Open mike 23/06/2021
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6:00 am, June 23rd, 2021 - 110 comments
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- Bryce Edwards: Political Roundup – How the Government has fuelled rampant increases in wealth
Jacinda Ardern’s household wealth increased by an estimated $290,000 over the last year. Although she earnt nearly half a million dollars from her job, her windfall was solely due to the value of her Auckland house increasing. And by her own policy designs, it’s a capital gain which is untaxed. ...2 hours ago - Climate Change: The other Tiwai scam
Newsroom has a good piece this morning about the government's consultation on industrial free allocations, revealing that Fletcher Building is getting an extra $5 million a year ($7 million at today's prices) due to miscalculated carbon subsidies. That's bad, and it needs to be stopped by resetting emissions baselines to ...4 hours ago - End the Tiwai scamA little over a year ago, Rio Tinto was pleading povery, claiming its Tiwai Point aluminium smelter was unprofitable, and threatening to close it unless it got a government handout to keep it running. Their bluff worked, and we ended up paying the BluffGeld by giving them lower electricity prices ...5 hours ago
- Holes in the Tundra: Why Burping Cows Are the Least of Our Worries.
8 hours ago - Piers Morgan – Arsehole of the Week
11 hours ago - Bryce Edwards: Political Roundup – Labour’s sacrificing of the poorJacinda Ardern and Grant Robertson like to think of themselves as leftwing politicians. So why aren’t they prioritising and championing the vulnerable at the bottom of society? Since Covid hit they have chosen economic policies that benefit the rich while pushing more into poverty. Increasing inequality was thrown into stark ...1 day ago
- Climate Change: Just predatory delay againAnother day, another story arguing that climate change is Just Too Hard for farmers, and that they should be given more time to wait for a magic technological solution which will cut emissions while allowing them to continue doing exactly what they're doing at the moment. Today, the magic Technological ...1 day ago
- A note on the “jihadi bride.”
I ruffled a few feathers by referring to Gerry Brownlee as a “buffoon” during a radio interview this week. The subject in question was the involuntary repatriation of Suharya Aden and her children to NZ after Australia cancelled her citizenship. Brownlee was blathering about her being a terrorist security threat, ...1 day ago - Militaries plunder science fiction for technology ideas, but turn a blind eye to the genre’s socia...
Will Slocombe, University of Liverpool Military planning is a complicated endeavour, calling upon experts in logistics and infrastructure to predict resource availability and technological advancements. Long-range military planning, deciding what to invest in now to prepare armed forces for the world in thirty years’ time, is even more difficult. ...1 day ago - Still the same questionThe Independent Police Conduct authority has found another case where police used excessive force in making an arrest: A police officer broke a woman’s arm with a baton before dragging her out of her car by the hair following a chase. The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found the ...1 day ago
- The Danger from the Extreme Right
Like other readers, no doubt, I recently experienced a “believe it or not” moment, when I read an account of a crowd at a recent Trump rally cheering the news that the US Women’s Football Team had been beaten at the Olympic Games. The reason for the cheering was, apparently, ...1 day ago - Why calling ordinary Kiwi cyclists ‘elitist’ just doesn’t add upTimothy Welch, University of Auckland Something strange has happened to the perception of cyclists and cycling in the more than 200 years they’ve been around. Once a novelty, bike riding has moved from being a critical transport mode to a children’s pastime to now being popularly perceived as an ...1 day ago
- Zebra Ethics: The Amazon Second Age Series and Lessons from Game of Thrones
Today I stumbled across a genuinely interesting reddit article, which looks at the (positive) influence Game of Thrones may have on the upcoming Amazon Tolkien series: https://www.reddit.com/r/LOTR_on_Prime/comments/oqvi81/amazons_the_lord_of_the_rings_show_going_got/ Essentially, the argument is that the framework of Tolkien’s Second Age material inherently lends itself to “Machiavellian Thriller” stories, rather than to ...2 days ago - The War over Sex and Gender: Kathleen Stock talks to the Free Speech Union
Speakeasy #1: Free Speech and the War over Sex and Gender from Free Speech Union on Vimeo. ...2 days ago - Why governments will have to consider the costs of long COVID when easing pandemic restrictionsRichard Meade, Auckland University of Technology With governments worldwide under pressure to ease pandemic restrictions as vaccination rates rise and impatience with border restrictions grows, new threats become clearer. One of the costliest, it is now feared, could be a tsunami of “long COVID” cases. Long COVID is a ...2 days ago
- Taxpayers' Union gets destroyedThe Taxpayers’ Union scored another own goal yesterday when they decided to have a go at well-known journalist David Farrier (not to be confused with David Farrar) over Government funding he’d received to make a documentary.While that slinging match isn’t really worth reporting on, being that it was mainly just ...2 days ago
- Gender-specific health programs address important issues, but risk creating new biasesMatthew Jenkins and Victoria Chinn, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Gone are the days when health programmes were designed to simply punish or reward people to encourage behaviour change. We now know lasting behaviour change is more complex and nuanced, and this has prompted a proliferation ...2 days ago
- Bryce Edwards: Political Roundup – “Year of the vaccine” at riskA consensus is emerging that the Government has generally managed the Covid crisis very well over the last 18 months, but they have dropped the ball when it comes to the crucial vaccine rollout. This was nicely encapsulated in opinion polling last week showing that while 69 per cent of ...3 days ago
- Profiteering politicians delegitimise parliamentWhy aren't politicians interested in actually solving the housing crisis? Because virtually the entire political class is making massive profits from it: MPs have pocketed $50 million in capital gains from their property interests in the last year amid a growing housing affordability crisis, a Stuff analysis has found. ...3 days ago
- Democracy wins in SamoaOver three months ago Samoa had an election, in which the people voted out the incumbent Human Rights Protection Party and voted in the opposition FAST Party. The incumbent Human Rights Protection Party ignored the results and clung to power, hoping to get their patsy head of state to call ...3 days ago
- Climate Change: The solution farmers don’t want us to talk aboutRNZ this morning has a piece asking Can NZ really meet its methane emissions targets?. Posing it as a question like this frames it as difficult, more of the "but its too hard!" whine from farmers. But its not hard at all. Pretty obviously, we can meet methane reduction targets ...3 days ago
- A Conversation That Never Happened.3 days ago
- Graham Adams: Parliament is in recess but Kris Faafoi is too busy to discuss proposals for hate-spee...The Minister of Justice appears to have gone into hiding. Graham Adams provides an update on how the public debate on hate speech regulation is going, especially in terms of whether political opinion should or shouldn’t receive an exemption from new laws. It fell to RNZ to break the ...3 days ago
- Engineering A Miracle: Can Judith Collins Reprise Rob Muldoon?Miracle Worker? But Judith Collins and National cannot regain power by simply hoping for the worst. Elections are won by politicians like Rob Muldoon, who persuade the voters that the incumbent government is the worst choice.WAITING FOR THE MIRACLE, as Leonard Cohen observed, is an agonising test. Especially if its ...3 days ago
- Hearing loss and social isolation – the silent burdenFeature image: this picture was chosen as it illustrates two elderly people in each other’s company. Tying in with the theme of hearing loss and social isolation, this depicts the importance of connection to each other and the world in which we live. Charlotte Gordon* Untreated hearing loss is a ...3 days ago
- 2021 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #30
