I can't see any reasonable person agreeing with First Capital. With the council offering to top up the wages, all this Aussie company had to do was honour the conditions.
Clearly they are not good faith bargaining, more looking to trim the balance sheet so as to sell the business.
A TV series for the Labour Party, specifically Grant Robertson who believes that renters can 'just move to a different rental' when their current one gets to expensive. Tone deaf, out of touch, a one percenter if there ever was one.
Those thinking of leveraging their house to buy an investment property should watch Renters. Seeing the costs and associated risk of the landlord business may scare you off.
Everyone else, ignore it. Renters is not entertaining, it stereotypes tenants by highlighting extreme cases and it's so tone-deaf it will make you want to grab your pitchfork and start a revolution.
Also file this under 'we don't know how lucky we have been, still are' but rest assured that Government knows that it got elected by luck and luck alone.
he Ministry of Health allowed a family to remain in the community for more than two days after escaping managed isolation during last year's first level 3 lockdown.
The case was never reported publicly and was deemed low risk because they had come from a country without Covid-19.
But it had some officials in Auckland scrambling, with one person writing to the Ministry of Health to denounce their lack of direction over the incident.
Auckland Regional Isolation and Quarantine (RIQ) response manager at the time Lee Hazlewood wrote a critical email, obtained under the Official Information Act, that the ministry needed to step up.
The blunt email was sent to all agencies involved "respectfully for the record" with some of the issues he had identified.
He said the email was sent in case the breach became a public health issue and said his team contacted the Ministry of Health (MOH) first thing the morning after the breach seeking direction.
"We discussed several options with MOH during the day, [including] sending a clinical nurse to relay MOH guidance and supervise visit, [and] sending the staff member from the RIQ to relay any guidance from the MOH [National Health Coordination Centre]," the email read.
"The RIQ received no direction to act at this time or at any other time during the period that [the family] was outside of [managed isolation]."
His staff were also told conflicting stories around whether the family would return to quarantine or not.
Do you think the family was related to the Michael Woodhouse mystery homeless man in the upmarket Auckland MIQ hotel?
Maybe the 'luck alone' has to do with the luck that the National mob were dishonest, incompetent and idiotic.
Remember Michelle Boag releasing confidential information? Was that luck for Labour? Or bad luck for Hamish Walker who took one for the team while Nikki Kaye decided to quietly disappear? And Michael Woodhouse, no way would he have been in the loop of the info leak, parked himself in the background. And the good luck the 'enquiry' was a snow job.
Anyone who wants to call the government a 'sick joke from day one' is quite welcome to do it. To do it on the back of a relative handful of human stuff ups amongst the many millions of actions and interactions around covid and the border is silly.
Labour is the government and do have responsibility. National is just the opposition because they were thought to be incapable, dishonest and not trustworthy. The half pie enquiry into the Boag affair meant that National was helped to a huge 25.6% in the election and their supporters didn't have to confront the level of scumminess in the midst of the party.
I don't think they are a sick joke, but then i am well housed, well fed and clothes.
What i think they are is opportunistic and right now they make it up as they go along, and even then i don't blame them for that either as the Covid Pandemic will be the gift that keeps on giving for a few more years.
I also don't for a moment believe that we will ever go back to pre Lockdown 4 25th May 2020.
But what i do believe is that they will not tackle any of the social ills they should tackle.
Drug policies
racist drug polices, incrimination of other non violent/criminal behaviour, refusal to treat drug abuse as a health issue rather then a criminal one etc.
On that, total failure, in fact if Little could he would make the whole shebang worse.
Housing
we have currently up and down the country enough people to house a full scale mid size town and this government is going lalalalaala and keeps throwing money at it as if there is no tomorrow.
Total failure
Health and the inaction of Labour
we have new borns with cleft palates put on waiting lists, we have toddlers in need of cardiac surgery on waiting lists and we are currently crowdfunding for beds at Starships ICU
failure.
So what we have here is an inability from Labour to try anything other then the tried and trued that has not worked before. We have labour hide behind referendums in which senior Labour Politians did not state an opinion cause 'i don't want to influence the referendum" Well thanks a bunch dear.
If you ask willy nilly people on the street who boag is – and i actually had to look her up – they will not know. But ask them if they know someone who can't find a rental, or who is on a waiting list, or who is in prison due to racists and outdated criminal laws and chances are they can help you there.
So its not a sick joke, its just a bunch of worn out people that since helen clark never had to earn a day of living in the private market and who have very little ideas about how they affect the country in day to day live. Out of touch and somewhat callous, and devoid of courage. And now they can't hide behind an opposition bench, they can't hide behind coalition partners they are actually all alone responsible for what they do. So who cares about National, they can do no more then Labour could under John Key. Flap their wings and be impotent.
