Collins touching on the one of the Far Right talking points. Even if it means she has to lie.
"We are concerned about mandatory vaccination creeping in."
"Non-jab, no job"
"No other job has mandatory vaccination, (other than border workers)" Judith Collins
In fact the NZDF has mandatory vaccination is required before deployment overseas.
All Water Care employees and contractors at Mangere waste water treatment plant, must be vaccinated to work on that site.
Is Collins advocating that NZDF should have voluntary vaccination, before deploying to vulnerable and isolated third world countries?
Is Collins advocating that Water Care workers should be allowed to have a choice whether they are vaccinated before working with sewerage?
What is most disgusting about Collins reach out to the anti-vax conspiracy theorists, is that it comes hard on the heels of the violent anti-vax and neo-nazi attack on the CFMEU trade union office in Australia.
Construction to shut down in Victoria after violent protests at CFMEU office
'It was orchestrated by rightwing extremists and that is something that we've seen – the targeting of other blue-collar unions over the last few months,' ACTU president Michele O'Neil says….
The anti vaxxer movement has infiltrated the construction industry in Victoria. I read it online somewhere last night. They are getting better organised by the day and undermining all the hard work by the authorities and the police.
“Voices for Freedom” are doing the same thing here. Apart from pamphlet drops (got one in my letterbox last week) they are assembling outside schools and trying to coerce teenagers from being vaccinated. I expect they are spreading the lie they will become sterile.
They are becoming more vociferous and daring and imo should be outlawed. There is plenty of precedence in history during times of emergencies.
Sep 22, 2021 8:55 AM
RNZ Live
Anti vaccination protesters are outside Taita College in the the Hutt Valley where students are getting vaccinated this week.
The group called Voices for Freedom are standing at the entry to the school with signs saying 'can we trust the media?' and "vaccines are bioweapons".
RNZ has spoken to some students who were confused and concerned, while others were laughing.
Police are at the scene, and teachers are helping students get inside.
Is Collins advocating that NZDF should have voluntary vaccination, before deploying to vulnerable and isolated third world countries? IsCollins advocating that Water Care workers should be allowed to have a choice whether they are vaccinated before working with sewerage?
Who knows? Collins reacts to everything that happens with a knee-jerk complaint about the government. Who even listens these days
What is most disgusting about Collins reach out to the anti-vax conspiracy theorists, is that it comes hard on the heels of the violent anti-vax and neo-nazi attack on the CFMEU trade union office in Australia.
True, but Collins is invested in whining about the guvermint purely for the sake of it. I seriously doubt any anti-vaxers who might harbour notions of organising disruptive, violent protests in NZ are going to be influenced by whatever new, daft outburst Collins has to say.
She's crashing the National Party's credibility towards zero every day. Shelf-life now very close to expiry, imo.
…..Collins is invested in whining about the guvermint purely for the sake of it. I seriously doubt any anti-vaxers who might harbour notions of organising disruptive, violent protests in NZ are going to be influenced by whatever new, daft outburst Collins has to say.
I don't think that Judith Collins was inciting any anti-vaxers into organising disruptive violent protests, (though that could be a side-effect). What Collins is doing with her comments,about creeping mandatory vaccination, is opportunistically scraping the bottom of the barrel for their votes.
In the same interview she attacks the government for low vaccination rates.
And then claims she has a plan.
I would be very interested in seeing it.
Just how does the National Party propose to get us out of Lockdowns and/or raise vaccination levels above the 90% threshold, that the medical experts tell us will be needed to lift all Lockdown restrictions, and prevent the collapse of our health system?
I would really like to know.
It would be ironic, if Judith Collins’ plan has some level of mandatory vaccination. Now that she has gone on the record as being opposed to it.
In the same interview she attacks the government for low vaccination rates.
And then claims she has a plan. I would be very interested in seeing it
… … … …
"Almost every other country that we compare ourselves to is rolling out vaccinations as quickly as they can. Our closest neighbour, Australia, has prioritized this with vaccinations starting within the next few weeks.
This means their citizens will be safer. They’ll have the certainty to get back to business. They’ll see international students and visitors return, and life for Kiwis who live in Australia will start to get back to normal.
New Zealanders can’t afford another lockdown. But even more than this, failing to secure vaccinations for our frontline workers, border staff and those who work in and around managed isolation and quarantine shows a massive disregard for the sacrifice New Zealanders made last year. It is not good enough.
We need to match Australia’s schedule. We should be like Singapore, rolling out the vaccine to frontline workers and those vulnerable New Zealanders who need it urgently."
… … … …
The Australian "defence" industry and the politicians they donate to (aka bribe) – are very much a mirror of the US war machine, and know exactly what they are doing.
MSM Russiagate and MSM lies on Syrian gas attacks both crumble even further into the gutter where they belong..but of course not one person in the media that uncritically pushed these obviously bullshit stories 24/7 will be held to account…nope just like all the media and journalist who willingly pushed war in Iraq in the service of power, they will face no consequences…probably because there is so much crossover in who benefits from those lies.
Hmmmm looks like those pesky Hunter Biden emails were real after all.
The disinformation wasn't Russian , it came from all those partisan journos ready to ditch the integrity of their trade so they could belong to the "right" crowd
Politico was one of those outlets.Now one of its writers has come out with a book verifying the emails , with recipients affirming .
@Jenny how to get there…can you please explain to us exactly how highlighting the fact that Liberal MSM has been disseminating misinformation on the completely fabricated Russian collusion conspiracy for years on end, also completely disregarding all public information on the Douma chemical attack that didn't fit with their state sanctioned narrative, to the point that the BBC has been forced into a pubic apology is "running interference for Russian imperialism and Assad fascism"?…I would be interested to see what tortured logic you come up with…I am sure it couldn't be any worse than the years of bullshit that has been spewed out by the usual suspects around here defending their masters like good little soldiers…but who knows you might be a better soldier than them….fire away.
I am not going to play google tag with you, and waste my time to go over line by line the specifics of the Douma gas attack. Not because I can't, but what's the point.
The vast majority of Syrian civilians killed by the Assad regime are not being killed in gas attacks.
The vast majority of Syrian civilians being killed by the Assad regime and their Iranian allies and Russian patron, are not by gas attacks, but by so called 'conventional weapons', and in industrial scale extermination camps, into which tens of thousands of Syrians have been disappeared into.
Everyone who knows anything of Syria has heard of Sednaya, the biggest and most notorious of the Assad regime's death camps.
19 kilometres North of Damascus everbody knows where Sednaya is.
But I tell you what. Not one of the Western journalists and apologists who have visited the Damascus as guests of the Assad regime, have ever asked for a tour of Sednaya.
Sednaya Prison
See also: Sednaya Prison
To the west of Saidnaya, the government has a military prison with estimated of 14,000 prisoners. The prison lies 30 km on the outskirts of Northern Damascus.[17] In February 2017 Amnesty International released a report saying: "that between 5,000 and 13,000 people were extra judicially executed at Saydnaya between September 2011 and December 2015."[18] On May 15, 2017, the US State Department reiterated the charge of 50 secret executions a day, concealed by subsequent cremation on site.[19][20]
The Assad regime is killing so many detainees in Syria that it now amounts to the crime against humanity of "extermination", a UN report has found.
In a document published by the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights, investigators found the Syrian government responsible for "massive and systematised violence".
The crimes against humanity committed by the Assad regime, according to the UN, far outnumber those of Isis militants and other jihadist groups….