Listing of articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, July 18, 2021 through Sat, July 24, 2021 The following articles sparked above average interest during the week: Extreme rainfall in China: over 25 inches falls in 24 hours, leaving 33 dead, As scientists have ...4 days ago - Capitalists in Space
. . Billionaire Richard Branson did it. Also-billionaire, Jeff Bezos, did it. Both will be the first money-hoarders into space (or sub-orbital near-space, to be more specific). Also-also-billionaire, Elon Musk – not content with sub-orbital ‘jaunts’ – has expressed a desire to go Full Interplanetary and personally colonise Mars. Meanwhile, ...4 days ago - Elizabeth Rata: Responding to Andrew Geddis on Treaty PartnershipsMy recent article about the role that the concept of a Treaty ‘partnership’ has played in the development of ethno-nationalism provoked a critical response from Professor Andrew Geddis. We obviously have different opinions about the value of a Treaty partnership in New Zealand’s liberal democracy. My purpose here is to ...4 days ago
- When tough on crime goes wrongIf there’s one thing that you can safely rely on, it’s right-wing politicians grandstanding with tough on crime rhetoric. It's understandable being that such propaganda is usually a sure bet, obviously because a very large proportion of the public wants to see less crime and fewer criminals in their communities.However ...5 days ago
- Billionaire space race: the ultimate symbol of capitalism’s flawed obsession with growthTim Jackson, University of Surrey Mars ain’t the kind of place to raise your kids, laments the Rocket Man in Elton John’s timeless classic. In fact, it’s cold as hell. But that doesn’t seem to worry a new generation of space entrepreneurs intent on colonising the “final frontier” as fast ...5 days ago
- Michael Cullen’s Policy Achievements
Philosophers have hitherto only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it.Implicit in the title of the Michael Cullen’s memoir Labour Saving is his greatest policy achievement of improving the savings of the economy, as well as his saving the Labour Party from neoliberalism. But first, ...6 days ago - Call to ‘come home’ does not apply to our sleeper cells in Australia, says Government
A map of believed New Zealand sleeper cells in Australia, which the Australian Secret Intelligence Service has described as “painfully obvious” and believes is “pretty much comprehensive.” As the Covid-19 travel bubble with Australia closes once more, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Covid Response Minister Chris Hipkins have made clear ...6 days ago - Cranky Uncle game now being translatedThe Cranky Uncle game is now being translated into multiple languages, paving the way to building public resilience against misinformation across the world. So far, we have had volunteers offer to help translate the game into Danish, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, and Ukrainian. But we are always looking ...6 days ago
- Andrew Geddis: Responding to Elizabeth Rata on Treaty PartnershipsIn a recent post on this site, Prof Elizabeth Rata expressed her concerns at the growth of what she terms “ethno-nationalism” and the role that the concept of a “Treaty partnership” has played in this development. She does so by telling a story about how this idea of a Treaty ...6 days ago
- The Greatest Cyber-Weapon May Be The Truth.Who's Hacking Who? So, let’s be clear: the very same Western powers who were voicing their alarm at China’s alleged outsourcing of its cyber-attack capabilities to private actors, are the identical Western powers who, for years, have winked at their friends in Jerusalem outsourcing their intelligence gathering to a shadowy Tel ...6 days ago
- Morbid Symptoms: Why Are Māori Vaccination Rates Plummeting?Not Enough Shots In The Arm: The percentage of 8-month-old Māori babies in Counties Manukau receiving their primary course of immunisation on time has fallen from 85 percent in May 2020 to 68 percent in May 2021. A report prepared for the Counties Manukau DHB attributes this startling drop-off to: ...6 days ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #29, 202194 articles Physical science of climate change, effects Three flavors of radiative feedbacks and their implications for estimating Equilibrium Climate Sensitivity Rugenstein & Armour Geophysical Research Letters DOI: 10.1029/2021gl092983 Observations of climate change, effects Multi-decadal change in western US nighttime vapor pressure deficit DOI: 10.1029/2021gl092983 Recent changes in ...7 days ago
- Looking for more coal is indefensibleSiberia is burning. China is flooding. Westport flooded last weekend. And against this backdrop of climate breakdown, the Southland District Council thinks its a good time to approve new coal exploration. This is a terrible idea. But its also a waste of time. Any coal discovered can never be burned ...1 week ago
- An end to imprisoning refugees?Back in May, Amnesty International exposed New Zealand's repuslive system of refugee detention, and the ongoing human rights abuses it leads to. It clearly embarassed the government, because today they've announced a formal inquiry into the practice - the first step to ending it: But following the release in ...1 week ago
- Bryce Edwards: Political Roundup – The Seriousness of the rural revoltIt’s nearly a week since the “Howl of a Protest” took place throughout the country, and we’re still talking about the rural revolt. What are the farmers’ concerns? Are they legitimate? Has the rural-urban divide has become too deep, and will any of this have an impact on politics in ...1 week ago
- Extreme heat warning: what the first-ever UK Met Office alert meansChloe Brimicombe, University of Reading Summer 2021 will mark a turning point in how heat is seen by the public and communicated by experts. For the first time in its 167-year history, the UK’s Met Office has issued an amber warning for extreme heat for much of Wales and parts ...1 week ago
- Hydrogen in Southland?New Zealand wants to move to more renewable electricity. But there's a barrier: the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter. It sucks up 13% of our total electricity supply, but its continued threats to shut down create ongoing uncertainty about demand, which puts people off building the additional renewables we need. But ...1 week ago
- When an ancient volcanic ‘supereruption’ caused sudden cooling, early humans got luckyBen Black, Rutgers University and Anja Schmidt, University of Cambridge Around 74,000 years ago, a “supereruption” on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, blasted out an estimated 5,000 cubic kilometres of magma. This was the Toba eruption, the largest volcanic eruption of the past 2 million years. To put 5,000 ...1 week ago
- Talley’s Group Ltd – Arsehole of the Week1 week ago
- Climate Crisis Intensifies Dramatically in 2021
In 2007 an organisation chose its name based on the scientific consensus that 350 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was the uppermost level to avoid a climate tipping point. We are currently just short of 420pp of carbon and the last seven years have been the hottest ...1 week ago - Samoa’s women’s quota: Have I missed something?(Narrator voice: Yes, yes I did. See correction at the bottom) Another election petition was finalised in Samoa today, seeing the first finding of an illegal practice against a FAST candidate (a party roadshow made a customary gift - koha in NZ terms - during a period where these are ...1 week ago
- A promising startThe "rebate" half of the government's feebate scheme to lower transport emissions came into force three weeks ago. And it looks like its had an immediate effect, with two months worth of EVs registered in the first 19 days alone: More than 1300 electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles ...1 week ago
- Taking shortsighted penny-pinching to a whole new levelOver the weekend Westport was hit by devastating floods. Half the town had to be evacuated, 89 homes (so far) are uninhabitable, and another 400 (of ~1700) need serious repairs. The total cost hasn't come in yet, but its going to be well into the tens of millions of dollars. ...1 week ago
- TORN’s Spy Report on the Amazon LOTR/Second Age Series
It’s been a while since we got an update on the upcoming Amazon Second Age series. Not since the leaked Synopsis. The poor fandom twisted itself into knots speculating about supposed nudity in a Tolkien adaptation, and then… nothing. Well, that has suddenly changed. The One Ring.Net has ...1 week ago - Calling out China for cyberattacks is risky — but a lawless digital world is even riskierAlexander Gillespie, University of Waikato This week’s multi-country condemnation of cyber-attacks by Chinese state-sponsored agencies was a sign of increasing frustration at recent behaviour. But it also masks the real problem — international law isn’t strong or coherent enough to deal with this growing threat. The coordinated announcement by several ...1 week ago
