending could spend $600k on office space, $51m on consultants and buy 5 houses for a project it canned!
That’s correct and you linked it to mental health spending and Louis responded to that @ 3.6.2. You went along nicely until you suddenly and out of the blue decided to divert away to KB in the middle of the tread on mental health spending. In fact, you made a whole song & dance musical over the 0.2% spent so far.
I don’t need to defend your strawmen nor engage with them. It is part of your diversion strategy, a gish gallop of gaslighting gripes.
"Exactly, “was”, past tense and before the Great Reset."
Are you suggesting Kiwibuild is no longer about Home Ownership?
See link from Louis to Megan Woods piece. We have been over this and you’re still not getting it? It begs the question why not?
"You went along nicely until you suddenly and out of the blue decided to divert away to KB in the middle of the tread on mental health spending."
The KB comment was entirely relevant. It went to the heart of the comment Louis made about the mental health plan being a 4 year spend. I likened that comment to KB being a 10 year plan to build 100,000 homes. It’s not an unreasonable comparison.
Nope, KB and mental health spending have nothing in common other than being Government initiatives. This doesn’t excuse your diversions whenever you choose to and/or whenever it suits you; it’s a whateboutery variant. One plan is in progress, the other is still in progress after a major reset. Both are delivering results.
"See link from Louis to Megan Woods piece. "
Are you suggesting Kiwibuild is no longer about home ownership. It's a simple question.
And you already know the answer.
"Nope, KB and mental health spending have nothing in common other than being Government initiatives. "
In the context of Louis' comment, the thing they have in common is government failure. The spending of only 0.2% of an allocation when we have a mental health crisis is very similar to only building 1362 out of 100,000 houses promised when we have a housing crisis.
That has already been countered too and you’re simply parroting your own headlines again: Government failure and crises – just negative narratives from you. The only ‘similarities’ are your enormous umbrella of negativity and antipathy towards the current Government. Things are in progress, things are happening, results are being and will be delivered. No failure but developments with adjustments and recalibration along the way – that’s life. Tough for you to swallow, I realise.
"And you already know the answer."
Yep.
"KiwiBuild is enabling more home ownership opportunities for New Zealanders."
KiwiBuild works in two key ways:
KiwiBuild is here to enable and complement the private residential housing sector, not compete with it.
Why did you have to ask then?? Still playing games?
"No failure but developments with adjustments and recalibration along the way – that’s life."
Good spin.
The 'adjustments and recalibrations' began years before Labour won the 2017 election, and just over a year after being elected Labour the great reset began. ("What soon becomes known as the KiwiBuild "reset" goes on and on through early 2019.")
Labour were given plenty of warnings about aspects of Kiwibuild but they pressed on out of a combination of hubris and political expediency.
And the result? By June 2022 they said they would have built 28,000 homes. They have built 1365.
And you don't think that's failure?
"I'm not sure why you find this surprising, the current government has been particularly woeful over the last 12 months.
I find it surprising that so many of the commenters continue to be so supportive of the current lot despite their poor performance."
It's tribal, and typical of the residual hard core in both major political parties.
Quoting Blade's like going to sea in a boat made from candy-floss.
Kerre's opinion is not fact and so if you accept an acknowledgement by the minister at being frustrated at the pace, why cant you accept the following quote
"Matt Doocey and the National Party have a lot to answer for because of their nine years of neglect to the mental health system."
Little said the money is being spent and it is making a difference.
"Of the $1.9 billion, about $800 million of it went to a variety of other Government departments – Corrections, Education, and the Ministry of Social Development to do a range of mental health things for their area.
"For the Ministry of Health, the $1.1 billion they've got, over a four year period nearly half a billion dollars is going into what we call the Access and Choice program. Two years into that program we've added 850 full-time equivalent roles or people to the frontline of mental health.
"It is simply not correct for people like Matt Doocey and others to say the money is going nowhere. It is going all over the place and it is making a difference." (See 3.6.2.1.1 for the link).
An interesting note: 5700 medical workers, drs and nurses were brought into the country when the border was closed.
https://ondemand.parliament.nz/parliament-tv-on-demand/?itemId=226213
"Kerre's opinion is not fact…"
Irrelevant. I haven't put forward Kerre's opinion as fact. I haven’t put Kerre’s opinion forward to justify anything I have said.
"Little said the money is being spent and it is making a difference."
Why was only 0.2% of the money spent in 2 years?
If you thought Kerre's opinion was "irrelevant" why then did you link to Kerre's opinion in another one of your posts?
It's a 4 yr plan Gypsy.
I didn't link to Kerre's opinion. I linked to, and quoted directly, a comment by Wendy Esera.