At least three detainees belong to Syria's minority Christian community were identified among leaked mass torture photos, according to the Syrian Association for the Missing and Prisoners of Conscience.
Syrian Christian community with total population of 1.75 million has faced growing violence since the uprising erupted in March 2011. But mass torture photos inside Syrian regime's security chambers have revealed gruesome revenge of Christians who supported Syrian revolution.
For long decades, Assad's family (Father and Son) has presented itself as minorities protector. But Syrian conflict disclosed the real face of such allegations, activists said.
……
According to reports, in 2012 the first Christian Free Syrian Army unit formed, yet it was reported that the Assad government still had the reluctant support of the majority of the country's Christians of various ethnicities and denominations. By 2013 an increasing number of Christians favored the opposition. In 2014, the predominantly Christian Syriac Military Council formed an alliance with the FSA, and other Syrian Christian militias such as the Sutoro had joined the Syrian opposition against the Assad regime.
The atrocious photos of mass torture by Syrian security had been taken between 2011 and mid 2013 in the well-known 601 military hospital in Mezzah neighborhood of Damascus. The photos showed hundreds of lifeless bodies with signs of starvation, brutal beatings, strangulation and other forms of torture and killing.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights, in report issued last September, said at least 215,000 people were arrested by Syrian security since the revolution erupted in March 2011. (4500 of them are women and 9,000 are less than 18).
According to the report, 2630 detainees were tortured to death and 70,000 cases documented as enforced disappearance…..
This thread is about Russiagate and Douma specifically…your obfuscating has not answered my question even slightly…of course.
But then you and others seem to be quite OK with your media lying right to your face..infact you seem to like it, which is kind of weird…but hey different strokes for different folks I say.
Douma at the time was under heavy rocket and air attack by the Assad regime.
The pattern is much the same, and still being practiced by the regime's forces, indiscriminate bombing and shelling of all rebel held towns and cities.
The contested Douma gas attack was only one incident in a much broader government offensive that killed many more civilians and rebel fighters.
Weapons of mass destruction like nuclear weapons arnd gas weapons are only for our side to have. Third World totalitarian leaders like Kim Jong-Un of Basha Al Assad are not allowed to have them, let alone use them.
Their use is what captures the Western powers attention, and makes our military and political leaders nervous.
Generally I have chosen not to battle through the fog of war and following propaganda enslaught over each separate incident of chemical weapons use, to concentrate on the more massive acts of genocide that even the most gullible or ablest knowing apologists of Assad fascism can't deny.
I am talking here of the genocidal destruction of Homs and Hama and rebel held Aleppo, and the extensive network of government extermination camps and prisons, into which tens of thousands of Syrian civlians and activists have disappeared into.
But if we are going to do the google thing around the Douma gas attack, you couldn't do better than this report from the Intercept.
For those who are genuinly interested in what is happening in Syria I can personally reccomend this report..
WHAT HAPPENED IN DOUMA? SEARCHING FOR FACTS IN THE FOG OF SYRIA’S PROPAGANDA WAR
The next world war may begin with a grainy, contested, online image launched onto the pages of a newspaper that has recently sacked all its journalists.
From what I've heard ever since the press conference, there is no "90% target". Let alone by geographic, demographic, or number of jabs.
At least 90%. That's what they said. That's what they mean about loosening things up with "high" vax rates. The specifics depend on the circumstances when we get to a "high" rate. Don't fall into the tory trap of assuming 90% is a target. It's not, they're just laying the groundwork to bitch again.
"It depends" sucks for people who have an attachment to firm and precise numbers, but the real world requires fuzzy logic processing sometimes.
No, not a cop out. They made the cardnial sin of not boring people to death using language that even the 1980s HHGTTG text-based computer game could parse, probably because if they had then a lot of knobs would parrot "explaining is losing" instead of "we don't know what's going oooonnnn".
Let's break this down further, shall we?
90% is in the region that is denoted "high". Probably near the base of that region, but don't be super-surprised if they start announcing things loosening up from the mid 80 percentages.
But, gosh, a high percentage of what? Fuck, we might never know.
I'll take a punt and say maybe it's to do with vaccination levels. But fully vaxed or partial? Of over 12s or over 5s? omagerd, it needs to be written in stone right now!!!
fucksake. Who gives a shit. We get there when we get there.
All races at 90% (Admittedly it would only be Maori and Pacifica, as for some odd reason Asians and Indians never appear in figures as apparently don't matter)
I heard on the radio that Bloomfield idiot said not unless Maori were at 90% (Again 90% in what contexts?)
As an aside, if the figures are still double figures at that time, do you think they will open up the country to Aucklanders at the same time school holidays start?
All races at 90% (Admittedly it would only be Maori and Pacifica, as for some odd reason Asians and Indians never appear in figures as apparently don't matter)
Some things never change and it seems that you’re still a trolling idiot.
Fair point, it measured in official background statistics, but I was more talking about mentioned in their announcements to the media and their daily party ad.
But you have made a good point and I take back what I said.
You do unbderstand that the reason for high vaccination is to stop the ICUs being overloaded so people other than covid patients can be treated?
Opening up if the ICUs will be flooded by people from a particular region or ethnicity just creates the same outcome, with the extra icing that the region or ethnicity is viewed as expendable by the government.
If you genuinely don't know why your questions can come across as trolling, try thinking harder about that.
Māori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi is not happy about possible govt plans to open two more quarantine facilities in Rotorua. He says one will be a fourth MIQ and the other a quarantine facility for Covid-19 infectious people.
… … … …
"Waititi said his information had come from "sources" and he was concerned about leaks of Covid-19 into the community if a quarantine facility was established in the city.
This only increases the potential for a MIQ breach leading to a community outbreak," he said. "It adds more pressure on the local health system and ultimately means more lockdowns.
"This would be disastrous for Rotorua, and especially Māori who make up 45 per cent of the Rotorua population."
There was a major difference between isolation and quarantine, Waititi said.
(Waititi seems to be creating a very high media profile by complaining about all sorts of things. He's very telegenic, imo, & personally I currently expect Te Pāti Māori to do very well at the next election – Gez)
… … …
"Rotorua keeps and brings those infectious, to our community," Waititi said.
'This would be disastrous for Rotorua, and especially Māori who make up 45 per cent of the Rotorua population.'"
… … …
Hard to say if this is primarily a political ploy or stunt, but I think he's got a point. Hope he's doing all he can meantime to arrange for eligible Rotorua district ngā tāngata katoa (everybody) to get their Covid vaccinations asap.
Both of those high value PR opportunities for Waititi. He knows his target audience.
I was watching Parliament live the day he suckered Mallard into giving awesome free publicity. The rules were that male MPs were expected to wear “business attire”, which tos most Pākehā is a suit & tie.
But there are tons of prominent Māori leaders, academics, & businessmen who wear a large hei tiki draped around their necks & hanging over their shirt front. It’s a perfectly, & very common normal tāne Māori business attire.
Mallard threw a classic Pākehā stale male hissy fit, not thinking it thru. Bingo. Waititi gets the opportunity to do – for a Māori man whose mana has just been impugned – a rollicking & very culturally appropriate haka of protest & utu – reciprocation.
Within days, Mallard lifted the requirement for men to wear ties. Big ups to Rawiri.
The “call NZ Aotearoa” petition & his & his Party’s commitment to keep calling for a name change is pure theatre, but he’ll get a lot more profile-raising mileage out of this issue too. I’m not in favour personally, bur I know two Pākehā acquaintences who agree with him.
