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notices and features - Date published:
6:00 am, August 21st, 2022 - 69 comments
Categories: open mike -
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The current rise of populism challenges the way we think about people’s relationship to the economy.We seem to be entering an era of populism, in which leadership in a democracy is based on preferences of the population which do not seem entirely rational nor serving their longer interests. ...
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Pisses me off that the neo-nazi and anonymous key board thugs held such sway that PM Marin felt she had to appease the wowsers. I doubt a male politician would have been been pressured to do the same.
https://twitter.com/meghamohan/status/1560999055769030656
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/19/finlands-pm-sanna-marin-takes-drug-test-after-videos-show-her-drinking-and-dancing
That is actually pretty sad. And feeling she HAD to take a drug test because of alt right scum….fark !
Is it really that different to how Boris Johnson was treated by his opponents?
Is the rest of Finland under lockdown measures while their PM parties?
No, that is the difference.
Alwyn borish Boris lied and continued to lie
My dear chap (or chapess).
He was a successful politician who rose to a high position.
Of course he lied. Everyone of them who does as well as that lies on occasion. You surely cannot tell me you are surprised?
Are you saying the PM of Finland has lied somehow?
Of course, she has! She claims to be 36 but she’s behaving like she’s in her mid-20s. Something doesn’t add up here!
' Projection ','
Projection bias is a feature in human thinking where one thinks that others have the same priority, attitude or belief that one harbours oneself, even if this is unlikely to be the case.'
https://www.optimizely.com/insights/blog/avoid-projection-bias/
Boris deserves being treated poorly.
Well, after looking at that I would have to say that if Boris had said that he had not been dancing I would believe him. That was something but I certainly wouldn't call it dancing.
Anyone that can behave like that certainly does deserve to be treated poorly.
Dangerous morons…..leading other morons.
For some people reality is optional – many times there are medications that can assist this but some choose their other reality. I suspect part of this choosing for some is that their lives have (to them) more importance, meaning and excitement as they become the main character in an epic dramatic story rather than a 'spear-carrier' in a mundane tale.
Well thats pretty good ! And I "could" be ok with that. Problem is..the leaders of this particular shit…want to have an Alt-Right Alt-Reality.
And shooting Men Women and Children in a NZ Mosque…is something to be proud of !! They are evil
All associates. white supremacist/nazi fanboy Arps……Deeks……
Birds of a very revolting feather.
I agree there are a large faction who are neo-fascist, christo fascist et cetera but there are also many who just took the 'wrong coloured pill' – the "It's not covid the government is using radiation weapons against us" crowd and it's many variants.
One bunch is evil and the other crackers IMO.
I'd just add…… easily and willingly led…. crackers.
Oh well at least the ODT admit that an alt-right, anti-vaccine, conspiracy theorist was providing more relevant and appealing coverage to the public than anything in the mainstream.
"The Disinformation Project noted that Baker's Facebook Live broadcasts – although a "super spreader" of false claims – often had greater engagement than mainstream media during the previous Parliament protest."
If those who find Baker's 'coverage' engaging would simply engage their brains…
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch/audio/2018854128/a-conundrum-over-how-to-cover-the-conspiracists
mauī – are you presenting this information in support of your position??
"although a "super spreader" of false claims – often had greater engagement than mainstream media "
Seriously??
Are you sincere in believing that these "false claims" are more relevant coverage???
Please ease my anxiety 🙂
I don’t think this is quite what they had in mind.
Heh, the Russian woman still got a parade of her equipment on Khreshchatyk
https://twitter.com/zaklyashtor/status/1560864536307064834
https://twitter.com/zaklyashtor/status/1560899060445462529
Sure I've seen this dude in Mt Vic.
https://twitter.com/nrken19/status/1560985498390302724
On the door at Theo's?
Probably El Matador on Manners St.
Does he wear brown shoes, jeans and a sports coat and drink craft beer in Courtenay Place?
The Labour Party; undermining worker power and cowing to the interests of capital since 1984:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/473222/thousands-of-extra-workers-to-be-allowed-into-new-zealand
1984 The party of Douglas, Prebble et cetera or when the Labour Party was hijacked by Randian cultists.
2022 Unemployment at what 3.2%? 3.5%? If the hospitality and tourism sectors do pick up we will need some extra bodies and I imagine that most of the 'foreign' workers previously in those sectors left during 'max covid'. At least this government is not yet promoting shonky education courses to create 'transport managers' who then work as bus drivers et cetera.
