5 years may be just enough time to have a small number more specialists completing training in mental health than had been arranged by the previous government, but other health workers are in short supply – we do keep forgetting that Covid is still with us. It is regrettable that even a small turn of a big ship takes time. Meantime I am aware that we have recruited some specialists from overseas, – that may have offset normal retirements and some going overseas, but forward planning with longer than a single term focus was not a feature of the previous government – and to be fair Covid has increased the need for mental services by as much as just recognising the issue . .. .
But Jimmy wants "something" done. There was a handy little dictionary first published in 1965 called Let Stalk Strine. The entry for the word Aorta is informative:
Aorta – Aorta is the vessel through which courses the life-blood of Strine public opinion. Aorta is a composite but non-existent Authority which is held responsible for practically everything unpleasant in the Strine way of life… The following are typical examples of such appeals. They reveal the innate reasonableness …which all Strines possess to such a marked degree: Aorta have more buses. And aorta mikem smaller so they don't take up half the road. An aorta have more room innem – you carn tardly move innem air so crairded.
Brilliant. I wonder whether this authority exists elsewhere in the Southern hemisphere other than Aus/NZ?
Noting the semi medical etymology of aorta I wonder if it has any genetic link to the Moaning Minnie virus that I have long believed came attached to the Covid 19 virus in 2020.
The aorta and shoulda etc seem to be subsets of subsets of moaning being specific kinds of moaning with the complete link being……
MM virus – political moaning – aorta/shoulda.
Hopefully someone is doing a linguistics/sociology thesis on this……'The rise, and hopefully fall, of moaning as means of communication' as a title is snappy enough and broad enough. (actually only a little tongue in cheek……moan, moan seems everywhere)
and
PS I don't class as moaning a person seeing something and commenting with ideas on why it might have happened and with suggestions for improvement. .
"Jimmy wants something done". Yes AB Jimmy does and so do 24,000 and counting people who have signed a petition that student nurses should get paid while on placement.
For anyone seriously concerned about the state of the health work force and the plight of student nurses (I have posted previously) please head to change.org and type in student nurses to be paid petition. I would post the link here, but I am not sure if that is allowed.
As I posted yesterday the NZNO have been calling for this for sometime and are appreciative that Andrew Little is considering it.
Quote from a link from yesterday from the NZNO. "We are in the middle of a horrific nursing shortage crisis andit seems like a no-brainer that we must do everything possible to attract students into nursing"
"NZNO has been suggesting paid placements for sometime now and we are frnkly surprized that it has taken so long to even be considered"
Sure Jimmy. There's a lot that needs fixing – no denying it. But why are you so convinced that Mike King is a solution to a part of it? And do you have a theory as to why our mental health is so shite? It would be good to have some plausible conception as to why, rather than spending truckloads doing an imperfect job of patching up after the event.
Mike King aside, mental health services are a shocker.
But during his comedy career King was a vitriolic prick on stage and a narcissist with an ego the size of Africa offstage and the meltdown he had on TV3's AM over missing out on funding for his vanity project showed everybody just who he is.
He was ill-mannered, inarticulate, angry, and spent most of the interview hurling insults at people, he called Ashley Bloomfield a nasty little man who is killing our kids, and he looked like he was pissed.
Mental health is something I take seriously and have personally been bounced around many different services. I have seen friends commit suicide in situations that could have been managed better. It is an awful system and Mike King is at least doing something about it.
I don't know many stand up comics that aren't narcissistic to be honest and who cares. He is trying to make a difference in a very very sensitive and complicated system. And you call it a vanity project?
Family member's experience in mental health was that many of the nurses avoided doing their jobs and left it to the lower paid staff to do what the nurses should have been doing.
Was people like my family member that were the ones getting hit and abused and at the same time doing most of the rehabilitation, suicide checks and support.
What was the point of your comment Muttonbird? Mike King has been very open about have a mental illness. Its whats driven him to try and get help for others through his Gumboat foundation?
All Mike King has done is to feed on the angst of the worried well, he wouldn't recognize a serious mental illness until it hit him in the face. As happens.
psych nurse if your title is your occupation then you would see very seriously ill people indeed. People with schizophrenia and bi polar disorder and also with psychotic depression.
The worried well is quite an old fashion term and use to be used to diminish other peoples suffering. Major Depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, OCD are pretty darn painful and distressing as too are eating disorders. All have higher rates of suicide than those without a mental illness.
But if you work in mental health with people who at times need hospitalization, I salute you for your work
Always build resilience in kids. At this point we need to build resilience in adults as well, otherwise there won't be enough competent people to build resilience in children.
Listening and reading again the wisdom of Mr Luxon, I have come to a suspicion.
By refusing to state much of any policy, he is whetting our appetite. Mid next year policies will appear and we sceptics will fall back in shame as Luxon sweeps the field with fluent well founded policies.
Actually listening to his delivery this morning on Morning Report he has become a much more fluent assured speaker and if I was a National supporter, I would be saying, "Yeah!"
Your criticism of the government has been noted. As we are now following Singapore, prepare to be punished for your crime. Or stop breaking the law … by criticising the government.
Your problem (and more importantly, Luxon's problem) is that people who are sympathetic to the idea of "boot camps" also totally disagree with him on "wraparound" services. Luxon says they are "kumbaya, mush", everyone else says they are essential.
Why the difference? Cost. Which proves that it's not a policy, only a headline. A serious policy requires long-term follow-up, therefore long-term investment, and invest means spend taxpayers' money. Luxon won't go there, because in reality, he doesn't care.