We have a joke for that in Germany : The operation was successful but the patient died. That to me is Labour today, and we are the patient.
We have a joke for that in Germany : The operation was successful but the patient died. That to me is Labour today, and we are the patient.
Germany (a wealthy country with competent political leadership and excellent health infrastructure) sadly has 973 COVID-19 deaths per million. NZ sadly has 5 deaths per million.
I hope that this pandemic has peaked, and reckon a 'joke' involving a patient dying might be considered a bit tasteless right now, even in Germany.
PCC, thankfully not everyone shares your opinion. Some opposition National party MPs are jokes, taking their queue from Collins' eyebrows (what a 'leader').
National party MPs are incapable of governing for all NZers – it's simply not in their DNA. Everyone understands that now – National party voters always knew it.
The Best and Worst Places to Be as Global Vaccinations Take Off A lightning-fast vaccination drive has propelled Israel toward the top of Bloomberg’s Covid Resilience Ranking, transforming everyday life to put the country alongside New Zealand [#1] and Taiwan as one of the best places to be in the coronavirus era.
national mps are jokes, and in saying that the same thing could be said about labour during the john key years, they too managed to fail to win an election till they threw J.A at the electorate. So who will be the saviour of National? Maybe it will be tax cuts, opening weed to business and recreational use, and such. And guess what people would vote for that.
And neither eyebrows nor teeth should ever be cause for a joke.
Yes, they government that promised us transparency has been anything but. Our isolation and low population alone saved us.
I doubt Ashley Bloomfield could even lie straight in bed. So many cover ups and downright lies (remember his and the governments lies about PPE?)
This Labour administration has been a joke from start to finish. Kiwibuild. Airport light rail. Fast trains to Hamilton and Tauranga. A Minister of Health that hid under the bed in Dunedin (when not out breaking lockdown). The list is endless.
A Minister of Health who hid his under his bed for months while being part of the establishing of an internationally acknowledged success in dealing with the pandemic?
Of course it wasn't perfect – you weren't involved with your knowledge and expertise. Oh, and people, human beings, were involved in complex and new situations.
Your tone smacks of sadness at missing the hole in one, the home run that would have put a smile on your face to ram home 'the government is hopeless' narrative.
Are you sad tens of thousands didn't die to give you some real bullets?
" Our isolation and low population alone saved us."
Please , there were 1000s arriving every day at the major airport.
And low population ? Ask Ireland with around the same population of 5-6 million and 4800 covid deaths.
Taking the wrong steps in Victoria after an outbreak sourced from a MIQ hotel let to 800 deaths.
Elimination wasnt the starting strategy but very quickly did become that, while National moved to a sort of minimization- open the borders, bring back the students and other useless ideas. if the National party was in power we would be having a 3rd wave of hundreds of dead as we moved in winter
Ireland, part of england? That Ireland? Or is there an Ireland in the middle of an ocean with nothing other around them then water that you could just close off to the public and be done with? lol lol lol lol
yeas and orange is a fruit, and an apple is too, and yet they are so different.
We went into lockdown to prevent our healthcare system from collapsing. Elimination was not what the public was told, we bring in daily cases from overseas, so we have eliminated nothing. We are one infected person away from disaster, considering that our health care system collapsed without Covid, but just due to past and current underfunding by respective governments.
Honey Ireland is part of England and the EU. Ireland could not as we did just close the door to everyone as they were not the only ones to decide. I mean yeah for some details don't matter, but that is a bit thick.
But hey, here is Vietnam, borders China, Laos, Kambodia, 90 million plus people, an 'emerging' nation.
currently we have active 32 cases – all from overseas thus imported
from todays NZ herald.
Before you accuse me of falsehoods let me confim to you that you are looking like the fool that you have shown yourself to be. I generally only speak about things i have seen / read in fairly reputable news organs. I can link to pretty much any of my ideas/opinion for support. As for insulting other posters by throwing a wee tantrum on the floor, that also says more about you then it will ever say about me.
We would never refer to as Scotland as the UK or Ireland as the UK.
But yes, consider the shitshow that was /is England then one can assume that other countries that are also in the UK who are not England have an issue. That is what i was referring to.
Eighteen people have been arrested and 15 charged after crowds of predominantly loyalist youths attacked lines of riot police officers and vehicles with bricks, fireworks and petrol bombs.
Saturday night was the first without major incident since Good Friday on 2 April, with the lack of trouble being linked to the death of the Duke of Edinburgh.
While all Northern Ireland's main parties have condemned the violence, they are divided about its causes.
We are one infected person away from disaster. We are one tremendous South Island earthquake away from disaster. We are one nuclear weapon away from disaster.