Well…
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/473159/positive-signs-indian-students-still-find-nz-an-attractive-destination
Ugh
An additional 12,000 foreign students, hmmm…I hope they've accessed another 4000 homes from somewhere.
And shonky "business" courses that train "managers" for $2 stores.
Picked any grapes lately?
Have you?
Ha!
Of course.
If you haven't noticed, tens of millions of dollars of orders weren't fulfilled over summer, piles of apples were left on the ground in central Otago, Kiwifruit exports were down, and it was all going to happen again.
So the government has acted.
Mostly because people like you won't.
On your vineyard I presume.
But you're right, it's largely mine and other workers fault.
Won't someone think of the business owners. /s
Orders were not fulfilled because the business owners wouldn't pay to have the work done.
There weren't enough locals who would accept that pay level, or pay by the bucket. There were a good few. There weren't enough. Sure it's a market failure – but that's why Wood has done what he's done.
What plans does the industry have to secure enough trained workers?
It will take you 2 minutes to google to find out.
Industry training generally in agriculture is in total chaos because the government has decided to comprehensively re-nationalise the entire industry training sector.
Employers can't train someone to pick apples?
I've worked in floriculture, viticulture, horticulture, agriculture… apples, kiwis, grapes… picking, packing, pruning.
Half a day alongside another worker to learn any of that. Half a day, while on the job.
I was hoping the industry might have some standards and approaches they could do for themselves, without any handouts.
Because then there wouldn't be sufficient, or any, profit.
Better to write off the loss, than throw good money (and cashflow) after bad.
Apples rotting on the ground often means nothing but a PR exercise.
1. Does the horticultural industry over-produce? If they don't, like other agricultural industries do to allow for some crops being taken out by inclement weather, then what happens when inclement weather takes a chunk of supply out – do they just let their suppliers down
2. Did they actually have a market for those unpicked apples and if so where is the chorus of complaints from markets about their inability to deliver what they promised? I had heard there were lots of cancelled orders from overseas due to their economies not performing that well.
3. Did they have ships to put them on to get them to market?
4. Are they phasing out certain types of apples and replacing them with others and are some orchardists slower at adjusting then others?
5. Why do they keep planting more orchards and vineyards in areas where there is a lack of labour?
6. Were some apples destined for Russia and therefore became cancelled orders due to the embargo – I mean would you still pick them? I believe one grower who sent apples to Russia didn't get paid for them as due to the embargo the money couldn't come to NZ. For some reason they didn't send any more.
7. How come lots of NZer's who applied for jobs in the orchards/vineyeards and packhouses were not taken on.
"It follows union concerns that plenty of people are applying for jobs, but are waiting weeks for replies if they get them at all.
Orchard owners have been calling for the government to allow in more seasonal workers from Pacific countries to help with the summer fruit harvest.
Stephen Darling runs Darlings Fruit in Ettrick, Central Otago, growing mainly apples and apricots.
He has had a large number of job applications, and said they did their best to get back to people as soon as they could.
"Of those that we receive, we assess those and we respond back to those. We do background checks as best we can and we endeavour to select the people that we think are going to be best suited for the job, and not everyone is and unfortunately I think there's some misconceptions about horticultural work, about orchard work," Darling said.
"That's why we do our best to make sure that people are suited to those roles."
Summerfruit New Zealand chairman Tim Jones said the industry had been overwhelmed with applications after putting out a call for help with harvesting.
But he agreed they should do better.
"Growers could obviously be doing a better job and the message needs to go out to growers that really it is polite – at a minimum – to respond to the enquiries they're getting and to give people a little more information about what jobs are available, what the conditions are and when those jobs start."
Martin Milne owns Cheeki Cherries which harvests about 100 tonnes of cherries across three orchards around Cromwell.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/432153/fruit-growers-doing-their-best-to-hire-suitable-nz-workers
The point is is that the industry is very good at presenting the only issue they have around picking apples is local labour. It is much more complicated than that.
So many tiresome rhetorical questions.
Yes they had export markets to go to. Yes there were ships to take them. Yes some crops were re-routed as you would expect – it's what a market does.
This government has been warned for years that a lack of workers actually lowers the amount they can export.
It goes back at least to 2018 well before COVID.