Rawiri sometimes sails too close to the “all Pākehā are racist colonisers” line for my liking.
As for how much work he’s doing, I don’t know but I bet it’s a lot more than many Pākehā think. Māori electorates are huge, They involve talking at a lot of marare, with Māori orgs, hapu iwi, constituents, & a lot of travelling. That gets pretty wearing I imagine.
The Speaker was the hall monitor for what Parliaments ' rules committee' decides.
I thought he was in favour of a less literal interpretation of 'neck thingy' and once the committee met and changed it then the Speaker could follow the new direction
"Speaker Trevor Mallard has announced that ties are no longer mandatory in Parliament.
It comes days after a dress code stoush between him and Māori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi, which saw Waititi booted out for not wearing a tie.
Mallard said a Standing Orders committee meeting discussed appropriate business attire tonight and a submission on the topic was heard from Te Paati Māori (Māori Party).
"The committee did not reach a consensus but the majority of the committee was in favour of removing a requirement for ties to be part of 'appropriate business attire' for males," he said in a Tweet.
'As Speaker, I am guided by the committee's discussion and decision, and therefore ties will no longer be considered required as part of 'appropriate business attire'. I acknowledge those who felt this was an important issue worthy of further consideration.'"
… … …
Where Mallard did Waititi a huge favour was in objecting to the hei tiki being worn instead of a tie. Hugely boosted Rawiri's profile, & his mana with Māori.
Rather long but interesting watch on who's at the forefront of everything from the January 6th insurrection in the US, the anti-Muslim/anti immigrant protests across Europe and the anti-vaxx/anti-lockdown demonstrations in the west to our very own howl of protest fuckwittery.
Are we the last country on earth talking about noting else other than COVID? I am becoming very fatigued that after 18 months it seems to be the only thing the media or government are focussed on. It has almost become an obssession. We are still having daily press conferences on this, and every new bulletin opens with a daily case update, or story about people buying KFC.
Yes, it is the issue of our time, but there are other things happening out there in the world, which warrant our attention. How long will our daily obesseion continue?
A quick scan of international media shows, that something which started 18 months ago, isn't really news worthy anymore. COVID doesn't really get much of a mention out there
I have general faith in the MoH to do their job when it comes to COVID. Contact trace, isolating people and slowly rolling out the vaccine. They are doing it reasonably well to the point I don't think we need the minute by minute commentary, that we were doing in March last year.
I have a lot less faith in other government departments doing their job, so I wish we would turn, at least some of, our attention to them. Imagine if we had a daily press conference to announce the housing waiting list, homelessness statisitics and climate change targets.
Climate change and homelessness are Green Party Ministerial responsibilities, so Chloe Swarbrick could always start with some accountability from her own colleagues.
Chloe's current push is the futile and exceedingly middle class pursuit of rebuilding St James Theatre.
Chloe Swarbrick should pull her head out of her ass.
Perhaps it is all distraction as continuing legislative changes take place out of the spotlight. It is quite instructive to have pending legislation and Parliament Order papers fed to your email.
I agree with you on the inevitable stories about coffee, KFC, buying flour etc.
It's not news, it's trivia at best. As Chloe Swarbrick says about updates on housing and CC, and Maurice eludes to, there are other important issues that are being ignored.
That will learn me for watching TV news after years of giving it a wide berth.
Yes. They’re very rare, but they DO sometimes happen. Even in the centre of their landmass. That whole continent’s tectonic plate is always being squeezed by others. And sometimes I guess some ancient fold or fault cracks or shudders. Or there’s some local geographic collapse deep down under.
Yes Earthquakes are very over rare over here in Oz, there is a very large number of various fault lines in Oz to ancient volcanos & hotspots from the east coast of Nth’ern Qld all the way down to Victorian- SA Border & within the greater Melbourne area.
I live in Wellington, Scud. We get a lot of small earthquakes in Tawa, many coming from a slow slip event happening off the Western Kapiti Coast.
And there are about four or five major fault lines in the Welly region that generate huge quakes when they go. We're always waiting for The Big One on the Wellington fault.
But I hail from New Plymouth, Taranaki, where I grew up. Now ma & pa have both passed away here, I've been thinking about whether I should move back there, like ma wanted me to after she died. To be with my siblings up there.
The thing is, I grew up in the shadow of the beautiful & magnificent Mt Taranaki. And volcanologists say, geologically speaking it's due for an eruption, which might be small, or it might be blimmin massive. It's unusual for the number of times it's blown itself apart, & then just rebuilt itself.
It's only short. But this is what my Taranaki Maunga does:
I’m ex CHCH until 1998, so I’m quite used to Mother Nature rocking & rolling. We get a few deep earthquakes from Indonesia- Timor-Leste Area rattling Darwin & the odd from Tennant Creek Area. I’ve just finished reading up the Halls Fall Faultline that runs from the Halls Falls area in WA all the way up to the other side of Darwin Harbour & out to the sea.
We are approaching the point in the pandemic where we move from collectivising risk to individualising it. In the first phase it was collective, action, equality of sacrifice and no-one left behind. In the second phase it is get vaccinated, take precautions that are suitable for your risk profile, and if you are unlucky the healthcare system should (but might not) be there to help you. Normal transmission is being resumed and the government has not used the pandemic as a catalyst for changing anything important. Last year in the first L4 lockdown, we were as ripe as we'll ever be for UBI and significant poverty and inequality reduction efforts. Under pandemic conditions such things would arguably be rational, rather than political. Operationally, this government has handled the pandemic superbly, but strategically and ideologically not so much. The lessons we learned will go down the memory hole of history as we scramble back into a dysfunctional BAU.
I'm thinking AB means BAU in a very broad sense, that in the end the interests of "the economy" prevail, back to the dysfunctional neo-liberal-driven way of life. Illustrated, possibly, by Auckland’s move from L4 to L3, described by some experts as a “calculated risk”, and by others as more ideologically-driven than anything else.
Just out of interest I looked up the Polio Vaccine info and in 1956 there was 90% parental approval for child vaccination compared to only 29% in England, 42% in Scotland and 74% in NSW. We should be good for 90% here for Covid if our history of doing the right thing still holds. Interestingly the same problems were apparent then, production problems, the US refusing to export and lack of refrigeration, ( only a day or so leeway in ambient temp then).
More and more stories coming out about the what was going on in the Wuhan Lab and frankly it now seems more and more likely we are dealing with a virus that had been tinkered with… fucking insanity.
“They also planned to create chimeric viruses, genetically enhanced to infect humans more easily, and requested US$14 million from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) to fund the work.”
Where does that link to; Cricklewood? I have learned not to click on concealed links on this site, as I imagine; so have others. Gain of Function Research is not that unusual – if that is what you are referring to?
A quick google threw up this Intercept article (limited to 3 free article views, but not otherwise paywalled) though I am not disposed to trawl through all 900+ pages of FOIA primary sources to confirm what they are saying.
On August 27, Biden announced that the intelligence inquiry was inconclusive.
Biden blamed China for failing to release critical data, but the U.S. government has also been slow to release information. The Intercept initially requested the proposals inSeptember 2020.
It doesn't seem that unreasonable to me to fund and conduct research into SARS & MERS in a virology lab. Though if it was done at the Biosafety Level 3 Wuhan University Center for Animal Experiment, rather than the BL4 Wuhan Institute of Virology, then the denials that the WIoV was involved might be a way of deflecting attention from the WUCfAE. The evidence does not seem conclusive.