The health care system collapsed without Covid? The system isn't perfect, to say it has collapsed is total and obvious rubbish.
Fortunately it wasn't allowed to collapse. Go back a year and a bit. Don't close the borders, don't have lockdowns, don't wear masks … How would that have gone with collapsing the health system?
are you feeling safer today with the health care system of today then you felt a year ago?
we are one case that gets out away from a major fucking disaster as the current mutations are worse and we would have heard if the government would have build a hospital, trained nurses free of charge, created space for an eventual outbreak and such. We got 100 ventilators since. We are still short on nurses, beds, space, and probably ppe, as i have not heard of the breaking ground to a facility that could produce these for us here in NZ.
Peter. CHCH "Our isolation and low population alone saved us".
I am sorry Peter this is absolute bullshit. There were many decisions made in crisis mode that saved us. Closing the boarder to China, major lockdown (hard and early) other wise rates of covid would have sky rocketted. Paying the wage subsidy which has ensured many businesses have survived. Setting up in great haste MIQ for returning Kiwis and reviewing every breach and putting things in. place to prevent them, Ordering a review on contact tracing (Dr Verrall, now a member of cabinet ) and getting it up to speed, ramping up laboratory testing. Locking down when necessary and closing our boarders recently to India where rates of Covid are catastrophic. Oh yes and buying a number vaccines with the roll out underway.
This is why we have had very little covid in our community and very few deaths. Mistakes will occur, because that is life. If you think about your own life over the last week, I imagine you have made some mistakes. i have too. Impossible not too.
So your claim that isolation and small pop = good covid result is nonsence
In 1976 the Bay City Rollers played at the Auckland Town Hall. There was a rule against standing on the seats; of course a lot of the girls in the crowd proceeded to stand on the seats, until a goon from Eden Security punched one of them.
There was, naturally, great anger directed at Eden Security after that.
The Bay City Rollers and The Nolan Sisters?…I never in a million years would have thought of putting those two acts together, but as you have mentioned it I have thought about (briefly) and it sounds not quite right, what makes you think they would have been a good match .
Just relistened to 'I'm in the mood for Dancing',not too bad, but hasn't really stood the test of time too well..but I probably danced to this at some school Disco back then, so who am I too judge?
Being a consultant is one of the most lucrative jobs one can get in one’s field. All it takes is knowing the right people, having a glossy business card, a good sales pitch and loads of confidence. One doesn’t have to be particularly good at anything, just use the right jargon and say the things the ‘customer’ wants to hear. Once one is ‘in’, one’s ‘in’ for as long as one likes. That said, there are very few genuinely good ones around, at least, AFAIK, but I’ve met a few duds in my professional life, some real shockers.
Peter. CHCH "Our isolation and low population alone saved us".
I am sorry Peter this is absolute bullshit. There were many decisions made in crisis mode that saved us. Closing the boarder to China, major lockdown (hard and early) other wise rates of covid would have sky rocketted. Paying the wage subsidy which has ensured many businesses have survived. Setting up in great haste MIQ for returning Kiwis and reviewing every breach and putting things in. place to prevent them, Ordering a review on contact tracing (Dr Verrall, now a member of cabinet ) and getting it up to speed, ramping up laboratory testing. Locking down when necessary and closing our boarders recently to India where rates of Covid are catastrophic. Oh yes and buying a number vaccines with the roll out underway.
This is why we have had very little covid in our community and very few deaths. Mistakes will occur, because that is life. If you think about your own life over the last week, I imagine you have made some mistakes. i have too. Impossible not too.
So your claim that isolation and small pop = good covid result is nonsence
all the people that stayed at home, all the people that closed the shops to their businesses knowing full well tht they will not have one to come back too, all the nurses, all the doctors, all the people that donated food, all of us that did all the right things, and the many many sacrifices so many made.
the best intention of government is worth fuck all when you have say a population like the US has.
And as i posted before Vietnam with a population of 93 million and surrounded by three countries one of them china had virtually the same number of infected, recovered and death – their dead numbering at 35 while ours stand at 26, and like us all their cases are imported ones.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/441093/taranaki-aquifer-contaminated-50-times-more-than-acceptable …"They're consistent with a local concentration, a local high-level concentration as opposed to normal land use. "Previously, I've seen concentrations as high or higher, but only around facilities or factories that store such pesticides." The regional council undertook an aerial search and questioned landowners in an effort to find the source of the contamination, but drew a blank and eventually abandoned its investigation.
…Barry Prophet hoped the source could be located. "It certainly isn't good. They are going to have to find out what, where and why?" He had his suspicions."Probably drums were just thrown away back a few years ago."