- Could Britain be sued for reopening and putting the world at risk from new COVID variants?Kris Gledhill, Auckland University of Technology With most COVID-19 restrictions now lifted in England, the world is watching to see what this so-called “freedom day” will bring. Some scepticism is warranted, given Britain’s approach throughout the pandemic has hardly been a success. By July 19, there had been 128,985 deaths ...1 week ago
- As scientists have long predicted, warming is making heatwaves more deadlyThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections In its 2001 Third Assessment Report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) foresaw that global warming would lead to increasingly deadly heatwaves. “More hot days and heatwaves are very likely over nearly all land areas,” the world’s top climate scientists warned. “These increases ...1 week ago
- Geoffrey Miller: NZ’s statement on China a shot across the bowA statement issued by the New Zealand Government alleging Chinese state involvement in hacking goes much further than a simple, pro forma endorsement of the views of New Zealand’s allies. Geoffrey Miller explains the significance. New Zealand joined Western allies on Monday by issuing a statement that called out ...1 week ago
- Climate Change: Calling time on “leakage”When New Zealand was trying to implement carbon pricing back in the early 2000s, polluters whined about "leakage", either threatening to take their production overseas so they could continue to pollute for free, or complaining that paying the full cost of their pollution would mean they would be out-competed by ...1 week ago
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- Doping has become inevitable at the Olympics. And who wins gold in Tokyo might not be certain until...Jason Mazanov, UNSW Another Olympics is upon us, inexorable even in the face of COVID. With it comes the inevitable, salacious speculation around doping scandals. There have been doping scandals at every Olympics in my lifetime and a few before, reaching back to the middle of the 20th century. Now, ...1 week ago
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Read the full Baby Talk series Content note: this one involves my vagina, like, a lot. Also blood. And that whole infertility/anxiety thing. Of our four fertilised eggs, two were deemed high-quality enough to proceed to the next stage, embryo transfer. The old days of putting multiple embryos back into ...1 week ago - Hate Speech Laws: The Polling
After the March 2019 Christchurch mosque attack, the New Zealand Government set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry into matters surrounding the tragedy. The Commission came back with recommendations, including a tightening of laws regarding Hate Speech. The Ardern Government has indicated support for such proposals, but has yet ...1 week ago - Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin: can they be more than ‘space’ joyrides for millionaires?Ian Whittaker, Nottingham Trent University and Gareth Dorrian, University of Birmingham Billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson and his team successfully flew to the “edge of space” on the Unity 22 mission aboard a Virgin Galactic plane on July 12. The event was hailed as the start of space tourism, narrowly beating ...1 week ago
- Exporting their social licenceOne of the slogans of Friday's ugly farmer protests was "no farms, no food". But the truth is that most of what farmers grow is exported, and kiwis are increasingly being priced out of eating it at all: If you feel like red meat is more expensive than it ...1 week ago
- Graham Adams: Ardern’s nightmarish weekendCriticism of the government funding gangs and the media followed hard on the heels of nationwide protests by farmers It should have been a weekend of media adulation to further burnish the Prime Minister’s international reputation as a consensus-builder. Late on Friday night, Jacinda Ardern hosted a virtual Asia-Pacific ...1 week ago
- Why climate change is forcing conservationists to be more ambitious: by moving threatened species to...Sarah Elizabeth Dalrymple, Liverpool John Moores University As climate change brings record droughts and floods, extended fire seasons continue to make headlines, and the role of humans in this terrible situation is now undisputed, institutional change has been slow and unsteady. In particular, conservationists have been wary of pointing to ...1 week ago
- The government needs to act on this warningOver the weekend devastating floods hit the South Island. Half the population of Westport were forced from their homes, and it looks like hundreds have been made permanently homeless. Its a taste of what we can expect in the future due to climate change, and things are only going to ...1 week ago
- Free Speech vs Hate Speech – By Numbers.We Can Stop Guessing: New Zealand owes the newly-formed Free Speech Union (FSU) a debt of gratitude for commissioning Curia Research to find out exactly where the country stands on the Government’s Hate Speech proposals. JACINDA ARDERN faces a considerably less daunting task in selling her Hate Speech laws than many ...1 week ago
- 2021 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #29Listing of articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, July 11, 2021 through Sat, July 17, 2021 The following articles sparked above average interest during the week: Repustar Fact Brief: Is carbon dioxide incapable of warming the planet any more than it already has?, The ...2 weeks ago
- Some farmers are very sick puppiesI'm not sure if you're aware, but there's a significant problem within our farming community that needs to be addressed, and that’s this whole belief that Labour is anti-farming. The reality is that the current Government loves farmers. From free trade agreements that open up new markets to keeping farming ...2 weeks ago
- Why were all these tails wagging the farm dogs through our towns and cities again?
Because for many of these ones it’s often about feelings alone, not the facts. There’s been some entirely manufactured hysterics over the so-called “ute” tax, and rural issues as a whole, coupled with some decidedly off-the-wall, so-called impending Communist takeover and the co-option of issues by the rabid Right, ...2 weeks ago - Mike King needs to get his shit together2 weeks ago
- Weaponising They Are Us: The Draft Script
You may recall that mass shooting at the Christchurch mosque a couple of years ago. It feels an eternity, of course, what with the shooting taking place in the Before Coronavirus era. There is currently an attempt to make a film about the event, under the title They ...2 weeks ago - Milley-tary Intervention.2 weeks ago
- Geoffrey Miller: Jacinda Ardern’s APEC diplomacy could be the start of something biggerGeoffrey Miller looks over the lessons from the special APEC summit Today’s special virtual APEC summit was so modest in its aims that it was officially referred to only as an ‘informal leaders’ retreat on Covid-19’. From the outset, host Jacinda Ardern dampened down expectations for the meeting, warning reporters ...2 weeks ago
- In Defence of Social Democracy
I used to josh Michael Cullen that he should write a memoir about his 27 years in parliament which ended in 2009, including 12 years as a minister. He always said he was too busy and it was not his thing. Sadly things have changed. Learning he has terminal lung ...2 weeks ago - Media Link: “A View from Afar” on YouTube.I am glad to report that the “A View from Afar” podcast is now available on the 36th Parallel Assessments YouTube channel. As a teaser, the first video is taken from an interview done in Karekare with German TV about the scourge of white supremacism/right-wing extremism. ...2 weeks ago
- A howl of uglinessFarmers are protesting today, invading cities with tractors and utes in protest against water and climate change policy. The core message of their "howl of protest" is meant to be "no farmers, no food" - which rather undermines their own case, given that 80% of the food they produce is ...2 weeks ago
- Drawing The Heat.A Matter Of Signals: What is a government saying about itself when it parlays with known criminals? What is it signalling about its willingness to openly confront them? More to the point, what message does it send to all the decent, law-abiding, charity-workers who struggle every day to convince their ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party welcomes Commerce Commission’s draft findings, cautions against wait and hope solution...