"It's a 4 yr plan Gypsy."
You mean like Kiwibuild was a 10 year plan?
There you go again, @ 3.6 (https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-21-06-2022/#comment-1895759) you quoted Kerre directly and you used it as your usual stepping stone to promote your anti-government agenda.
Incognito
See Incognito's response to you and yes, KB was a 10 yr plan, there's been a reset and the govt have, so far, also built thousands of state and transitional housing as well, with more currently under construction.
"we have added over 9,000 warm, dry public homes to the stock – with over 7,400 of them being brand new builds. We have also supported the addition of more than 3,500 transitional homes (a mix of government and community housing provider-led builds)"
https://thespinoff.co.nz/opinion/01-06-2022/megan-woods-kiwibuild-is-alive-and-well
"KB was a 10 yr plan, there's been a reset and the govt have, so far, also built thousands of state and transitional housing as well, with more currently under construction."
The 'reset' was the result of the failure of the scheme. The state houses built are not kiwibuild.
No, you're wrong Gypsy, any housing built after the National govt left an unprecedented housing crisis I would consider a success.
Did you miss this on purpose?
https://thespinoff.co.nz/opinion/01-06-2022/megan-woods-kiwibuild-is-alive-and-well
"No, you're wrong Gypsy,"
From your own source:
"So far 1,365 New Zealand families are in KiwiBuild homes, and another 856 are currently under construction."
That was June 2022. The original scheme was to build 100,000 in 10 years. The scheme might be alive, but it's on life support.
And then there's this:
"So, how many Government Ministers does it take to build 1000 KiwiBuild Houses?
3
1 to say it won’t be done
1 to say it will be done
1 to say ‘I’m not sure we ever said it would be done‘"
@ 4:16 pm (https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-21-06-2022/#comment-1895996) you diverted the convo to KB, an all-time favourite for RWs who are still stuck in the past before the Great Reset.
Instead of acknowledging the modest but undeniable progress to date you post silly slants from three and half years ago again demonstrating that you’re not commenting here in good faith.
Fail
That pathetic joke shows you're struggling Gypsy. It hasn't been 10 years yet and there has been a reset.
But why ignore the following Gypsy? it's part of this govt's massive building plan that includes Kiwibuild.
"we have added over 9,000 warm, dry public homes to the stock – with over 7,400 of them being brand new builds. We have also supported the addition of more than 3,500 transitional homes (a mix of government and community housing provider-led builds)"
Also
https://kaingaora.govt.nz/developments-and-programmes/what-were-building/large-scale-projects/
"it's part of this govt's massive building plan that includes Kiwibuild."
Kiwibuild was not about social/state housing. Kiwibuild was about home ownership. So far they've built 1365 out of 100,000.
Exactly, “was”, past tense and before the Great Reset.
How long are you going to keep your in head in the sand and ignore that the world has moved on and that things have changed? As long as it suits your narrative?
State + transitional + kiwibuild = Govt's massive building program, the largest in decades.
Remember National sold off state housing during a housing crisis and overall left a housing shortage of 71,000
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/mbie-figures-show-nationwide-housing-shortage-of-71000/55NUUYNFWZA3OJTTDCHF7W3T4I/
May of this year: "Stats NZ said never before had New Zealand exceeded 50,000 consents issued in a year – and most consents result in new buildings"
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/new-housing-consents-issued-smash-records-as-we-go-over-50000-for-the-first-time/XCOZYPW3GLDFUAG6KLB3ZV224A/#:~:text=Four%20regions%20had%20record%20numbers,2506%2C%20up%2034%20per%20cent.
New Zealand’s housing supply shortage is finally being addressed with a huge residential building boom
https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/real-estate/127201554/could-we-be-building-too-many-houses
"State + transitional + kiwibuild = Govt's massive building program, the largest in decades."
Yes + kiwibuild. Which is about home ownership.
Too massive for you to fully comprehend or just unwilling to accept a different truth?
Kiwibuild is PART of the govt's housing building program Gypsy.
The massive building program is not just about state and transitional housing, it is also about home ownership.
"Kiwibuild is PART of the govt's housing building program Gypsy."
The government promised to build 100,000 houses over 10 years for private ownership. By June 2022 they said they would have built 28,000 homes. They have built 1365. You can spin that anyway you choose, the government can 'reset' all it likes, but it's failure by any measure.
Like I said Gypsy, there has been a reset, which you can't dismiss because it doesn't suit you and any homes built after National left a housing crisis would be a success. Example, from your link, "Developments like Panmure in Auckland that include KiwiBuild are seen as a success: not just new homes, but a whole new way of living" "the success the Government has had in other areas of housing policy"
National promised more affordable homes, promised to build thousands of new state houses by selling off 8000 existing houses would you believe but delivered an unprecedented housing crisis instead. National also didn't deliver on it's later promise to build 34,000 homes in Auckland either.