Slim pickings: Worker shortage leaves apple farms frantic | RNZ News
And 2019
Apple industry could stop growing if Government doesn't address labour shortage | Stuff.co.nz
Then 2020.
Hawke's Bay apple growers pull up trees ahead of labour shortage – NZ Herald
Then 2021.
More apples to come, but no one to pick them (ruralnewsgroup.co.nz)
Same for Kiwifruit in 2018 and even pushed the government to agree and react
Kiwifruit worker shortage: Low wages, high living costs blamed – NZ Herald
Started to generate some policy analysis by 2020:
New Zealand’s seasonal labour shortage: why local workers aren’t enough – Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
Also hit vegetable production despite record prices
Slim pickings – reporting the shortage of labour for fruit and veges | RNZ
And of course it was the same for the wineries.
Despite extra seasonal workers, uncertainty remains for wine industry ahead of winter pruning | Newshub
And as a result exports in Kiwifruit were down.
Kiwifruit sector prepares for season of uncertainty | Stuff.co.nz
So were export levels from other crops.
Labour shortage leads to $100 million drop in apple exports | Newshub
This shortage is of course not particular to agriculture and is affecting the entire NZ economy.
The worker shortage that will be everyone's problem – NZ Herald
I've responded properly but I needed to use multiple links so it's gone into Moderation.
sigh
Of course, it's far better to provide the citations Incognito.
Sorry, busy with work today; was only venting.
Anyway that’s what we have RSE workers for /s:
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/boost-rse-numbers-help-hort-sector-grow
These new sector agreements are for importing Nurses/care workers, seafood and meat workers, hospitality, tourism and construction workers, all bypassing the median wage requirements.
How can local workers advocate for increase wages and improved conditions if this government is so keen to have them easily replaceable?
Local workers don't want that work and don't compete for it.
Local workers have had the biggest wage and welfare increases in a decade.
You sound like Bill English.
Local workers shouldn't be on welfare, and we'd be able to bargain for more increases if our 'Labour' party was on our side rather than the employers.
With unemployment below 5%, there are millions of New Zealanders working. They can just find jobs with better pay and conditions than these business owners are willing to offer.
They can indeed.
"Local workers don't want that work and don't compete for it. "
You seem to be very confused about markets.
In this case it is the employers who are not willing to compete for the labour they require.
It's both.
And yes, cheap labour keeps our agri exports going.
Those are the exports we make.
How are profit margins and dividends holding up?
Most small businesses particularly in agriculture are in private hands so their results are not reported.
The general level of national business bankruptcies is reported as low – because this government has subsidised their wages for over 18 months, and propped up major parts of the economy such as housing and construction with over $60b of work.
In most farming outside dairy the current level of bitchiness could be said indirectly proportional to profitability. Know one recently retired farmer who's last wool payment was less than the shearing invoice. Not a happy camper, but made the retirement decision much easier. Surprisingly he had no trouble selling his farm for a good price.
Agree – this is a disgraceful move by Labour. As you say, they haven't represented the interests of working people for a few decades now.
I think working people must be doing ok, if only 3 in 100 are currently looking for work?
I’m pretty sure more than 3 in 100 businesses are looking for staff?
It stands at 9.2% for the June 2022 quarter.
https://www.stats.govt.nz/indicators/underutilisation-rate/
Commerce 101
https://twitter.com/DoombergT/status/1561071627823194112?cxt=HHwWgIC91fyXhaorAAAA
Trading’s closed for the long weekend. Will the eggs keep?
They had nothing left after putting up sign
Due to Supply shortages limit is 2 doz per customer.
Did Alexander commit the mortal sin?
The daughter of a close ally to Russia's President Vladimir Putin has reportedly been killed near Moscow.
According to state media, Darya Dugina died after her car exploded in flames while she was driving home.
It is thought that her father, the Russian philosopher Alexander Dugin who is known as "Putin's brain," may have been the intended target of the attack.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62621509
Butter wouldn't melt.
https://twitter.com/AlexKokcharov/status/1561124106589900800
I watch hardly any TV these days, so I expect this is old news by now. All the same it was a bit of a shock to see Chris Luxon suddenly pop up in the middle of a YouTube video clip, maundering on about how necessary it is to get rid of this Labour government. The GE is still at least a year away. Who's financing this highly premature
brainwashingelectioneering?