The Green Party welcomes the findings of the Commerce Commission’s report on competition in the retail grocery sector, which takes aim at the duopoly formed by Woolworths NZ and Foodstuffs. ...2 hours ago - Building back better
It’s a three-week recess in Parliament – so, no bills are going through the House and no select committees are meeting. But the hard work of our ministers continues, and many of our MPs are back in their electorates, taking the opportunity to meet with local communities and businesses about ...6 days ago - Greens call for a Warrant of Fitness for rental homesThe Green Party is launching a petition today calling on the Government’s Healthy Homes Standards to be backed up with a proper Warrant of Fitness (WoF) for rental homes. ...1 week ago
- Securing our recovery: By the numbersOur plan to secure New Zealand’s recovery from COVID-19 is working, with the past three months seeing the second-highest number of people moved off a main benefit into work since records began. ...2 weeks ago
- More Kiwis in work through recovery planThe latest statistics show the Government’s focus on jobs is working. The net number of people on a main benefit dropped by around 11,190 people during the past three months, with around 31,240 people moving off a benefit into work. ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party appoints new Chief of StaffThe Green Party has appointed a new Parliamentary Chief of Staff, Robin Campbell. ...2 weeks ago
- Govt investing millions in Hawke's Bay and Tairāwhiti schools
Napier Boys’ and Girls’ High Schools are among those set to benefit from a $16.5 million investment in the Hawke's Bay and Tairāwhiti region, Economic and Regional Development Minister Stuart Nash announced today. The Government has set aside money in Budget 2021 to accelerate five projects in Napier, Hastings, Havelock North ...4 hours ago - Game changing Jobs for Nature investment for NorthlandConservation Minister Kiri Allan has announced Jobs for Nature funding for a portfolio of projects that will create ‘game changing’ gains for nature and communities across Northland/Te Tai Tokerau as part of the Government’s acceleration of the economic recovery from COVID. “This portfolio of 12 projects will see over $20 ...5 hours ago
- Third COVID-19 vaccine receives provisional approvalNew Zealand’s regulatory authority Medsafe has granted provisional approval of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for individuals 18 years of age and older, Acting Minister for COVID-19 Response Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. New Zealand secured 7.6 million doses (enough for 3.8 million people) of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine through an ...5 hours ago
- Bowel-cancer screening programme is saving livesMore than 1000 New Zealanders have had bowel cancer – New Zealand’s second-most-common cause of death from cancer - detected under the Government’s National Bowel Screening Programme, Health Minister Andrew Little said today. More than 1200 New Zealanders died from bowel cancer in 2017. The screening programme aims to save ...6 hours ago
- Govt welcomes draft report on the retail grocery sectorThe Commerce Commission’s draft report into the retail grocery sector is being welcomed by Government as a major milestone. “I asked the Commerce Commission to look at whether this sector is as competitive as it could be and today it has released its draft report for consultation,” Commerce and Consumer ...6 hours ago
- Christchurch’s Youth Hub ‘set to go’ thanks to further Government fundingConstruction of New Zealand’s first, purpose-built centre for youth well-being is ready to get underway thanks to an extra $2.5 million of COVID-19 response funding, Housing Minister and Associate Minister of Finance, Megan Woods announced today. “The Christchurch Youth Hub is about bringing together all the things young people need ...7 hours ago
- Next step to protect Milford Sound PiopiotahiExpert group lays out plan to better protect iconic UNESCO World Heritage site Milford Sound Piopiotahi and its surrounds Funding confirmed for dedicated unit and Establishment Board to assess the recommendations and provide oversight of the process from here Milford Opportunities Project a test case for transformational change in tourism ...1 day ago
- Funding for projects to reduce waste from construction and demolitionThe Government has announced funding for projects in Auckland and the lower North Island to help reduce construction and demolition waste. “Construction is the main source of waste sent to landfill, and much of this could be reduced, reused and recovered,” Environment Minister David Parker said. “The Government is funding ...1 day ago
- Plan to eliminate hepatitis C as a major health threat by 2030A plan to eliminate hepatitis C in New Zealand, reducing liver cancer and the need for liver transplants, has been released today by Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall. “Around 45,000 New Zealanders have hepatitis C, but only around half know they have it,” said Ayesha Verrall. “Symptoms often ...1 day ago
- School upgrades and new classrooms for West Coast, Tasman and CanterburyA funding injection from Budget 2021 to complete four shovel ready projects and new classrooms at six schools and kura will provide a real boost to local communities, Minister Dr Megan Woods announced today. “This Government has committed to providing quality fit for purpose learning environments and 100,000 new student ...1 day ago
- Warmer Kiwi Homes smashes annual targetThe Government's highly successful insulation and heating programme, Warmer Kiwi Homes, is celebrating a key milestone with the completion of more than 38,000 insulation and efficient heater installs in the year to the end of June, smashing its target of 25,000 installs for the year. “The Warmer Kiwi Homes scheme ...2 days ago
- Exemption granted for Wallabies to enter NZBledisloe Cup rugby will be played in New Zealand after the Australian rugby team received an economic exemption to enter New Zealand. Travel between Australia and New Zealand was suspended on Friday for at least eight weeks following the worsening of the COVID outbreak across the Tasman. New Zealanders have ...2 days ago
- Minister of Foreign Affairs makes three diplomatic appointmentsForeign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta today announced three New Zealand Head of Mission appointments. They are: Mike Walsh as Ambassador to Iran Michael Upton as Ambassador to Ethiopia and the African Union Kevin Burnett as Ambassador to Indonesia Iran “Aotearoa New Zealand has a long-standing and constructive relationship with Iran, despite a ...2 days ago
- Enhanced Task Force Green Approved for West Coast and MarlboroughThe Government has activated Enhanced Task Force Green (ETFG) in response to the West Coast and Marlborough floods, Social Development and Employment Minister Carmel Sepuloni announced today. “To assist with the clean-up, up to $500,000 will be made available to support the recovery in Buller and Marlborough which has experienced ...2 days ago
- Govt support for upgrade of Eden Park players facilitiesMinister for Sport and Recreation Hon Grant Robertson has announced funding to upgrade the players facilities at Eden Park ahead of upcoming Women’s World Cup events. Eden Park is a confirmed venue for the Rugby World Cup 2021, the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022, and a proposed venue for matches of ...2 days ago
- More jobs and quicker public transport motoring towards West AucklandWork to improve public transport for West Aucklanders and support the region’s economic recovery by creating hundreds of jobs has officially kicked off, Transport Minister Michael Wood announced today. Michael Wood and Auckland Mayor Phil Goff this morning marked the start of construction on the Northwestern Bus Improvements project. It ...2 days ago
- Government backs critical health researchResearch into some of New Zealanders’ biggest health concerns including cancer, diabetes, and heart disease is getting crucial support in the latest round of health research funding, Health Minister Andrew Little announced today. The funding, awarded through the Health Research Council of New Zealand, covers 31 General Project grants ($36.64 ...2 days ago
- New Bay of Islands hospital facilities to bring services closer to homePrime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Health Minister Andrew Little have joined a ceremony to bless the site and workers for Phase Two of the redevelopment of the Bay of Islands Hospital in Kawakawa today. The new building will house outpatients and primary care facilities, as well as expanded renal care ...3 days ago
- Raukokore re-imagined with ‘smart’ relocatable rent to own housingIwi, Crown Partnership Relocatable, fully insulated housing, connected to a new solar plant Provides a pathway to home ownership New housing in the remote eastern Bay of Plenty community of Raukokore shows how iwi and Crown agencies can work together effectively to provide warm, dry, energy efficient homes in a ...3 days ago
- Cabinet accepts Turkish authorities’ request for the managed return of three NZ citizensCabinet has agreed to the managed return of a New Zealand citizen and her two young children from Turkey, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. The three have been in immigration detention in Turkey since crossing the border from Syria earlier this year. Turkey has requested that New Zealand repatriate ...3 days ago
- Govt delivers more classrooms so children can focus on learningExtra Government investment in classrooms and school building projects will enable students and teachers to focus on education rather than overcrowding as school rolls grow across the country, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Associate Education Minister Kelvin Davis say. The pair visited Ruakākā School in Whangārei today to announce $100 ...3 days ago
- New station a platform for AirportLink to take offEvery Aucklander with access to the rail network will now have a quick and convenient trip to the airport, Transport Minister Michael Wood and Auckland Mayor Phil Goff said during the official opening of the new Puhinui Interchange today. The new interchange links the rail platform with a new bus ...5 days ago
- 10 days sick leave for employees deliveredLegislation doubling employees’ minimum sick leave entitlement to 10 days comes into effect today, bringing benefits to both businesses and employees, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Michael Wood announced today. “Our Government is delivering on a key manifesto commitment to help Kiwis and workplaces stay healthy,” Michael Wood said. “COVID-19 ...5 days ago
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Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions. ...11 hours ago - Newsroom daily crossword, Thursday 29 July
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This is a good news story to start the day! There are good people out there.
From sleeping in a bus shelter to 'walking into a new light' after finding a place to call home | Stuff.co.nz
Yes Jester, my first read of the day. Her smile said it all.