"Fletcher Building chairman's praise for KiwiBuild
KiwiBuild may have failed to hit its targets, but it has brought about a culture change in the building industry, according to Fletcher Building's chairman. "It has focused the industry around affordable housing,"
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/117846966/fletcher-building-chairmans-praise-for-kiwibuild
"Simon Wilson: In praise of Government's KiwiBuild housing scheme"
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/simon-wilson-in-praise-of-governments-kiwibuild-housing-scheme/SP5U4XGB4OAAFXEA6MAZ56I2OM/
"An interesting note: 5700 medical workers, drs and nurses were brought into the country when the border was closed."
Do you have a link to the data (apart from the whole Parliamentary session)?
It seems surprising, as only 300 MIQ spaces were set aside per month for health workers (from November 21), and there were several articles about those places not being full (as the workers couldn't get through the Immigration system). I don't see how they could have got to 5,700.
Just the link to the PM's Q/A, duration: 8 mins 35secs.
Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: We currently have 20,000 nurses registered but not practising in New Zealand. One of the issues that has been raised with us when we went out and consulted is a concern that if we did not attach to the residency pathway the requirement to keep working in nursing, there may be a loss of that nursing workforce. The point is to take stress
Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I'm not going to name individual district health boards but the stats do demonstrate that we have a higher movement rate for those who have come in as migrants into the nursing workforce than the general nursing workforce. Can I also point out that this is on top of the work that we've already been doing to bring in critical purpose visas for health workers? We have had, even while our borders were closed, 5,700 critical purpose visas for health roles since COVID. We have been recruiting offshore. At the same time, we've had the Return to Nursing Workforce Support Fund to try to bring back some of those 20,000 who are trained as nurses but are currently not working as nurses. We've had the general nurses campaign; the New Entry to Practice Programme, which had $25 million put in in 2019; and we have increased our nursing workforce, as a Government, by 15 percent. We have focused on turning around an understaffed health workforce, and we continue to do so.
https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/hansard-debates/rhr/combined/HansDeb_20220622_20220622_12
Here would be a fun job for the new South Island water entity: take over the assets of the Kurow-Duntroon Irrigation Company.
Irrigation firm owes more than $50 million | Otago Daily Times Online News (odt.co.nz)
This lot were up to their eyeballs in debt to Waitaki District Council and Crown Irrigation Investments Ltd (Set up under Key to massively expand dairy irrigation).
Of course the shareholders might be able to finesse some kind of re-financing.
But what a great opportunity for the new Crown water entity to take over 5,500 hectares of irrigation and invite good farmers to farm for high profit and high sustainability.
Intensive dairy farming in that part of the country is not sustainable. Hence irrigating and fertilising like mad.
Intensive dairy farming is not sustainable anywhere in the country.
It needs to be constantly propped up and mopped up wherever it is located.
https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/the-country/id1305527677
On those numbers it looks like the state will end up owning the irrigation scheme …not a bad outcome.
It's great countryside round there – plenty of options beyond dairy if you've got a bit of water. Half the battle though, might be to aim for smaller multicrop farms, rather than unrelieved pastoral or vineyard or forestry.
Smaller farms in Korea often have rice fields, a couple of paddocks of table grapes, an enoki or shitake mushroom field, and a handful of hand raised cows – not so much a monoculture.
Meet Vice President-elect of Colombia Francia Márquez.
When Colombians elected their first leftist president ever on Sunday, they also elected the country’s first Black vice president: Francia Marquez, a single mother who worked as a maid before challenging international mining interests as a fiery environmentalist. Her victory marks a turning point in a country plagued by social inequalities and historically governed by conservative elites.
https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20220620-francia-marquez-from-maid-to-colombia-s-first-black-vice-president
Thanks, joe90 – this is interesting and encouraging news indeed!
Great news Joe. I travelled in Colombia for over 4 months 10 years ago and boy do they ever need a leftist president to spread the wealth.
Mind you we need a wealth tax here too.
She is the real deal and could be the actual nail that fixes shut US military hijinx in arming drug cartels against poor Colombians. All that is left now is for Lula to take back Brazil. This will be a tough nut to crack with the US potentially focused on keeping Bolsonara in charge
Nearly $500 million US aid last year says she'll make all the right noises but in reality, do the bare minimum.