In any case, there is more noise than sound in the speculations on both sides of these lab leak "theories" (ie conjectures beyond what is supported by evidence). I doubt there is much good faith on either side, even if one, or both, speculations are eventually confirmed. Personally, I think all labs licensed to operate beyond BL1 (eg university teaching labs using low risk biologicals level), should be subject to regular un-notified inspection by independent teams of international experts. That's not going to happen though!
Mr Zhao, who is known for his aggressive style of diplomacy, has played an important role in spreading the "US origin" theory. Several tweets from his account last year first drew wide attention to Fort Detrick. "What's behind the closure of the biolab at Fort Detrick?" he wrote in July 2020, "When will US invite experts to investigate the origin of the virus in US?"
In recent months, his calls have been joined by Chinese diplomats based in various countries, and the Chinese state broadcaster CCTV even aired an hour-long special report, "The Dark History behind Fort Detrick", focusing on breaches of containment at the lab in 2019, to bolster claims of lax lab security echoed by Chinese officials and state media. A related hashtag has had more than 100 million views on Weibo, China's Twitter equivalent.
Yesterday, seven were infectious in the community, FFS. They’re chasing the tail, which is wagging the dog. Stomp on it, hard and fast and don’t mind the yelping dog, FFS.
It's a dangerous habit to get into chasing the gauges of the daily numbers and demand level 4 for any community cases above zero.
It's a process they're working through. they're identifying connections with previous cases for almost all new cases within a day of diagnosis. They're not getting randos coming in so much with absolutely no connection with any previous cases. So they have several clusters that are being reasonably well contained, and that will burn themselves out eventually.
Level 3 matches that risk profile. We're using the same playbook that got us out of it last time, and it seems to be working about as well as it did last time. Better, even, because we started it sooner.
I hear you but the risk with smouldering fires is that they can flare up and burst into flames at any time. I believe that a more stringent ‘bespoke’ approach is justified and warranted to place a higher firewall around existing known clusters. The persistent tail is reason enough to up the ante, IMO.
At the moment, the assessment is that the winds have died down, the main blazes have been extinguished, so it's just the slog of finding the hot spots and digging them out. that means the evacuation orders can be cancelled and people can return to the properties that were in danger.
If the winds pick up and embers transfer again, back come the monsoon buckets and evacuations. But the full court press takes a heavy toll on everyone, so only gets done when times are desperate.
Changing topic. There is a major grizzle going down with importers about the backlog of vessels waiting to come alongside at Auckland Port. History repeats itself. I well remember in 1972 on a voyage to Japan with my partner (wives privilege of accompanying officers of the sea going vessels) and arriving in Tokoyo to see rows and rows of vessels waiting to go alongside or being off loaded by barges way out in the bay. 50 plus vessels at least. I also remember the sea was like glue it was so polluted. We were going into drydock at Yokohama but the sight was one I never forgot.
Now there are 60+ vessels out in the bay in LA waiting for a berth alongside. It seems our ports have been suffering from logjams for ever and a day.
In comparison Auckland has no problems and maybe there should be less whinging from the importers and accept the circumstances.
we are dealing with a virus that had been tinkered with… fucking insanity.
I'm not sure I'd be trusting the source of that article. Not one jot.
Papers, confirmed as genuine by a former member of the Trump administration, show they were hoping to introduce "human-specific cleavage sites" to bat coronaviruses which would make it easier for the virus to enter human cells.
When Covid-19 was first genetically sequenced, scientists were puzzled about how the virus had evolved such a human-specific adaptation at the cleavage site on the spike protein, which is the reason it is so infectious.
The documents were released by Drastic, the web-based investigations team set up by scientists from across the world to look into the origins of Covid-19.
In a statement, Drastic said: "Given that we find in this proposal a discussion of the planned introduction of human-specific cleavage sites, a review by the wider scientific community of the plausibility of artificial insertion is warranted."
DRASTIC (Decentralized Radical Autonomous Search Team Investigating COVID-19) is a loose collection of scientists and researchers investigating the origins of COVID-19, in particular the COVID-19 lab leak theory. Most scientists maintain COVID-19 likely had a natural origin, but a lab leak is still a possibility worth investigating. DRASTIC is composed of about 30 core members, whose activity is primarily organized through the social media website Twitter. They formed in February 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. DRASTIC members have called for a "full and unrestricted investigation" into the origins of COVID-19, conducted independently of the World Health Organization.
Many of DRASTIC's members use pseudonyms, while identified members have backgrounds including mycology, neuroscience, and data science. Members of DRASTIC have engaged in personal attacks against virologists and epidemiologists on Twitter, falsely accusing some of working for the Chinese Communist Party.
Perhaps but no one is flat out denying what they have released in terms of documents and given the USAs likely involvment in funding work in the Lab https://www.bbc.com/news/57932699 I think its the mostly likely source of what has proven a remarkably well adapted virus.
But it very much suits those in power not to have that exposed.
It can be a long process finding the animal source of an outbreak. Not only have you got to stumble across the correct population but additionally, you have to sample the animal at the time it is infected with the virus. Progress is however being made. A bat population in the Northern Laos region has been sampled and found to contain a very closely related covd virus. It contains the human ace receptor site though not however the furin cleavage site. But the existence of the human ace receptor site is enough to allow the possibility of the evolution of the furin cleavage site in repeated human contacts. Or a wild furin cleavage site may still be found. These things take a lot of time.
"The WHO team's main public conclusion so far is that it's "extremely unlikely" that the virus originated in a lab in Wuhan. The scientists think the virus most likely started in bats, then jumped to other animals, then to humans.
Dutch virologist Marion Koopmans was part of that team that "reconstructed every step in that initial outbreak" in two weeks of investigation."
"So from everything that we've looked at and we've also visited three labs involved and also three labs that work on these viruses. From that, we have not been able to find any credible link there."
"How open and transparent were the Chinese once they let you in?
This is a topic and a mission. There are sensitivities around it … big political tensions that are around it. And that's something you cannot completely avoid in a situation like this. But once we got out of our quarantine, got into the face-to-face meetings, I think we've managed to get into real good scientific exchange with stiff discussions here and there, because [people] start from different backgrounds and different views. But I tell everyone, wait and read the report and let's discuss then. But I think we managed to get a good outcome of this meeting. I think it was in that sense quite successful."
"Is there anything that you think is necessary to know that you don't have access to?
Not really. So if you say, did the Chinese colleagues hand over the complete raw data files? No, they did not. But then again, I did not expect that in a mission like this. So we've seen a lot of information. We've been given a lot of information. We've had access to the people working on the data, aggregating the data, looking at what exact questionnaires that they used, what does the data file look like. To me, that is quite extensive data access."
Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka KotahiThe fact that a ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st CenturyThe SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims StuffSteve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
David Farrar writes – We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how labour went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promiseThe result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
“It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
Normally when we talk about accessing public transport it’s about improving how easy it is to get to, such as how easy is it to cross roads in a station/stop’s walking catchment, is it possible to cycle to safely, do bus connections work, or even if are there new routes/connections ...
Politicians are not renowned for telling the truth. Some tell us things that are verifiably not true. They offer statements that omit critical pieces of information. Gloss over risks, preferring to offer the best case scenario.Some not truths are quite small, others amusing in their transparency. There are those repeated ...
The pressure is mounting on the Government as it finalises its Budget Policy Statement, but yet more predicted revenue ‘goes missing’. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Climate Commission has delivered another funding blow to the National-ACT-NZ First coalition Government’s tax-cutting plans, potentially carving $1.4 billion off the ‘climate ...