We should give the budget for the care and housing of homeless to the Salvation Army, they seem to be better suited to help our homeless whanau.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/445344/live-updates-on-sydney-covid-19-case-possible-lockdown-in-capital-being-considered-bloomfield
That's a way to wake up for the day! Wellington initiated infection webs have had since the 19th (to 21st) to spread undetected. Any change to Pandemic Alert Levels won't be until midnight, and it is unlikely that many Wellingtonians will bubble-up again without that.
Can't think of a pithy summation for this.
I would expect all domestic flights in and out of wellington to be suspended as a precautionary measure.
VUW just had her mid-tem break starting, which means that loads of students are leaving the capital. Not good timing, if there’s ever a good time for an outbreak.
Let’s see if scanning and testing numbers show a spike in the Wellington area.
Aotearoa-Tai Wan?
"Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future."
One of the many comments by the great Danish physicist Niels Bohr. I am sure Incognito will reflect on this when he, with no doubt considerable humility, reconsiders the prediction he made last Friday evening. When responding to my complaints about the terrible slowness of New Zealand's vaccination program he assured us that we weren't going to have cases in the community for a least 100 days.
" I’ll take 11 days off my earlier offer, so it’ll be 100 days, at least
"
In fact there was a case in the community about 8 hours later. I am assuming of course that the visitor from Sydney was infectious throughout his time in Wellington. From the DOH comments this morning that would seem to be the case.
Now, are you going to tell us again that everything is wonderful and we have nothing to be concerned about. Or will you agree that until they get us a decent vaccination schedule and implement it we are all at risk from a major outbreak?
Now imagine if we really were at the front of that queue.
Bit like $1.9bn for five beds.
Spin is easy. Action, meh.
https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-data-and-statistics/covid-19-current-cases#current-situation
Somebody should bring this to Hipkin's attention. For some peculiar reason he and Bloomfield seems to think they have to put Wellington into level 2!
I see it doesn't apply till 6 pm though. I shall await with interest the massive exodus of the Crown Limo's to the airport as soon as Question time is over.
The planes would all have headed out by 6 pm so that they can spread any possible infection they may have caught to the rest of the country. Why should we in Wellington be the only lucky ones?
The advice is that it is not a lockdown and that traveling is ok, but travellers should take the alert level with them, as always. Somebody should tell people (how) to breathe through their nose and not through any other orifice.
Did you see the dates in that link, Alwyn? Even Niels Bohr saw it, and he’s long dead.
Of course I saw the dates in the link. Obviously they aren't keeping it as up to date as they should be though.
Bloomfield, and I think Hipkins, said on Morning Report today (23rd) that they had been told on the previous evening ( the 22nd) about the Covid 19 positive person who had been in Wellington over the weekend.
Why is that not a case that occurred in the previous 24 hours as either "in the community" or "other"? They certainly didn't pick it up "at the border" did they?
Are you suggesting that they simply cease to exist if they leave the country?
Your reading comprehension is failing, again.
First, you badly misrepresented by comment from OM 18/06/2021. You may wish to read it again; it was quite short and simple.
Second, you fail to understand the info on the pivotal MoH information site.
Third, you ask (or is it suggest?) if I’m suggesting something. Clearly, I’m pointing you to facts and information, for your perusal and convenience.
I cannot do the thinking for you.
HTH
Well I have read it again and it says exactly the same thing as last time.
Perhaps you would care to explain in what way you claim that I have misrepresented you? Just claiming "I was misrepresented" really doesn't cut it.
Sure. In OM 18/06/2021 I wrote this:
In the follow-up comment, I took 11 days off.
This is just the first point. Have we dealt with this and can we tick it off now?
Your entire comment was
"You’re a tough negotiator. I’ll take 11 days off my earlier offer, so it’ll be 100 days, at least
Jacinda will (have to) save us again from our lack of compliance and vigilance
".
I have highlighted the piece I quoted. Now how does quoting the exact words you used and missing out the bits just before and just after them somehow lead you to think that you are being misrepresented?
I was using the quote to justify my statement that "he assured us that we weren't going to have cases in the community for a least 100 days." What, after all, is an "outbreak" if not "cases in the community"?
So close and yet so far.
alwyn, I'm guessing you're spewing filthy irate about the way Judith has been regularly calling for travel bubbles?
Or not?
they're too busy masturbating about the prospect of an outbreak to notice.
@Andre
I have no idea what you are talking about.
My own opinion is that I am very unhappy about having these bubbles, when there are active cases in the other country in the bubble, until every person in New Zealand for whom a vaccine is suitable has had the chance to be vaccinated. When we have the appalling low numbers of people vaccinated that we have at the moment we should certainly not have a bubble with Australia.
We were promised that we were at the front of the queue for getting vaccines and we certainly aren't. Well get on and vaccinate people and then you can have a bubble.
Otherwise stop lying to us and tell us the truth. Don't keep talking about how well we are supposed to be doing when we are far behind all the comparable countries for vaccinations being performed.
If we can't get the vaccine doses say so. Waffling about how we are going to lead in vaccinating teenagers when we can't even vaccinate the people who are most susceptible is not an acceptable activity.
Now, what are you talking about when you mention Judith? What has the current Government's failures got to do with her?
Link needed for your repeated assertion that "we were promised we were at the front of the queue".
The relevance of Judith is that how well the government has performed cannot reasonably be completely assessed in complete isolation; what the one-and-only plausible alternative government would likely have done is also highly relevant to assessing the government's performance.
While I think allowing travel bubbles with Australia was way premature, and the handling of potential transmissions from travel bubblers has not been good, those really are small blemishes on what has been overall a very good job of handling the task of keeping our population safe and healthy. Particularly by comparison to what the opposition would likely have done judging by their frequent statements around easing restrictions for the purpose of trying to create more economic activity.
When it comes to getting vaccine doses delivered here and into local shoulders, the government really has been quite communicative about the likely schedule of shipments and vaccinations. What has actually happened has in fact tracked remarkably closely to what was mapped out very early this year, when all the factors were very uncertain and any plans made could only reasonably regarded as very tentative given the unknowns around production ramp-ups, disease progression in other countries and multitudes of other factors.
Of course, you may have missed all that if your entire focus is just finding things to whine about.
Hipkins.
Hipkins told TVNZ1's Breakfast this morning New Zealand was "very well placed" to get its hands on successful vaccines for the virus, which has so far killed more than 1.3 million people worldwide.
"Without going into detail I think we're in a very good place to ensure that as vaccines start to come to market New Zealand will be at the front of the queue to be getting vaccines," he said.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/new-zealand-front-queue-chris-hipkins-says-nation-well-placed-covid-19-vaccine-roll
November 17 last year.
Well, alwyn, if that one single statement in the midst of a very fluid situation a long time ago has got you all exercised, I really can't imagine how you function at all in the midst of being so consumed by ancient petty grievances.
I guess you can console yourself with getting your vaccination ahead ahead of roughly 3/4 of the world's population. Who have been living with the serious threat of actually getting covid, while you have had the luxury of only being at infinitesimal risk of getting covid. Which has evidently left you plenty of time to search for the tiniest things you could blow up into something to whine about.
edit: I kinda wonder what I would find if I pored over your past statements with the same level of detail? Say, by doing a search on alwyn thornley for instance?
You sound a bit upset that I produced so quickly Hipkins saying what I claimed he had said.
On the other hand you really don't make any sense at all with your last paragraph. Are you really claiming that I am someone called 'alwyn thornley'. I can assure you you are being about as rational with that as someone would be if they assumed you were Andre Agassi.
Who is this thornley person anyway? Someone who said you were an idiot or something and has been in your black book ever since?