For those interested in local government, and grass roots community organisations, Inspiring Communities is a good resource to sign up for:
https://inspiringcommunities.org.nz/
Tomorrow's webinar panellists: Penny Hulse, Jill Day, Sam Broughton
https://inspiringcommunities.org.nz/ic_webinar/locally-led-matters-harnessing-the-power-of-collaborative-local-leadership/
German PPI ( primary producers index) inflation goes through the roof,hitting 33.6% with electricity inflation over 90% as well as key agriculture inputs.
https://twitter.com/Schuldensuehner/status/1538776502099136513?cxt=HHwWgsCyxe3E6toqAAAA
To alleviate the crisis,the German energy minister (green party) has asked for the decrease in electricity generation in Gas (to allow for reserves to be sustained for winter) and asked for the increased generation by coal thermal plants.
https://twitter.com/SStapczynski/status/1538486511502389249?cxt=HHwWgsCjnZfV5tkqAAAA
The UK and Austria have also reinstated coal fired generation.
The German payment of 15B euros to subsidise the thermals,is twice the forex reserves of Pakistan which cannot afford the high spot rates for LNG forced by European demand.Hence Pakistan goes to severe conservation.
https://twitter.com/SStapczynski/status/1538804147587522560?cxt=HHwWgIDRvYSO99oqAAAA
Great that a Minister took the hint before the Fletchers Gib Board story went even more ballistic.
"The Minister for Building and Construction Megan Woods has set up a Ministerial taskforce with key construction, building consent, and supply chain experts to look at what more can be done to ease plasterboard shortages, including the potential for legislative or regulatory change."
Plasterboard Taskforce Set Up To Ease Shortages | Scoop News
Pretty astounding that the Minister of Consumer Affairs Mr Clark hasn't stepped in since this is a near-total-monopoly screwing the entire house construction market.
But at least Woods is acting on her new brief.
David Seymour got in on the act in Parliament. I thought the private enterprise free market approach was the way to go. Is that's what's operating? The market knows best, someone will make financial killing. Isn't that how it's meant to operate?
Surely the Government getting involved should be anathema to him.
But at least Woods is REACTING on her new brief, due to embarrassment. Fixed that for you AD.
FFS what has she been doing ?? This shortage has been an issue mid last year, perhaps it is time that ministers in this government went out and interacted with people, instead of being out of touch !!!!
https://www.gib.co.nz/gib-news/gib-update/gib-plasterboard-supply-update/
"The August/September 2021 lockdowns caused significant disruption across the building industry. The lockdown created a backlog of orders for Winstone Wallboards to pick and deliver and resulted in longer lead times"
Former Aus FM, Bob Carr lays out a path by which Julian Assange could be freed by the new PM Albanese.
He laments the lack of any kind of national pride that allowed Morrison to accept such extreme treatment of an Aus passport holder and points out the obvious track record of support by Aus to all things US. Time for the lapdog to show some mongrel
Great link Sublim. Good to see Bob Carr is still in fine form. Great article….I shared it to fb.
I keep buying the Wikileaks t-shirts, though someone did say to me the other day they thought it said "free lasagne"
Hasta la Pasta!
Carr outlines the obvious face-saving measure that could well bring this monumentally stupid episode to a close. If the US security establishment and the Clinton Dems are the bad guys in this debacle – the entire UK establishment, their media, their Courts and Parliament have been to made to look like craven fools.
Everyone knows the original charges were politicised bollocks and the entire thing was an exercise in sustained bullying that has backfired badly. End it.
Whoever is doing the PR for Andrew Little, needs to work on his messaging.
He may be correct, in his narrow interpretation, that there is no Hospital 'crisis' – but the rest of NZ is surely seeing and hearing about one in practice at their local Emergency Department.
Denying this is simply playing into the perception that he is badly out-of-touch with reality in his Health portfolio.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/469518/health-system-under-pressure-not-in-crisis-minister-andrew-little
It's pure jam for the opposition.
The smartest thing Little ever did was give up the leadership…the second smartest thing may have been to quit politics.
I had really high hopes for health when Little became minister. TBF they were raised when Dr Clark was appointed but dashed quick smart.
Little has raised the ire of the nurses in the past with his 'blurring the numbers' during the recent wage round, between wage increase and the pay parity. Which, incidentally still isn't settled. The DHBs trying to go back on the understanding of when the pay parity would be backdated to.
As you say, Little needs better advisors. He could instruct the DHBs to agree to the NZNO's figures and wrap it up in a press release that is heavy in the acknowledgement of the dedicated service the nurses have shown through Covid, Win-Win.
Too late for that now, the DHBs cease to exist in 9 days.
At which point we will magically have enough doctors, nurses and allied medical staff, the 'postcode lottery' of healthcare will cease, health outcomes for all Kiwis will improve, and the vast sums saved will be able to be used to expand the health services. /sarc/
Yeah, I don't believe it either.