It could help to provide information if a highish monetary reward was offered for information leading to location – 'no names, no pack drill'.
Week in Review [18 April; 2021] To end this complete and utter shambles, National has called for a return of the Epidemic Response Committee to ensure the Government, and its departments, are held to account for their promises, scrutinise their decisions, and help deliver better public policy and action.
Not only a complete shambles, but an "utter shambles"! Witness the breathtakingly untrustworthy Bishop and Collins parading their feeble grasp on reality for all to see.
The Best and Worst Places to Be as Global Vaccinations Take Off A lightning-fast vaccination drive has propelled Israel toward the top of Bloomberg’s Covid Resilience Ranking, transforming everyday life to put the country alongside New Zealand [#1] and Taiwan as one of the best places to be in the coronavirus era.
and Vietnam which has our numbers in cases plus 9 people more dead (grand total of 35) then us and is a country that is not an island and has 90+ million people living and working there.
I know an inconvenient truth for some, but I think they deserve a round of applaus and as far as governments go in times of a pandemic i think they deserve another round of applause cause these guys did well.
I think they deserve a round of applaus and as far as governments go in times of a pandemic i think they deserve another round of applause cause these guys did well.
Reckon all governments/populations that have done well so far deserve recognition
Maybe certain populations in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos have developed a some immunity to the virus, if, as is supposed, the transmission from bat to human occurred in that country which is the home of the bat to which the virus is linked. I understand that in the northern part of Vietnam there is frequent interaction between humans and the bats, as the local population enter the caves in which the bats live to collect their guano for fertiliser.
The data in the figure above indirectly support the hypothesis that the SARS-CoV-2 group actually originated in mainland Southeast Asia. Indeed, human populations in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam appear to be much less affected by the Covid-19 pandemic than other countries in the region, such as Bangladesh, Myanmar, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia. This suggests that the populations of these four countries may be benefiting from a level of herd immunity to Sarbecoviruses.
Then again Vietnam have developed over the recent past a response to pandemics very similar to that which our Govt initiated in March last year.
As of December 31, 2020, Vietnam had reported 1,465 laboratory confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 35 deaths.2 This success has been attributed to several key factors, including a well-developed public health system, a decisive central government, and a proactive containment strategy based on comprehensive testing, tracing, and quarantining.
One of the reasons Vietnam was able to act so quickly and keep the case count so low is that the country experienced a severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic in 2003 and human cases of avian influenza between 2004 and 2010. As a result, Vietnam had both the experience and infrastructure to take appropriate action. Vietnam makes many key containment decisions in a matter of days, which may take weeks for governments in other countries to make. Although Vietnam is a highly centralized country, a number of key decisions were made at the local level, which also contributed to the swift response.
Unless someone can link to a credible study that shows natural immunity i would say that is a far fetched idea.
The reason i point to Vietnam as a success rather then us or Taiwan is simply the physical location.
Like we had it easiest among the many, for us to close the border was no issue as we literally just had to prevent airplanes from landing/same with boats. We don't have to worry about landborders that can be porous and hard to manage and controll.
I also point to Vietnam as a bigger success story as they actually continued to work as normally as possible inclusive building production facilities for PPE and such, while we here are still crowd funding ICU beds for Starship Hospital.
I don't consider NZ a success in the 'combat' against Covid, i consider us to be some of the luckiest people to have been physically where we are, and since then we have continued to be lucky. And i hope that we get lucky over and over again, cause we need it .
I ran across a recent essay from The Brothers Krynn, which attempts to map common horror monsters onto the Seven Deadly Sins: https://canadianculturecorner.substack.com/p/horror-monsters-and-vice My interest, however, is not in the meat of the piece, but rather the opening paragraph: It is an interesting fact that in recent decades, Vampires have ...
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From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
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:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
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 ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
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. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
COMMENTARY:By Ronny Kareni Since the atrocious footage of the suffering of an indigenous Papuan man reverberates in the heart of Puncak by the brute force of Indonesia’s army in early February, shocking tactics deployed by those in power to silence critics has been unfolding. Nowhere is this more evident ...
Analysis - Nicola Willis is holding firm on tax cuts despite the economic outlook being worse than forecast and critics urging her to wait, writes Peter Wilson for The Week In Politics. ...
Opposition MPs and unions are criticising a proposal by New Zealand’s Ministry of Pacific Peoples to cut staff by 40 percent. The country’s largest trade union — The Public Service Association — says the ministry has informed staff that it is looking to shed 63 of 156 positions. Opposition MPs ...
A poem by Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 featured poet Carin Smeaton. Daughtr of the 90s when she gets promoted to usherette a baby blu eel carries her all the way up to mothership she’s hovering high she lets the underaged in to see keanu reeves she lets the only lonely ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
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He Lives!