Alwyn, don’t play dumb with us please or do you have selective amnesia just as John Key had?
https://thestandard.org.nz/depression-looms-as-rapidly-as-covid-spreads/#comment-1699179
Revealing, alwyn. You choose to ignore the middle paragraph, which I think a valid criticism of most of your recent contributions. Poor diddums thinks he hasn't got his jab quickly enough in a country where the disease is not raging country-wide…
Any examples of countries like NZ where there is almost no Covid, and the majority of the population has already been vaccinated?
And the 'idiot' implication in your final sentence reflects more poorly upon the writer than the target. Innocence is fine, but innocence with venom smacks of predatory intent.
And that government decision to throw all of our wellbeing at the Pfizer company is what is fucking up the vaccination roll out.
Simple as that.
And that has nothing to do with Judith Collins, or John Key or any of the National Fucks. That is straight up the Government currently lead by dear Jacinda Ardern, and her Labour Party who are in Majority!
Nothing is simple, unless you’re a simpleton.
That's a load of rubbish Sabine. Given the issues with other vaccines, sure looks like the govt you love to hate, made the right call. Even Australia is following New Zealand’s lead
https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/australia-review-eu-findings-astrazeneca-vaccine-blood-clots-2021-04-07/
Uh-oh!
So the first location of interest after the infected person's arrival and hotel stay over night is a pharmacy… would be interesting to know why the person decided to go there first on a holiday.
Could it be that some people don't behave responsibly in a pandemic?
Isn't a complete lockdown of Wellington more expensive than the gain of some Australian tourists here?
It seems from the report of the places visited, that the infected person was not in Wellington for any particular reason, other than visiting Te Papa and going to a bar.
I mean really?
It all seems a bit of a frivolous reason to cram into to a passenger jet with dozens of strangers during an outbreak of covid-19 for an idle weekend jaunt across the Tasman.
Couldn't they get their Museum and pub fix in Sydney?
And if a visit to Te Papa was really on their bucket list, couldn't they wait just a few months
In the midst of a pandemic shouldn't people at least have some semi-serious reason to cross borders?
Excellent question satty. We're all glad you asked that. I hope some in the Min. of Health is expanding their watchful and precautionary efforts, and will graduate from their test as the Ministry of Health.
i don't know, have you got relatives that work at Te Papa, The Ryders hotel, the Pharmacy, the Pub etc?
Ask them if the cost of locking down Wellington for the next two weeks is to high?
And if you blame someone who comes here legally and with the blessing of the Government, then you also need to blame the Government for not closing down flights from Sidney to NZ after their outbreak that started at early last week. Cause if they would, the guy would have not come here late on Friday night? or is that an inconvenient truth?
https://www.9news.com.au/videos/health/sydney-coronavirus-cluster-grows/ckq0natwv000q0ilk87zdmorz
A Surreal situation suddenly seems so real?
A hat salutes an antelope.
I finally get surrealism
A Surreal situation suddenly seems so real
I get it.
They came to see the Surrealist Exhibition, which is only in Wellington for a limited time.
My point still stands.
Couldn't they wait til that exhibition was brought to Sydney?
The purpose of bringing an exhibition half way around the world is so that people from this part of the world don't have to travel to see it.
Sorta defeats the purpose.
I can understand someone getting excited about this.
Especially if they are an art afficionado with a special appreciation of surrealism.
It's just a shame that their local museum or art gallery didn't have the wit to organise something like this.
Surreal alright.
We have not been told why they visited – seems just as likely to be to see friends or family.
As the saying goes, luck favours the bold.
The fortunes of this government rises and falls on their response to the pandemic.
Which so far has been bold and world beating, with a little bit of luck thrown in.
Let us all pray that the government can be bold and lucky again.
To take whatever measures the experts reccomend and keep their fingers crossed.
Contact tracing is good.
To her credit it seems the visitor was using the QR code.
All close contacts are self isolating.
We may well nip this one in the bud.
Let's hope so.
Let us also, as we have from all past slip ups, learn from this.
She was a he, apparently.
He had received one shot of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Why has nobody mentioned that this case was vaccinated?
A: because it doesn’t suit the narrative.
Because to be fully vaccinated with the Astra Zeneca you need two shots.
And even with both shots its not said you can or can't distribute the virus. All that is said now with certainty is that you will not die if you are vaccinated and you still get infected with Covid. And yeah, the scientists are not gonna state one thing or another until they have had more tests.
Fact is that the bubble with NSW should have been closed down for a few weeks.
But maybe that too does not serve the narrative of some.
https://theconversation.com/can-people-vaccinated-against-covid-19-still-spread-the-coronavirus-161166
One shot is better than none, as it gives some protection. Do you know the facts (or do you prefer data?) about how much protection? Didn’t think so.
Where do you get your info from? Please provide a link that shows the death rate of fully vaccinated people is zero, thanks.
Fact is that your factoids are mostly your opinions and your narrative shows it.
First flag will be to see how many passengers on the same flights have been infected.
On a lighter note, with a bit of perspective:
I wish the government would stop pandering to the airlines and close down routes as soon as an outbreak is detected in an Australian city. They were slow to act on Melbourne outbreak and we got lucky, they didn't act on the Sydney outbreak and now we are all worried about the potential cost of lockdowns and the harm to people with chronic illnesses. The airlines don't pay the cost when something like this happens, everyone else does.
I'm pissed off because passengers from the airport catch the bus service I use and on Monday I pulled down my mask to try and calm down a situation that was looking to become very heated (voices don't travel well through masks). It was wet and the bus was jam-packed (the previous bus had been cancelled) so it was a recipe for a super-spreader event.
The government can pander to the air company or others that want open borders for business, or it can continue to shovel money to these businesses.
It choose to open the borders. Now lets hope just again that we get lucky.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-coronavirus-expert-siouxsie-wiles-warns-kiwis-to-brace-themselves-for-cases-after-infectious-mans-wellington-visit/WERDQ5XTCJYBMKWVXR5ZBHVIO4/
Thank God for Siouxsie Wiles, Michael Baker and others. They have always been accurate with their predictions. Baker warned us 36 hours ago that the Delta variant would certainly get to NZ. We don't know yet but the case is most likely the Delta variant.
Some here have been arguing that for the last several month now. Anyone who is not fooling themselves know that we had so much luck since August last year, it ain't funny anymore.
But then i guess 'we' are negative, when trying to tell people that we are sitting ducks.
Heck i would not want to be a min wage worker at Te Papa or at a Pub in the age group of 'maybe end of year there will be a vaccination' for you.
Just imagine all the cleaners at the airport. I am sure the execs isolate already.
Yep, the staff at the Pub, the toilet cleaners at Te Papa/Airport, the Pharmacy workers, etc etc etc, and chances are not a single one has recieved a vaccine, cause they are not in a "risk" group.
Anyways, i send the resident bloke to go shopping preparing for a potential lockdown.
I know, i am being negative and pessimistic. 🙂
The newspaper report said that someone catching C19 had been within a metre from the infected person. I have read a suggestion that we should keep our distance from each other for ever, a chilling idea.
If you look at history most plagues have run the course in a bout 5 years. So we still have another 3.5 years to go – if the past is an indicator.
So i don't think it will be forever, but for now, it is a good idea.
Fleeting contact seconds.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-22/covid19-cctv-footage-worrying-nsw-health-authorities/100231832
That's what I saw. Bit shocking. Should I be wearing mask all the time I wonder? I feel a dope when no one else is but it would be inconvenient to say the least even if I got a mild dose.
and
“For example, in the UK, despite their high levels of vaccine coverage, you cannot go into a shop, supermarket or indoor mall without wearing a mask and on entering a café or restaurant you are not seated until you have either scanned the app or provided your contact details.