The Government now faces the prospect of having to watch another tax raise the price of petrol when, only six days ago, it abolished the Auckland Regional Fuel tax. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon argued that the regional fuel tax imposed costs on lower-income people with less fuel-efficient vehicles and that ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
The government’s attack on Māori health this week is committing tangata-whenua to a premature death, says Te Pāti Māori. “The government have begun their onslaught on Māori health with the abolishment of the Māori Health Authority and smokefree laws in the same day” said health spokesperson and co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. ...
Today marks a tragic milestone for New Zealanders as the Coalition Government side with big tobacco to repeal the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Act 2022, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins and Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
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Liar, liar pants on fire.
Judith Collins, this morning on TVNZ Breakfast.
Collins touching on the one of the Far Right talking points. Even if it means she has to lie.
In fact the NZDF has mandatory vaccination is required before deployment overseas.
All Water Care employees and contractors at Mangere waste water treatment plant, must be vaccinated to work on that site.
Is Collins advocating that NZDF should have voluntary vaccination, before deploying to vulnerable and isolated third world countries?
Is Collins advocating that Water Care workers should be allowed to have a choice whether they are vaccinated before working with sewerage?
What is most disgusting about Collins reach out to the anti-vax conspiracy theorists, is that it comes hard on the heels of the violent anti-vax and neo-nazi attack on the CFMEU trade union office in Australia.
Jenny, our media is pretty average, but (if you've got the stomach) check out some clips of Murdock's Sky News on youtube.
Frankly, they are inciting resistance to being vaccinated. As well as being blatant climate deniers!
Gutter press.
Just one example among so many: hold your nose before viewing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFoAczoHbV0
Da, I'm so stupid,I believe my own tea leaves, "It is tea leaves you use"Sharri Madson
The anti vaxxer movement has infiltrated the construction industry in Victoria. I read it online somewhere last night. They are getting better organised by the day and undermining all the hard work by the authorities and the police.
“Voices for Freedom” are doing the same thing here. Apart from pamphlet drops (got one in my letterbox last week) they are assembling outside schools and trying to coerce teenagers from being vaccinated. I expect they are spreading the lie they will become sterile.
They are becoming more vociferous and daring and imo should be outlawed. There is plenty of precedence in history during times of emergencies.
There need to be tent(s) in hospital ground for Anti vax that get covid. They should nt be let into wards.
Collins plays to her dwindling audience on the provided tvnz soapbox.
She's using the supplied rope very effectively. Was she given another free ride or actually challenged ?
Predictably appalling that’s Judith.
Is Collins advocating that NZDF should have voluntary vaccination, before deploying to vulnerable and isolated third world countries? Is Collins advocating that Water Care workers should be allowed to have a choice whether they are vaccinated before working with sewerage?
Who knows? Collins reacts to everything that happens with a knee-jerk complaint about the government. Who even listens these days
What is most disgusting about Collins reach out to the anti-vax conspiracy theorists, is that it comes hard on the heels of the violent anti-vax and neo-nazi attack on the CFMEU trade union office in Australia.
True, but Collins is invested in whining about the guvermint purely for the sake of it. I seriously doubt any anti-vaxers who might harbour notions of organising disruptive, violent protests in NZ are going to be influenced by whatever new, daft outburst Collins has to say.
She's crashing the National Party's credibility towards zero every day. Shelf-life now very close to expiry, imo.
I don't think that Judith Collins was inciting any anti-vaxers into organising disruptive violent protests, (though that could be a side-effect). What Collins is doing with her comments,about creeping mandatory vaccination, is opportunistically scraping the bottom of the barrel for their votes.
In the same interview she attacks the government for low vaccination rates.
And then claims she has a plan.
I would be very interested in seeing it.
Just how does the National Party propose to get us out of Lockdowns and/or raise vaccination levels above the 90% threshold, that the medical experts tell us will be needed to lift all Lockdown restrictions, and prevent the collapse of our health system?
I would really like to know.
It would be ironic, if Judith Collins’ plan has some level of mandatory vaccination. Now that she has gone on the record as being opposed to it.
In the same interview she attacks the government for low vaccination rates.
And then claims she has a plan. I would be very interested in seeing it
… … … …
"Almost every other country that we compare ourselves to is rolling out vaccinations as quickly as they can. Our closest neighbour, Australia, has prioritized this with vaccinations starting within the next few weeks.
This means their citizens will be safer. They’ll have the certainty to get back to business. They’ll see international students and visitors return, and life for Kiwis who live in Australia will start to get back to normal.
New Zealanders can’t afford another lockdown. But even more than this, failing to secure vaccinations for our frontline workers, border staff and those who work in and around managed isolation and quarantine shows a massive disregard for the sacrifice New Zealanders made last year. It is not good enough.
We need to match Australia’s schedule. We should be like Singapore, rolling out the vaccine to frontline workers and those vulnerable New Zealanders who need it urgently."
… … … …
https://www.national.org.nz/covid-19-response
… … … …
If that's it, it's blimmin vague; lacking any useful particulars. (As is usual for Judith when reporters question her.)
I'm betting – beyond this – she doesn't actually have one.
Why America goes to war.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/2018812875/andrew-cockburn-how-the-american-war-machine-is-all-about-money
Or, how Australia has been conned.
The Australian public have been conned.
The Australian "defence" industry and the politicians they donate to (aka bribe) – are very much a mirror of the US war machine, and know exactly what they are doing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhfqQzMVJxI
MSM Russiagate and MSM lies on Syrian gas attacks both crumble even further into the gutter where they belong..but of course not one person in the media that uncritically pushed these obviously bullshit stories 24/7 will be held to account…nope just like all the media and journalist who willingly pushed war in Iraq in the service of power, they will face no consequences…probably because there is so much crossover in who benefits from those lies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBNvLlt1K0E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9w0LRLnBkU
Hmmmm looks like those pesky Hunter Biden emails were real after all.
The disinformation wasn't Russian , it came from all those partisan journos ready to ditch the integrity of their trade so they could belong to the "right" crowd
Politico was one of those outlets.Now one of its writers has come out with a book verifying the emails , with recipients affirming .
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10014239/DC-accepts-Hunter-laptop-real-New-book-Bidens-cites-sources-verifying-damaging-emails.html
But what the hell, moving on, who cares? job done.
Just like your piece about the Clinton campaign lawyer lying, silence from all those ardent truth seekers…
Still running interference for Russian imperialism and Assad fascism?
American imperialism is not the only evil in the world.
https://thestandard.org.nz/heroes-2/#comment-1298465
@Jenny how to get there…can you please explain to us exactly how highlighting the fact that Liberal MSM has been disseminating misinformation on the completely fabricated Russian collusion conspiracy for years on end, also completely disregarding all public information on the Douma chemical attack that didn't fit with their state sanctioned narrative, to the point that the BBC has been forced into a pubic apology is "running interference for Russian imperialism and Assad fascism"?…I would be interested to see what tortured logic you come up with…I am sure it couldn't be any worse than the years of bullshit that has been spewed out by the usual suspects around here defending their masters like good little soldiers…but who knows you might be a better soldier than them….fire away.
I am not going to play google tag with you, and waste my time to go over line by line the specifics of the Douma gas attack. Not because I can't, but what's the point.
The vast majority of Syrian civilians killed by the Assad regime are not being killed in gas attacks.
The vast majority of Syrian civilians being killed by the Assad regime and their Iranian allies and Russian patron, are not by gas attacks, but by so called 'conventional weapons', and in industrial scale extermination camps, into which tens of thousands of Syrians have been disappeared into.