As I was consuming my morning repast, this emerged from my toaster. What can it mean?
https://markdoran.files.wordpress.com/2021/04/prince-ph-toast.jpg
You need a different horse.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/wellington/300284386/thousands-sign-petition-in-support-of-striking-wellington-bus-drivers
please consider signing this petition
Done.
I can't see any reasonable person agreeing with First Capital. With the council offering to top up the wages, all this Aussie company had to do was honour the conditions.
Clearly they are not good faith bargaining, more looking to trim the balance sheet so as to sell the business.
A TV series for the Labour Party, specifically Grant Robertson who believes that renters can 'just move to a different rental' when their current one gets to expensive. Tone deaf, out of touch, a one percenter if there ever was one.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/karl-puschmann-tvnzs-renters-is-everything-wrong-with-nz/DN4ALYS5VVT3PRXZAQYTHDAPXI/
I have watched it a couple times. Some property managers seem to go over to the property when it is too late to help the landlord or the tenant.
Those who smash up their home have issues and intervention is required.
as do the ones that think you can rent a burned out property while its being renovated. 🙂
the whole serious is fucked up lowest common denominator television.
Also file this under 'we don't know how lucky we have been, still are' but rest assured that Government knows that it got elected by luck and luck alone.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-coronavirus-how-a-family-fled-and-returned-to-miq-facility-in-auckland/CBDHTOHBHO3I5YLCA324OIKUCE/
Do you think the family was related to the Michael Woodhouse mystery homeless man in the upmarket Auckland MIQ hotel?
Maybe the 'luck alone' has to do with the luck that the National mob were dishonest, incompetent and idiotic.
Remember Michelle Boag releasing confidential information? Was that luck for Labour? Or bad luck for Hamish Walker who took one for the team while Nikki Kaye decided to quietly disappear? And Michael Woodhouse, no way would he have been in the loop of the info leak, parked himself in the background. And the good luck the 'enquiry' was a snow job.
Peter, how does trotting out the Labour party line about National excuse the fact that this government has been a sick joke from day one?
Labour is actually the government, and thus they and they alone have the responsibility. National is just the opposition (and Boag not even that).
Transparency and honesty, I think Ardern promised. Yeah, right.
Anyone who wants to call the government a 'sick joke from day one' is quite welcome to do it. To do it on the back of a relative handful of human stuff ups amongst the many millions of actions and interactions around covid and the border is silly.
Labour is the government and do have responsibility. National is just the opposition because they were thought to be incapable, dishonest and not trustworthy. The half pie enquiry into the Boag affair meant that National was helped to a huge 25.6% in the election and their supporters didn't have to confront the level of scumminess in the midst of the party.
The sick joke is that House prices, Rents and the number if people in slum hotels are rising at record rates…
Labour governing for the land owning classes…
I don't think they are a sick joke, but then i am well housed, well fed and clothes.
What i think they are is opportunistic and right now they make it up as they go along, and even then i don't blame them for that either as the Covid Pandemic will be the gift that keeps on giving for a few more years.
I also don't for a moment believe that we will ever go back to pre Lockdown 4 25th May 2020.
But what i do believe is that they will not tackle any of the social ills they should tackle.
Drug policies
racist drug polices, incrimination of other non violent/criminal behaviour, refusal to treat drug abuse as a health issue rather then a criminal one etc.
On that, total failure, in fact if Little could he would make the whole shebang worse.
Housing
we have currently up and down the country enough people to house a full scale mid size town and this government is going lalalalaala and keeps throwing money at it as if there is no tomorrow.
Total failure
Health and the inaction of Labour
we have new borns with cleft palates put on waiting lists, we have toddlers in need of cardiac surgery on waiting lists and we are currently crowdfunding for beds at Starships ICU
failure.
So what we have here is an inability from Labour to try anything other then the tried and trued that has not worked before. We have labour hide behind referendums in which senior Labour Politians did not state an opinion cause 'i don't want to influence the referendum" Well thanks a bunch dear.
If you ask willy nilly people on the street who boag is – and i actually had to look her up – they will not know. But ask them if they know someone who can't find a rental, or who is on a waiting list, or who is in prison due to racists and outdated criminal laws and chances are they can help you there.
So its not a sick joke, its just a bunch of worn out people that since helen clark never had to earn a day of living in the private market and who have very little ideas about how they affect the country in day to day live. Out of touch and somewhat callous, and devoid of courage. And now they can't hide behind an opposition bench, they can't hide behind coalition partners they are actually all alone responsible for what they do. So who cares about National, they can do no more then Labour could under John Key. Flap their wings and be impotent.