“We have to ‘up our game’ and keep it up. Mask wearing in indoor places where mixing with people outside our own household bubble will occur. Tracing – it is vitally important that we all increase our use of the Covid-19 tracer app – scan everywhere you go along with having Bluetooth turned on (we still need to scan, even if Bluetooth is on).
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC2106/S00053/covid-19-case-comes-to-wellington-expert-reaction.htm
LATEST Wed. 23/6 1pm – Level 2 Wellington from – The Wellington region will move to level 2 from 6pm tonight ~
until 11.59pm Sunday.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/125529986/covid19-nz-wellington-moving-into-alert-level-2-tonight
All info on this link including requirements for what to do, places the infected person has been and times etc.
6p.m. might be a bit late. Town was pretty much emptied out by about 12.45pm.
"Baker warned us 36 hours ago that the Delta variant would certainly get to NZ."
That's pretty much stating the obvious. I think anyone could have told us we are not immune down here (but isolated) so it just takes longer to arrive, but eventually we were bound to get it.
A paywalled story in the Herald today is headlined "National MP, Parliamentary Service silent on allegations of misuse of taxpayers' money."
"A National Party MP faced allegations of inappropriate spending of taxpayer money – allegations the MP is refusing to front on and which Parliamentary Service refuses to discuss under the cone of silence that protects MPs.
Sources inside the National Party have told NZME that a staff member of the MP flagged a concern in the last term of Parliament, alleging items of furniture were bought out of the MP's taxpayer funds but did not appear in the office.
The items of furniture are understood to include a television."
If it had been a Labour MP this would be the big story of the day on Kiwiblog. The boot would be well and truly put in. Names would have been be suggested and hinted at, the more the merrier, to tear the whole lot.
Funnily enough, the keen righteous eyes on there haven't mentioned it yet. There's no comment from the good knights of the Taxpayers' Union either.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/national-mp-parliamentary-service-silent-on-allegations-of-misuse-of-taxpayers-money/XUGZTP6FCZ5MYCBC6PBLJZ6U34/
Is that a service run by National?
I just hope this government is not contemplation to pay another few billions to corporates.
It would be the last straw in my book. I would vote 100% certain for David Seymour. Just to make sure that I contribute to the pendulum swinging back .
The best that can happen is that neither Labour nor National will receive enough votes to go it 'their' way, but that they are both forced to go into a coaltion agreement. And i hope that the Greens of NZ have a look at the Greens in Germany and realise that they need to be able to form with any party a government if they want to be in government and not just a water carrier for labour. Time to grow up for MMP in NZ.
I would vote 100% certain for David Seymour.
That would be like cutting off your nose to spite your face.
Be rest assured, if ACT became the government they would be wholly owned by the big corporates and the rest of us would become their vassals… dependent upon their non existent largesse.
There would be no state run services for education, health, transport and other essential services. They would be owned and run by corporates purely for corporate profit.
God Help us.
Considering the awesome choice that we have in regards to our beige suits in parliament we truly need a God to help us. But then maybe God is just bored and this is just a unpleasant God having a bit of fun with us?
Are we not already sold out in a different form? I mean look at all the indicators, whether hospitals or education, poverty or housing (1 million to hoteliers per day!). Transport ??? What transport ? Transport is already private as it is contracted out and the news is that services are reduced to practically nothing. Meanwhile, the infrastructure is falling apart and the 1 billion allocated will take years to get where it should be and on that way the money being whittled down by inflation and "fees" for the endless reviews. We need a different approach, less dishonesty and trickery and more performance.
Not sure what is better but I doubt that ACT would become the government. It sure would put the pressure on to perform and not feed us political correctness at ad nauseam. So strategic voting is a must in this environment.
Give your vote to Winnie FW – he is not so toxic.
If he runs I might just do that. 🙂
This is a great story and shows what prisoners could do if they were encouraged to think of an idea that would be good and practical, and work out plans and get materials and do it. Goal and vision-centred habilitation not hours of boredom and attempts to break their spirit.
Note the recurring phrase – ‘I can do this’. The can-do spirit will save NZ;s living people (who haven’t turned into zombie money-blotting paper).
https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/in-depth-special-projects/story/2018800662/the-yoghurt-mafia
[Text deleted.
None of your quotes could be found through a search. Your reference is obscure too. You have not provided a decent link, as requested.
You’re wasting Moderator time and are heading for a permanent ban – Incognito]
See my Moderation note @ 11:22 am.
Censoring Open Mike?
Or was it a comment that put the site at risk…
[If you cannot tell the difference between censoring and moderating then I’m happy to show you – Incognito]
I can't tell when the offending post is deleted… do get it when its under an authors post not so much open mike…
I put the offender in Pre-Moderation yesterday. They chose to ignore it and be stupid about it too. They’re still in Pre-Moderation, where they belong, for now, obviously.
Are they a friend of yours? Or just bored today? In any case, you don’t need to concern yourself with it 😊
Just curious dont remember the last time I saw a whole comment sctrached… usually it stands with a scathing piece of moderation under it
Too much curiosity can be dangerous 😉 For your convenience: https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-22-06-2021/#comment-1799337.
Whole comments are deleted, occasionally, for various reasons. We currently have one commenter who failed to respond to moderation and who has recently been moved from Pre-Moderation to the Black list and IIRC, some of their comments were deleted to catch their attention, to no avail. Much happens in the back-end, out of your sight.
An important lesson: don’t waste Moderator time and pay heed to their notes.
The I can do it spirit was here in our early colonial days. I'm just looking at a book of pen portraits of parts of Dunedin with bits of their history. It was done by Shona McFarlane, talented artist, journalist and broadcaster and vivacious wife of an MP finer than most others today, particularly in the National Party.
McFarlane was married to National Arts Minister Allan Highet from 1976 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shona_McFarlane
In her book 'Dunedin – Portrait of a City' she has a vignette on the Woodhaugh Paper Mill which illustrates the pattern of NZ development from go to whoa at present. (In the Nelson Mail of 21 June a tech business CE Alex Fala talks about our need for exports to bring growth – remember hearing this for decades already)!
Shona wrote in 1970: Brown paper was made from grass at the Woodhaugh Paper Mill in 1877. It was taken over by New Zealand Paper Mills in 1905 and paper was manufactured here until the plant was shifted to Mataura in 1935. The mill building now belongs to the Argent Packaging Company.
Wikipedia says about Mataura Paper Mills: In late 1904 as a means of ending an unprofitable price war between Mataura Falls Paper Mill, Otago Paper Mills at Woodhaugh near Dunedin and Riverhead Paper Mills at Auckland these companies amalgamated into a new company called the New Zealand Paper Mills. ..
In 1960 Fletchers Ltd bought an interest in the company. As a result of their injection of new capital the mill was completely modernised.
In 1964 NZ Forest Products took a 30% share in the company with Fletchers having 30%. On 8 July 1970 NZ Forest Products took complete ownership of New Zealand Paper Mills.[26] In 1976 the mill celebrated its centennial year….
Between 1984 and 1991, due to upgrades and efficiency gains, productively had increased by 25% with 216 staff…
By 1990 the mill, owned by NZ Forest Products, had become a division of Elder Resources, until it was taken over by Carter Holt Harvey in 1991…
By the late 20th century the mill was coming under intense pressure from Asian competitors which had depressed the world price for paper, and as a result the mill was losing NZ$1 million a year. Faced with these losses and forecasts that they would continue, and with the mill contributing only 3% of Carter Harvey Holt [sic] output by volume, the company closed the mill on 18 August 2000 with 155 staff being made redundant.
So there goes a good working mill producing adequately, and able to supply NZ but with free market open-borders Asian competitors could white-ant the country, and 155 staff, and probably at least 100 homes lost their income.