Everyone who knows anything of Syria has heard of Sednaya, the biggest and most notorious of the Assad regime's death camps.
19 kilometres North of Damascus everbody knows where Sednaya is.
But I tell you what. Not one of the Western journalists and apologists who have visited the Damascus as guests of the Assad regime, have ever asked for a tour of Sednaya.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQni3qn6GIU&t=1s
" industrial scale extermination camps"
Lol
'
For you Brigid, I have one word.
Sednaya
Don't support fascism. (It really shouldn't have to be said).
LOL?
You can dispute the evidence, (Something I notice you don't do).
So my question for you Brigid;
Is what sort of low life laughs at the mass extermination of human beings?.
This thread is about Russiagate and Douma specifically…your obfuscating has not answered my question even slightly…of course.
But then you and others seem to be quite OK with your media lying right to your face..infact you seem to like it, which is kind of weird…but hey different strokes for different folks I say.
Douma at the time was under heavy rocket and air attack by the Assad regime.
The pattern is much the same, and still being practiced by the regime's forces, indiscriminate bombing and shelling of all rebel held towns and cities.
The contested Douma gas attack was only one incident in a much broader government offensive that killed many more civilians and rebel fighters.
Weapons of mass destruction like nuclear weapons arnd gas weapons are only for our side to have. Third World totalitarian leaders like Kim Jong-Un of Basha Al Assad are not allowed to have them, let alone use them.
Their use is what captures the Western powers attention, and makes our military and political leaders nervous.
Generally I have chosen not to battle through the fog of war and following propaganda enslaught over each separate incident of chemical weapons use, to concentrate on the more massive acts of genocide that even the most gullible or ablest knowing apologists of Assad fascism can't deny.
I am talking here of the genocidal destruction of Homs and Hama and rebel held Aleppo, and the extensive network of government extermination camps and prisons, into which tens of thousands of Syrian civlians and activists have disappeared into.
But if we are going to do the google thing around the Douma gas attack, you couldn't do better than this report from the Intercept.
For those who are genuinly interested in what is happening in Syria I can personally reccomend this report..
The 90% target is too broad. It should be 90% for every age bracket, and every ethnicity.
Forgive me if this is a dumb question, but has she clarified whether it is 90% had1 jab, both jabs, or had the opportunity to get a jab?
It seems to get mixed up depending who is talking.
From what I've heard ever since the press conference, there is no "90% target". Let alone by geographic, demographic, or number of jabs.
At least 90%. That's what they said. That's what they mean about loosening things up with "high" vax rates. The specifics depend on the circumstances when we get to a "high" rate. Don't fall into the tory trap of assuming 90% is a target. It's not, they're just laying the groundwork to bitch again.
"It depends" sucks for people who have an attachment to firm and precise numbers, but the real world requires fuzzy logic processing sometimes.
Sorry mate but that is a cop out on their part.
90% of what
No, not a cop out. They made the cardnial sin of not boring people to death using language that even the 1980s HHGTTG text-based computer game could parse, probably because if they had then a lot of knobs would parrot "explaining is losing" instead of "we don't know what's going oooonnnn".
Let's break this down further, shall we?
90% is in the region that is denoted "high". Probably near the base of that region, but don't be super-surprised if they start announcing things loosening up from the mid 80 percentages.
But, gosh, a high percentage of what? Fuck, we might never know.
I'll take a punt and say maybe it's to do with vaccination levels. But fully vaxed or partial? Of over 12s or over 5s? omagerd, it needs to be written in stone right now!!!
fucksake. Who gives a shit. We get there when we get there.
Yes obviously vaccinations.
But 90% of Aucklanders?
1 jab or both?
All regions at 90%
All races at 90% (Admittedly it would only be Maori and Pacifica, as for some odd reason Asians and Indians never appear in figures as apparently don't matter)
I heard on the radio that Bloomfield idiot said not unless Maori were at 90% (Again 90% in what contexts?)
As an aside, if the figures are still double figures at that time, do you think they will open up the country to Aucklanders at the same time school holidays start?
Some things never change and it seems that you’re still a trolling idiot.
https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-data-and-statistics/covid-19-vaccine-data#ethnicity
Also scroll down to Vaccine uptake per 1,000 people by ethnicity
Indians and Chinese, for example, are Asians. Humans are a race.
Fair point, it measured in official background statistics, but I was more talking about mentioned in their announcements to the media and their daily party ad.
But you have made a good point and I take back what I said.
And I fail to see how that post was trolling btw
Trolling?
Hint
That Bloomfield IDIOT
Sorry. Still don't see how that is trolling. Am I not allowed to think someone is an idiot?
You do unbderstand that the reason for high vaccination is to stop the ICUs being overloaded so people other than covid patients can be treated?
Opening up if the ICUs will be flooded by people from a particular region or ethnicity just creates the same outcome, with the extra icing that the region or ethnicity is viewed as expendable by the government.
If you genuinely don't know why your questions can come across as trolling, try thinking harder about that.
Of course I do.
I would just like to know the context of the %
Māori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi is not happy about possible govt plans to open two more quarantine facilities in Rotorua. He says one will be a fourth MIQ and the other a quarantine facility for Covid-19 infectious people.
… … … …
"Waititi said his information had come from "sources" and he was concerned about leaks of Covid-19 into the community if a quarantine facility was established in the city.
This only increases the potential for a MIQ breach leading to a community outbreak," he said. "It adds more pressure on the local health system and ultimately means more lockdowns.
"This would be disastrous for Rotorua, and especially Māori who make up 45 per cent of the Rotorua population."
There was a major difference between isolation and quarantine, Waititi said.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/rotorua-daily-post/news/covid-19-coronavirus-delta-outbreak-mp-rawiri-waititi-claims-govt-plans-quarantine-facility-for-rotorua/YIUWMNYGNEOFU2BC6IDORTBW6Y
… … …
(Waititi seems to be creating a very high media profile by complaining about all sorts of things. He's very telegenic, imo, & personally I currently expect Te Pāti Māori to do very well at the next election – Gez)
… … …
"Rotorua keeps and brings those infectious, to our community," Waititi said.
'This would be disastrous for Rotorua, and especially Māori who make up 45 per cent of the Rotorua population.'"
… … …
Hard to say if this is primarily a political ploy or stunt, but I think he's got a point. Hope he's doing all he can meantime to arrange for eligible Rotorua district ngā tāngata katoa (everybody) to get their Covid vaccinations asap.
It's the only thing he's done so far that could be mistaken for work – going ballistic over ties was just grandstanding, as is his push on Aotearoa.
Both of those high value PR opportunities for Waititi. He knows his target audience.
I was watching Parliament live the day he suckered Mallard into giving awesome free publicity. The rules were that male MPs were expected to wear “business attire”, which tos most Pākehā is a suit & tie.
But there are tons of prominent Māori leaders, academics, & businessmen who wear a large hei tiki draped around their necks & hanging over their shirt front. It’s a perfectly, & very common normal tāne Māori business attire.
Mallard threw a classic Pākehā stale male hissy fit, not thinking it thru. Bingo. Waititi gets the opportunity to do – for a Māori man whose mana has just been impugned – a rollicking & very culturally appropriate haka of protest & utu – reciprocation.
Within days, Mallard lifted the requirement for men to wear ties. Big ups to Rawiri.