We have a joke for that in Germany : The operation was successful but the patient died. That to me is Labour today, and we are the patient.
Germany (a wealthy country with competent political leadership and excellent health infrastructure) sadly has 973 COVID-19 deaths per million. NZ sadly has 5 deaths per million.
I hope that this pandemic has peaked, and reckon a 'joke' involving a patient dying might be considered a bit tasteless right now, even in Germany.
Germany is also a country in the middle of europe and nz is an island in a vast empty ocean.
all those apples and oranges….all fruit.
Comparisons may be fruitless, and yet there's no place I'd rather be.
Funny that.
PCC, thankfully not everyone shares your opinion. Some opposition National party MPs are jokes, taking their queue from Collins' eyebrows (what a 'leader').
National party MPs are incapable of governing for all NZers – it's simply not in their DNA. Everyone understands that now – National party voters always knew it.
Drowsy, we agree on one thing at least: some National mps are jokes. And yes, those eyebrows….
national mps are jokes, and in saying that the same thing could be said about labour during the john key years, they too managed to fail to win an election till they threw J.A at the electorate. So who will be the saviour of National? Maybe it will be tax cuts, opening weed to business and recreational use, and such. And guess what people would vote for that.
And neither eyebrows nor teeth should ever be cause for a joke.
Yes, they government that promised us transparency has been anything but. Our isolation and low population alone saved us.
I doubt Ashley Bloomfield could even lie straight in bed. So many cover ups and downright lies (remember his and the governments lies about PPE?)
This Labour administration has been a joke from start to finish. Kiwibuild. Airport light rail. Fast trains to Hamilton and Tauranga. A Minister of Health that hid under the bed in Dunedin (when not out breaking lockdown). The list is endless.
A Minister of Health who hid his under his bed for months while being part of the establishing of an internationally acknowledged success in dealing with the pandemic?
Of course it wasn't perfect – you weren't involved with your knowledge and expertise. Oh, and people, human beings, were involved in complex and new situations.
Your tone smacks of sadness at missing the hole in one, the home run that would have put a smile on your face to ram home 'the government is hopeless' narrative.
Are you sad tens of thousands didn't die to give you some real bullets?
" Our isolation and low population alone saved us."
Please , there were 1000s arriving every day at the major airport.
And low population ? Ask Ireland with around the same population of 5-6 million and 4800 covid deaths.
Taking the wrong steps in Victoria after an outbreak sourced from a MIQ hotel let to 800 deaths.
Elimination wasnt the starting strategy but very quickly did become that, while National moved to a sort of minimization- open the borders, bring back the students and other useless ideas. if the National party was in power we would be having a 3rd wave of hundreds of dead as we moved in winter
Ireland, part of england? That Ireland? Or is there an Ireland in the middle of an ocean with nothing other around them then water that you could just close off to the public and be done with? lol lol lol lol
yeas and orange is a fruit, and an apple is too, and yet they are so different.
We went into lockdown to prevent our healthcare system from collapsing. Elimination was not what the public was told, we bring in daily cases from overseas, so we have eliminated nothing. We are one infected person away from disaster, considering that our health care system collapsed without Covid, but just due to past and current underfunding by respective governments.
Which part of Ireland 5-6 million people.
I wondered before but now you have a tirade of falsehoods. Its pointless engaging with with a fact less froth
Im convinced as you get older the more to the right you will move so that by Hoskings age you could be his alter ego
Honey Ireland is part of England and the EU. Ireland could not as we did just close the door to everyone as they were not the only ones to decide. I mean yeah for some details don't matter, but that is a bit thick.
But hey, here is Vietnam, borders China, Laos, Kambodia, 90 million plus people, an 'emerging' nation.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-australia-lowy-idUSKBN29W311
flattening the curve
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2020/06/coronavirus-a-timeline-of-how-new-zealand-flattened-the-curve-and-beat-covid-19.html
suddenly flattening the curve not good enough anymore – elimination is now the goalpost.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300185880/flattening-curve-was-not-enough-jacinda-ardern-talks-about-new-zealands-covid-response-us-elections-in-ap-interview
currently we have active 32 cases – all from overseas thus imported
from todays NZ herald.
Before you accuse me of falsehoods let me confim to you that you are looking like the fool that you have shown yourself to be. I generally only speak about things i have seen / read in fairly reputable news organs. I can link to pretty much any of my ideas/opinion for support. As for insulting other posters by throwing a wee tantrum on the floor, that also says more about you then it will ever say about me.
now i am bored with you. bye.
No Ireland is not part of England.
The island of Ireland is home to Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland which is completely independent of the UK.
United Kingdom is made up of England Scotland Wales (the island of Great Britain) and Northern Ireland.