Now the same thing is happening at Kawerau.* Can some of the vestiges of intelligent and practical people in NZ plot their way to obtaining the plant at knock-down prices and keep local business going, and some export where possible. But f..k the export-first and put NZ people first. Growth is no longer the magic word, you blind dupes out there in business land. We hardly make anything for ourselves. We are forced to import because that sector has killed our small businesses and the large underclass under middle class fancies, cannot afford to pay for NZ made on the low wages received.
The economy is out of kilter, and it's killing us and our attempt at civilisation here in post-Eden. Let's try for balance, look after what's left of Eden, and keep strong commitment to practicality not style-first, not fashion, not appearance before durability. and enable those companies concentrating on the domestic market to continue profitably with effectiveness as well as efficiency, perhaps with special tax rates based on number of employees. Keep NZ alive.
No point subsidizing low quality paper since no one wants it.
Fast going the way of coarse wool sheep for carpet: uneconomic and near dead.
Agreed. If they can repurpose the mill to make furniture or something, it may have a future.
News print – I thought that papers were looking for supplies. I would suggest that the glossy inserts be printed on it also. And that glossy magazines also change over, they are fashion icons, costly, very heavy, and a great lot of ink and extra processing to get that finish.
Coarse wool carpet – with oil getting more expensive it should be back in demand. It is lower fire risk and also insulates and quietens the house – wood floors as at present being used often come with heating underneath which unless it arises from static heat-soakers means energy required. Get sheep station owners to pay into a fund with government topping up – can be done if they wanted to have a real economy that provides a base for people who want basic lives with money saved for special treats. That would be heaven to many.
The thumbs down on everything because there isn't an immediate market is poor thinking. The items can be sold with an environmental message – the thinking you give sounds 20th century type.
They have been trying with wool carpets to get them more popular for 20 years. We used to have a whole marketing board for that kind of thing, and nzwool.co.nz is still around. Just hasn't worked. Almost all the mills are gone from NZ. You want to find value-add you have to look at tiny batches of cottage dyers and weavers who do it for a hobby.
Kawerau is being shut down as a paper mill for the same reason. Newspapers are in freefall, printed stationery is dead, packaging is its last stand.
We don't need to be a mass producer of bulk, high-mass, heavy, low-value products that the world just doesn't want.
So nor do we need to keep the factories open that make them.
On the subject of marketing wool, the awareness of microplastics appearing in fish, our diet and in water should make that job a lot easier.
Sometimes I think the same folk are moonlighting at NZNO.
I can see us using a lot more wool for insulation with plastics (which is what a lot of it is ) on the way out.
As to kawerau – if we factored in the green cost of transport etc and maybe had a border levy to cover the lower health and OSh standards that are in places offshore – this mill might look a whole lot better – plus used the local multiplier effects similar to those we should use when letting contracts.
Plus remember this is a lesser profit entity than others for the owners. Doesn’t mean that it is totally unprofitable and maybe with some automation upgrades it would help our national resilience, There are huge risks in everything being done overseas and if it is all in one or two countries there is an overall strategic risk
With sheep burping 1kg of methane for every kg of wool they produce, that insulation is going to be needed against heat, not cold.
smile! but sheep do eat wilding pines seedlings.
Are these the same sheep that have been burping and farting for millennia?.
No.
In New Zealand,there weren't any sheep (or sheep-like creatures) at all until 150-ish years ago.
Over the rest of the world, we humans have vastly increased the numbers of burping sheep (and other ruminants) over the last couple hundred years compared to the small numbers that used to exist before then.
This huge increase in burping ruminants is a significant part of why methane concentrations in the atmosphere are now around 1900ppb compared to around 800ppb two or three hundred years ago. That extra 1100ppb is responsible for somewhere around 1/4 to 1/3 of the warming we have experienced.
… and just how many burping Buffalo were wandering the American Plains – before they were wiped out in the 19th Century?
50,000,000 to 60,000,000 are the most common numbers cited as total buffalo population in the early 1800s.
from memory about half the number of cattle currently farmed in the US
The United States is home to approximately 94.4 million cattle and calves as of 2020, a decrease from 94.8 million cattle and calves in 2019. There are over three times more beef cows than milk cows living in the United States.
Record bank profits on back of housing bubble. https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/125517523/banks-made-record-164-billion-profits-in-first-three-months-of-the-year-kpmg-says
Good business model they have – create new money, lend it at interest, then vaporise the principal when the loan is paid back. Rinse and repeat. A magic money tree.
Well buggar me why doesn't the gummint set up a few banks around the place and do the same?
Someone tell Robertson. I bet he doesn't know banks do this.
That was to be expected tho? Seriously the idea that the banks will lend to closed businesses during a global pandemic during lockdowns? Who really did believe that.
So the money went were the banks like it, to people that already have money, or at least equity. Bingo! Why, it almost seems as if some people will make great bank out of this pandemic.
And rabobank has stopped having transaction only customers. Issuing a banking licence should come with a lot of conditions of service to the public and the Reserve Bank needs to get onto this before it is too late. If banks only want to take customers who have loans or use the internet then where does it leave the rest of the community. And I strongly suspect that is end game for most of the banks not that they would say so.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/agribusiness/125447657/rabobank-is-getting-rid-of-customers-who-arent-taking-out-loans
Aussie goverment tells UNESCO, bugger off cobber. It's ours we can do what we like with it.
Blames China.
It was China wot did it
50% of the Great Barrier Reef is dead
According to the Australian government it's China's fault for bringing this to the world's attention.
Yeah right. Like we wouldn't notice this by ourselves.
Australia is enhancing the name it got for itself in the 60's-70's as being common, uncultured, posturing.
Well at least they are now 'tightening' the restrictions. Thanks a bunch, you should have done that last week.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/covid-19-coronavirus-sydney-records-16-new-community-cases-restrictions-tightened/LJBD5EUVN6VNHS7GUXVM3ICLK4/
Did I see and hear that right? David Seymour in the House trying to pin blame on the Government, Chris Hipkins, that people weren't using the Covid tracing app?
The party which has individual responsibility and being left alone to do the right thing as its core belief, blaming the Government when people don't make the 'right' decision?
Self proclaimed"Libertarians" don't get irony.
Not sure why the Hologram would ask about that particular thing, when the questions should have simply be : Why did the government not shut down quarantine free travel with Sidney once their outbreak started last week.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-17/what-is-the-delta-variant-sydney-covid-outbreak-explained/100223048
This is from 5 days ago, and surely our government had the same information. Since then, new cases emerged daily, and it is only today that the NSW Gov banned 'non essential' travel out of Sidney. (as per my earlier post above)
But then, once a hologram, always a hologram.
Didn't ask that question because the answer was obvious?
What is so obvious about it? Mind elaborating on that?
As for the scanning in, in the same sense as you can't make people get a vaccine, you can't force them to scan in.
Now why did they not shut down border, and even only out of an overabundance of caution?
Yes, but Seymour, the "libertarian" is hardly going to call for more Govt control, unless he's a hypocrite? Surely not.
Because of the likely reaction which would have been hysterical (again) about the an "over-reaction." Because of the over-the-top reaction about how the government was intent on destroying businesses?
Of course you wouldn't have been on those sorts of wagons would you?
One man's "overabundance of caution" is another's "Nazi dictatorship." That's the movie we've been experiencing since February/March last year.
there would have been no more calls then the other time we closed the border to Indians, or with Melbourne.
the government openeth the bubble, the government closeth the bubble. Unless the opposition is now so fearsome that the government is somewhere hiding under desks doing what Judith Collins is demanding them to do. In that case we need a new government.
In this case, we need better commenters.
He was on TV1 this evening complaining about the fact that the government learnt last night about the circumstances surrounding the latest Covid case but didn't tell us until this morning.
The health experts worked their pants off until midnight collating the information but we weren’t told… wa wa wa! The fact 90% of us were tucked up our beds by then (no doubt including himself) seems to have escaped the little turd.