The “call NZ Aotearoa” petition & his & his Party’s commitment to keep calling for a name change is pure theatre, but he’ll get a lot more profile-raising mileage out of this issue too. I’m not in favour personally, bur I know two Pākehā acquaintences who agree with him.
Rawiri sometimes sails too close to the “all Pākehā are racist colonisers” line for my liking.
As for how much work he’s doing, I don’t know but I bet it’s a lot more than many Pākehā think. Māori electorates are huge, They involve talking at a lot of marare, with Māori orgs, hapu iwi, constituents, & a lot of travelling. That gets pretty wearing I imagine.
The Speaker was the hall monitor for what Parliaments ' rules committee' decides.
I thought he was in favour of a less literal interpretation of 'neck thingy' and once the committee met and changed it then the Speaker could follow the new direction
Herald:
"Speaker Trevor Mallard has announced that ties are no longer mandatory in Parliament.
It comes days after a dress code stoush between him and Māori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi, which saw Waititi booted out for not wearing a tie.
Mallard said a Standing Orders committee meeting discussed appropriate business attire tonight and a submission on the topic was heard from Te Paati Māori (Māori Party).
"The committee did not reach a consensus but the majority of the committee was in favour of removing a requirement for ties to be part of 'appropriate business attire' for males," he said in a Tweet.
'As Speaker, I am guided by the committee's discussion and decision, and therefore ties will no longer be considered required as part of 'appropriate business attire'. I acknowledge those who felt this was an important issue worthy of further consideration.'"
… … …
Where Mallard did Waititi a huge favour was in objecting to the hei tiki being worn instead of a tie. Hugely boosted Rawiri's profile, & his mana with Māori.
Mallard could've just let it go.
By making it an issue it got to be changed .
Isnt that how change happens ?
Wow. Crazy stuff in Melbourne. Anti-lockdown, antivaxx zombies gather to riot, harass nurses and spread chaos.
https://twitter.com/guardian/status/1439437673685389312?s=20
Unions deny any association with the mob of grifters and denialists
https://twitter.com/lhilakari/status/1440163312897957888?s=20
Looks like our bubble with Australia won't be viable again for a long time. The plague of fuckwittery is particularly virulent
Rather long but interesting watch on who's at the forefront of everything from the January 6th insurrection in the US, the anti-Muslim/anti immigrant protests across Europe and the anti-vaxx/anti-lockdown demonstrations in the west to our very own howl of protest fuckwittery.
It ain't poor people.
https://www.pscp.tv/w/1eaJbnjnojYJX
You sure about that?
https://twitter.com/dnforca/status/1440571893388484612
Are we the last country on earth talking about noting else other than COVID? I am becoming very fatigued that after 18 months it seems to be the only thing the media or government are focussed on. It has almost become an obssession. We are still having daily press conferences on this, and every new bulletin opens with a daily case update, or story about people buying KFC.
Yes, it is the issue of our time, but there are other things happening out there in the world, which warrant our attention. How long will our daily obesseion continue?
A quick scan of international media shows, that something which started 18 months ago, isn't really news worthy anymore. COVID doesn't really get much of a mention out there
We are a peculiar little nation at time.
https://edition.cnn.com/
https://www.bbc.com/news
https://www.smh.com.au/
https://www.theguardian.com/international
https://www.bbc.com/news
Rant over.
Here's hoping for daily 1pm updates of the other crises afflicting NZ and the world: housing, inequality and climate change.
https://twitter.com/_chloeswarbrick/status/1440053826774454277?s=20
https://twitter.com/gumdigger/status/1439858037955563523?s=20
Absolutely.
I have general faith in the MoH to do their job when it comes to COVID. Contact trace, isolating people and slowly rolling out the vaccine. They are doing it reasonably well to the point I don't think we need the minute by minute commentary, that we were doing in March last year.
I have a lot less faith in other government departments doing their job, so I wish we would turn, at least some of, our attention to them. Imagine if we had a daily press conference to announce the housing waiting list, homelessness statisitics and climate change targets.
Climate change and homelessness are Green Party Ministerial responsibilities, so Chloe Swarbrick could always start with some accountability from her own colleagues.
Chloe's current push is the futile and exceedingly middle class pursuit of rebuilding St James Theatre.
Chloe Swarbrick should pull her head out of her ass.
Perhaps it is all distraction as continuing legislative changes take place out of the spotlight. It is quite instructive to have pending legislation and Parliament Order papers fed to your email.
I agree with you on the inevitable stories about coffee, KFC, buying flour etc.
It's not news, it's trivia at best. As Chloe Swarbrick says about updates on housing and CC, and Maurice eludes to, there are other important issues that are being ignored.
That will learn me for watching TV news after years of giving it a wide berth.
Australia has earthquakes?
https://twitter.com/TimothyJ_23/status/1440458736640794628
Yes. They’re very rare, but they DO sometimes happen. Even in the centre of their landmass. That whole continent’s tectonic plate is always being squeezed by others. And sometimes I guess some ancient fold or fault cracks or shudders. Or there’s some local geographic collapse deep down under.
My understanding anyway.
🙄 *geographic = geological
Yes Earthquakes are very over rare over here in Oz, there is a very large number of various fault lines in Oz to ancient volcanos & hotspots from the east coast of Nth’ern Qld all the way down to Victorian- SA Border & within the greater Melbourne area.
I live in Wellington, Scud. We get a lot of small earthquakes in Tawa, many coming from a slow slip event happening off the Western Kapiti Coast.
And there are about four or five major fault lines in the Welly region that generate huge quakes when they go. We're always waiting for The Big One on the Wellington fault.
But I hail from New Plymouth, Taranaki, where I grew up. Now ma & pa have both passed away here, I've been thinking about whether I should move back there, like ma wanted me to after she died. To be with my siblings up there.
The thing is, I grew up in the shadow of the beautiful & magnificent Mt Taranaki. And volcanologists say, geologically speaking it's due for an eruption, which might be small, or it might be blimmin massive. It's unusual for the number of times it's blown itself apart, & then just rebuilt itself.
It's only short. But this is what my Taranaki Maunga does:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GljllvKlTac
I’m ex CHCH until 1998, so I’m quite used to Mother Nature rocking & rolling. We get a few deep earthquakes from Indonesia- Timor-Leste Area rattling Darwin & the odd from Tennant Creek Area. I’ve just finished reading up the Halls Fall Faultline that runs from the Halls Falls area in WA all the way up to the other side of Darwin Harbour & out to the sea.
Newcastle, 1989.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_Newcastle_earthquake
We are approaching the point in the pandemic where we move from collectivising risk to individualising it. In the first phase it was collective, action, equality of sacrifice and no-one left behind. In the second phase it is get vaccinated, take precautions that are suitable for your risk profile, and if you are unlucky the healthcare system should (but might not) be there to help you. Normal transmission is being resumed and the government has not used the pandemic as a catalyst for changing anything important. Last year in the first L4 lockdown, we were as ripe as we'll ever be for UBI and significant poverty and inequality reduction efforts. Under pandemic conditions such things would arguably be rational, rather than political. Operationally, this government has handled the pandemic superbly, but strategically and ideologically not so much. The lessons we learned will go down the memory hole of history as we scramble back into a dysfunctional BAU.
yep. Although I'm not convinced we will go back to BAU. The vaccine isn't a silver bullet.
I'm thinking AB means BAU in a very broad sense, that in the end the interests of "the economy" prevail, back to the dysfunctional neo-liberal-driven way of life. Illustrated, possibly, by Auckland’s move from L4 to L3, described by some experts as a “calculated risk”, and by others as more ideologically-driven than anything else.