The island of Ireland comprises the Republic of Ireland, which is a sovereign country, and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom.
Indeed sometimes people from not english countries take "English" as synonimous with "UK" the government, like for me. "England" is the UK much to the chagrin of Scotland. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-56806107
We would never refer to as Scotland as the UK or Ireland as the UK.
But yes, consider the shitshow that was /is England then one can assume that other countries that are also in the UK who are not England have an issue. That is what i was referring to.
also Ireland and the EU
https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/countries/member-countries/ireland_en
lol Great way to piss off republicans and unionists at the same time, that.
didn't they. And one still is in the EU and the other isnt, and the it seems that history will repeat itself again, cause 'england'.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-56664378
We are one infected person away from disaster. We are one tremendous South Island earthquake away from disaster. We are one nuclear weapon away from disaster.
The health care system collapsed without Covid? The system isn't perfect, to say it has collapsed is total and obvious rubbish.
Fortunately it wasn't allowed to collapse. Go back a year and a bit. Don't close the borders, don't have lockdowns, don't wear masks … How would that have gone with collapsing the health system?
are you feeling safer today with the health care system of today then you felt a year ago?
we are one case that gets out away from a major fucking disaster as the current mutations are worse and we would have heard if the government would have build a hospital, trained nurses free of charge, created space for an eventual outbreak and such. We got 100 ventilators since. We are still short on nurses, beds, space, and probably ppe, as i have not heard of the breaking ground to a facility that could produce these for us here in NZ.
Definitely. A year ago NZers were dying daily from COVID-19 and that was causing much anxiety. In the last 7 months there's been 1 COVID-19 death.
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/new-zealand/
During and after gearing up for COVID-19, my GP and local public hospital continue provide excellent service – can't praise/thank them enough.
By a fluke (!), we’ve also almost eliminated the flu.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/nz-is-virtually-flu-free-but-heres-why-you-still-need-your-jab/3XPHU662SGQDVELGQIELXCS2AM/
Peter. CHCH "Our isolation and low population alone saved us".
I am sorry Peter this is absolute bullshit. There were many decisions made in crisis mode that saved us. Closing the boarder to China, major lockdown (hard and early) other wise rates of covid would have sky rocketted. Paying the wage subsidy which has ensured many businesses have survived. Setting up in great haste MIQ for returning Kiwis and reviewing every breach and putting things in. place to prevent them, Ordering a review on contact tracing (Dr Verrall, now a member of cabinet ) and getting it up to speed, ramping up laboratory testing. Locking down when necessary and closing our boarders recently to India where rates of Covid are catastrophic. Oh yes and buying a number vaccines with the roll out underway.
This is why we have had very little covid in our community and very few deaths. Mistakes will occur, because that is life. If you think about your own life over the last week, I imagine you have made some mistakes. i have too. Impossible not too.
So your claim that isolation and small pop = good covid result is nonsence
Endless? Go on, give us another four or five……
It was back in May last year. hardly anyone knew what we know now.
A single family here or there wasnt going to change much, it was the science driven 4.5 week level 4 lockdown and the measures that followed.
But you do have your fairytale stories of the big bad wolf coming to get us
lol
and guess what you would not know today where it not for someone asking.
Lucky, we are so lucky, and some are really happy that they are never told just how lucky they are lest they suddenly felt less lucky. lol
I should be so lucky, lucky lucky lucky – lol
R.I.P. Kevin McKeown from the Bay City Rollers.
A weird piece of Scottish pop culture, and a wee breakthrough here.
Always thought they should match up with The Nolans.
In 1976 the Bay City Rollers played at the Auckland Town Hall. There was a rule against standing on the seats; of course a lot of the girls in the crowd proceeded to stand on the seats, until a goon from Eden Security punched one of them.
There was, naturally, great anger directed at Eden Security after that.
The Bay City Rollers and The Nolan Sisters?…I never in a million years would have thought of putting those two acts together, but as you have mentioned it I have thought about (briefly) and it sounds not quite right, what makes you think they would have been a good match .
Just relistened to 'I'm in the mood for Dancing',not too bad, but hasn't really stood the test of time too well..but I probably danced to this at some school Disco back then, so who am I too judge?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbAM2_6jKY0
I believe the quantity, quality and efficacy of reviews needs to be reviewed
Do they provide value for money? Who will review the reviewers?
Why the re re reviewers …..and im sure they can ascertain whether its all been value for money, subject to review of course.
Being a consultant is one of the most lucrative jobs one can get in one’s field. All it takes is knowing the right people, having a glossy business card, a good sales pitch and loads of confidence. One doesn’t have to be particularly good at anything, just use the right jargon and say the things the ‘customer’ wants to hear. Once one is ‘in’, one’s ‘in’ for as long as one likes. That said, there are very few genuinely good ones around, at least, AFAIK, but I’ve met a few duds in my professional life, some real shockers.
Good or bad, purpose served.
Peter. CHCH "Our isolation and low population alone saved us".
I am sorry Peter this is absolute bullshit. There were many decisions made in crisis mode that saved us. Closing the boarder to China, major lockdown (hard and early) other wise rates of covid would have sky rocketted. Paying the wage subsidy which has ensured many businesses have survived. Setting up in great haste MIQ for returning Kiwis and reviewing every breach and putting things in. place to prevent them, Ordering a review on contact tracing (Dr Verrall, now a member of cabinet ) and getting it up to speed, ramping up laboratory testing. Locking down when necessary and closing our boarders recently to India where rates of Covid are catastrophic. Oh yes and buying a number vaccines with the roll out underway.
This is why we have had very little covid in our community and very few deaths. Mistakes will occur, because that is life. If you think about your own life over the last week, I imagine you have made some mistakes. i have too. Impossible not too.
So your claim that isolation and small pop = good covid result is nonsence
and last but least….
all the people that stayed at home, all the people that closed the shops to their businesses knowing full well tht they will not have one to come back too, all the nurses, all the doctors, all the people that donated food, all of us that did all the right things, and the many many sacrifices so many made.
the best intention of government is worth fuck all when you have say a population like the US has.
And as i posted before Vietnam with a population of 93 million and surrounded by three countries one of them china had virtually the same number of infected, recovered and death – their dead numbering at 35 while ours stand at 26, and like us all their cases are imported ones.
good.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/man-sentenced-to-jail-for-rape-after-removing-condom-without-consent/NVRGH4GJNZLIEKSENRIDUHZJMI/
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/441093/taranaki-aquifer-contaminated-50-times-more-than-acceptable
…"They're consistent with a local concentration, a local high-level concentration as opposed to normal land use.
"Previously, I've seen concentrations as high or higher, but only around facilities or factories that store such pesticides."
The regional council undertook an aerial search and questioned landowners in an effort to find the source of the contamination, but drew a blank and eventually abandoned its investigation.
…Barry Prophet hoped the source could be located.
"It certainly isn't good. They are going to have to find out what, where and why?"
He had his suspicions. "Probably drums were just thrown away back a few years ago."
It could help to provide information if a highish monetary reward was offered for information leading to location – 'no names, no pack drill'.
Back a bit in 2016, this was published. It's timely to look again at the NZsituation.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/306913/land-of-sludge-and-money
As a matter of interest have a look at the long list various chemicals that might be present in the soil where there has been a factory making chemical/agricultural products:
https://www.trc.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Environment/Monitoring-Industry/MR2015-DowAgroSciences.pdf (search/find – difenoconazole)
Not only a complete shambles, but an "utter shambles"! Witness the breathtakingly untrustworthy Bishop and Collins parading their feeble grasp on reality for all to see.
and Vietnam which has our numbers in cases plus 9 people more dead (grand total of 35) then us and is a country that is not an island and has 90+ million people living and working there.
I know an inconvenient truth for some, but I think they deserve a round of applaus and as far as governments go in times of a pandemic i think they deserve another round of applause cause these guys did well.
🙂
Reckon all governments/populations that have done well so far deserve recognition
Maybe certain populations in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos have developed a some immunity to the virus, if, as is supposed, the transmission from bat to human occurred in that country which is the home of the bat to which the virus is linked. I understand that in the northern part of Vietnam there is frequent interaction between humans and the bats, as the local population enter the caves in which the bats live to collect their guano for fertiliser.
https://scroll.in/article/986077/viruses-similar-to-sars-cov-2-have-been-circulating-for-decades-we-found-one-in-cambodia
Then again Vietnam have developed over the recent past a response to pandemics very similar to that which our Govt initiated in March last year.
https://ourworldindata.org/covid-exemplar-vietnam
[image resized]
Unless someone can link to a credible study that shows natural immunity i would say that is a far fetched idea.
The reason i point to Vietnam as a success rather then us or Taiwan is simply the physical location.
Like we had it easiest among the many, for us to close the border was no issue as we literally just had to prevent airplanes from landing/same with boats. We don't have to worry about landborders that can be porous and hard to manage and controll.
I also point to Vietnam as a bigger success story as they actually continued to work as normally as possible inclusive building production facilities for PPE and such, while we here are still crowd funding ICU beds for Starship Hospital.
I don't consider NZ a success in the 'combat' against Covid, i consider us to be some of the luckiest people to have been physically where we are, and since then we have continued to be lucky. And i hope that we get lucky over and over again, cause we need it .