I used "BAU" too loosely (this damn writing thing is so hard to get right), but meant in that broad sense you suggest.
How many lives has Covid lockdown saved in Melbourne this morning? Bet the mad mob leaders say "It was the fucking gummint mate ".
Just out of interest I looked up the Polio Vaccine info and in 1956 there was 90% parental approval for child vaccination compared to only 29% in England, 42% in Scotland and 74% in NSW. We should be good for 90% here for Covid if our history of doing the right thing still holds. Interestingly the same problems were apparent then, production problems, the US refusing to export and lack of refrigeration, ( only a day or so leeway in ambient temp then).
More and more stories coming out about the what was going on in the Wuhan Lab and frankly it now seems more and more likely we are dealing with a virus that had been tinkered with… fucking insanity.
“They also planned to create chimeric viruses, genetically enhanced to infect humans more easily, and requested US$14 million from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) to fund the work.”
Where does that link to; Cricklewood? I have learned not to click on concealed links on this site, as I imagine; so have others. Gain of Function Research is not that unusual – if that is what you are referring to?
A quick google threw up this Intercept article (limited to 3 free article views, but not otherwise paywalled) though I am not disposed to trawl through all 900+ pages of FOIA primary sources to confirm what they are saying.
https://theintercept.com/2021/09/06/new-details-emerge-about-coronavirus-research-at-chinese-lab/
It doesn't seem that unreasonable to me to fund and conduct research into SARS & MERS in a virology lab. Though if it was done at the Biosafety Level 3 Wuhan University Center for Animal Experiment, rather than the BL4 Wuhan Institute of Virology, then the denials that the WIoV was involved might be a way of deflecting attention from the WUCfAE. The evidence does not seem conclusive.
In any case, there is more noise than sound in the speculations on both sides of these lab leak "theories" (ie conjectures beyond what is supported by evidence). I doubt there is much good faith on either side, even if one, or both, speculations are eventually confirmed. Personally, I think all labs licensed to operate beyond BL1 (eg university teaching labs using low risk biologicals level), should be subject to regular un-notified inspection by independent teams of international experts. That's not going to happen though!
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-58273322
Links back the Herald
23 cases today. All but 1 linked to known clusters.
Covid-19 case update: 23 new community cases reported | RNZ News
Yesterday, seven were infectious in the community, FFS. They’re chasing the tail, which is wagging the dog. Stomp on it, hard and fast and don’t mind the yelping dog, FFS.
I've generally found it helpful every few months to go back to the implementation criteria for different alert levels.
It's a dangerous habit to get into chasing the gauges of the daily numbers and demand level 4 for any community cases above zero.
It's a process they're working through. they're identifying connections with previous cases for almost all new cases within a day of diagnosis. They're not getting randos coming in so much with absolutely no connection with any previous cases. So they have several clusters that are being reasonably well contained, and that will burn themselves out eventually.
Level 3 matches that risk profile. We're using the same playbook that got us out of it last time, and it seems to be working about as well as it did last time. Better, even, because we started it sooner.
I hear you but the risk with smouldering fires is that they can flare up and burst into flames at any time. I believe that a more stringent ‘bespoke’ approach is justified and warranted to place a higher firewall around existing known clusters. The persistent tail is reason enough to up the ante, IMO.
Fire is a fair analogy.
At the moment, the assessment is that the winds have died down, the main blazes have been extinguished, so it's just the slog of finding the hot spots and digging them out. that means the evacuation orders can be cancelled and people can return to the properties that were in danger.
If the winds pick up and embers transfer again, back come the monsoon buckets and evacuations. But the full court press takes a heavy toll on everyone, so only gets done when times are desperate.
Changing topic. There is a major grizzle going down with importers about the backlog of vessels waiting to come alongside at Auckland Port. History repeats itself. I well remember in 1972 on a voyage to Japan with my partner (wives privilege of accompanying officers of the sea going vessels) and arriving in Tokoyo to see rows and rows of vessels waiting to go alongside or being off loaded by barges way out in the bay. 50 plus vessels at least. I also remember the sea was like glue it was so polluted. We were going into drydock at Yokohama but the sight was one I never forgot.
Now there are 60+ vessels out in the bay in LA waiting for a berth alongside. It seems our ports have been suffering from logjams for ever and a day.
In comparison Auckland has no problems and maybe there should be less whinging from the importers and accept the circumstances.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-58643717
I'm not sure I'd be trusting the source of that article. Not one jot.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DRASTIC
DRASTIC (Decentralized Radical Autonomous Search Team Investigating COVID-19) is a loose collection of scientists and researchers investigating the origins of COVID-19, in particular the COVID-19 lab leak theory. Most scientists maintain COVID-19 likely had a natural origin, but a lab leak is still a possibility worth investigating. DRASTIC is composed of about 30 core members, whose activity is primarily organized through the social media website Twitter. They formed in February 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. DRASTIC members have called for a "full and unrestricted investigation" into the origins of COVID-19, conducted independently of the World Health Organization.
Many of DRASTIC's members use pseudonyms, while identified members have backgrounds including mycology, neuroscience, and data science. Members of DRASTIC have engaged in personal attacks against virologists and epidemiologists on Twitter, falsely accusing some of working for the Chinese Communist Party.
Perhaps but no one is flat out denying what they have released in terms of documents and given the USAs likely involvment in funding work in the Lab https://www.bbc.com/news/57932699 I think its the mostly likely source of what has proven a remarkably well adapted virus.
But it very much suits those in power not to have that exposed.
or, like, shit just happens sometimes. and this virus is that shit this time.
It can be a long process finding the animal source of an outbreak. Not only have you got to stumble across the correct population but additionally, you have to sample the animal at the time it is infected with the virus. Progress is however being made. A bat population in the Northern Laos region has been sampled and found to contain a very closely related covd virus. It contains the human ace receptor site though not however the furin cleavage site. But the existence of the human ace receptor site is enough to allow the possibility of the evolution of the furin cleavage site in repeated human contacts. Or a wild furin cleavage site may still be found. These things take a lot of time.
Link
Good reason not to trust the source
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/02/16/968375658/virologist-on-wuhan-trip-seafood-market-not-the-whole-story-in-early-outbreak
"The WHO team's main public conclusion so far is that it's "extremely unlikely" that the virus originated in a lab in Wuhan. The scientists think the virus most likely started in bats, then jumped to other animals, then to humans.
Dutch virologist Marion Koopmans was part of that team that "reconstructed every step in that initial outbreak" in two weeks of investigation."
"So from everything that we've looked at and we've also visited three labs involved and also three labs that work on these viruses. From that, we have not been able to find any credible link there."
"How open and transparent were the Chinese once they let you in?
This is a topic and a mission. There are sensitivities around it … big political tensions that are around it. And that's something you cannot completely avoid in a situation like this. But once we got out of our quarantine, got into the face-to-face meetings, I think we've managed to get into real good scientific exchange with stiff discussions here and there, because [people] start from different backgrounds and different views. But I tell everyone, wait and read the report and let's discuss then. But I think we managed to get a good outcome of this meeting. I think it was in that sense quite successful."
"Is there anything that you think is necessary to know that you don't have access to?
Not really. So if you say, did the Chinese colleagues hand over the complete raw data files? No, they did not. But then again, I did not expect that in a mission like this. So we've seen a lot of information. We've been given a lot of information. We've had access to the people working on the data, aggregating the data, looking at what exact questionnaires that they used, what does the data file look like. To me, that is quite extensive data access."