'Your problem (and more importantly, Luxon's problem) is that people who are sympathetic to the idea of "boot camps" also totally disagree with him on "wraparound" services. Luxon says they are "kumbaya, mush", everyone else says they are essential.'
Wee Jimmy should have been at the same meeting as I was yesterday where the guest speakers were from a local organisation which provides wraparound services for people, young and not so young. The work they do is nothing short of amazing and I became more frustrated and angry as Chris Luxon's ill tempered comments describing them as kumbaya, mush kept getting in my head. I was tempted to ask them what they thought of what he said, but kept my counsel, but it was bloody hard. All power to Starfish Services, Matamata, they really are doing the mahi, particularly with our young people who are disenfranchised from their whanau, schools and life in general. https://starfishservices.org.nz/
They aren't policies, they are soundbites for simpletons and suckers (take a bow jimmy) who are too lazy to think.
None of them say why they will change the causes of the ill that they are purporting to cure. None of them even say how they will prevent repetition of the offense in the future.
Most of them are simply put out to put Luxon in the current news cycle.
Luxon is critical of parents and principals – well where was he over Uffindell's bullying? Did he go on all media outlets saying what bad parents Uffindell must have had, and how bad was the principal of the private school Uffindell attended? No, it was softly, softly and welcome back Sam, all is forgiven, the QC will sort it out with legal terminology.
While not defending kids breaking the law in various ways, to my mind Uffindell's bullying was shocking. He came from a privileged family, lacking in nothing, was quickly moved on to another private school and an advantaged life from then on. But now Luxon wants ankle bracelets and boot camps for kids from bottom feeder families getting into trouble and should be treated differently to the likes of the well off who will vote National or become one of National's less than upstanding MPs.
I have formed an impression that Luxon only has time for those who "deserve" generous tax cuts, those who can hire a Mercedes for a very short walk, who own multiple properties, holiday in Hawaii. Has he directed his criticism for well off parents who let their children truant by taking them for mid term holidays?
That he came from modest beginnings and has been able to distance himself from those beginnings is all the more reason we should be critical of him for, once again, his lack of understanding of or empathy for the bottom feeders (his words).
Alan, Luxon's "empathy" appears well hidden then. He seems a very cold person to me. The day he self-anointed himself as leader by hiring a Mercedes for a very short journey to Parliament, said a lot about his self-importance and wanting to make a grand entrance, and little understanding of those who walk or bus everyday of their lives.
Monetary policy statement says OCR will rise to 5.5% in 2023,and remain there for at least a year. (US fed statement was for 5.25% next year and also no pivot)
They (RBNZ) also have to manage the Current account deficit,forced mostly by the trade deficit.
The RBNZ was ahead of the fed in policy rate increases,The RBNZ is behind on QT,with little movement in the RBNZ balance sheet. ( Fed around 400b so far,and a reduction in M2.
["unruly" is such a piss-weak weasel word for hours of violent intimidation, vandalism & tresspass throughout the early hours & the inflicting of severe sleep deprivation & stress day after day, night after night, year after year … incidentally, spare me the sanctimonious shit about "wraparound services" … 5 years of "wraparound services" haven't altered the behaviour of the piece of shit nextdoor to my 91 / 92 yo parents one fucking iota … great way, though, for a callous, narcissistic, self-interested professional middle-class to play the role of the morally virtuous while allowing the nightmare situations that they've set up for people like my elderly parents to continue indefinitely … Woke Dogmatists & their fellow-travellers are such spineless little creeps … and like many cowards there’s more than a touch of sadism bubbling away beneath that virtue-signaling veneer]
The "beatings" that you seem to anticipate will probably have to continue until the RBNZ manages to reduce the mad stimulus that Robertson is imposing.
Actually, whats going to happen is that the NZ economy will eventually dip and enter recession. That doesn't dictate the path of inflation, which will more or less follow the international trajectory of inflation anyway. At that point the Robertson (or another finance minister, you can pick anyone) will 'add' further stimulus (I quoted add because they don't do anything, its completely automatic).
If we end up with recession coupled with inflation at this time (and its still Robertson) you'll be bitching about the finance minister causing the inflation. If its Nationals finance minister (Mr Seymour) you'll announce the finance minister had no discretion. That's about all we can say with certainty.
"which will more or less follow the international trajectory of inflation".
Why can't we be a little bit more imaginative and instead of following the path of the other lemmings we could follow the path of a country that has some similarity to us in size and openness of the economy.
Let's be like Switzerland where the inflation rate is about 2.9% at the moment.
Switzerland has a current account surplus,which lowers rates for borrowing.
NZ has a double deficit with the current account and budget both in record deficit country,this which is persistent over time means we are always a price taker with interest rates,and exporting $$$ for debt remains one of our largest industries.
If your serious about current account deficits, well you go hard or go home.
NZ implemented a policy during 2020 which actually worked with all the border and import restrictions. Want to actually deal with the current account?Then, block, tariff or restrict imports.
The rest is just lobbying against public policy and doesn't work reliably in practice on the current account anyway.
The covid policy was also used by other countries such as Taiwan,which does not have either a current account deficit,or high inflation.Using the excess funding that remained for 3 water policy and pork bone policy with infrastructure during a time of high building costs,supply shortages,and high inflation is fiscal irresponsibility.
There are two notes with NZ on debt watch,with alarms ringing Pullup Pullup,and half the government raking up air miles on overseas junkets.With QT in the US,UK,and Eurozone (starting december) there will be a penalty premium on NZ debt.
Its very odd. Your chart also shows a very low current account during this govt's term as recently as 2020. You claim to find this important but your not advocating for any of the policies at that time which actually worked.
You also seem in favour of making the interest rates on NZ investments, especially the ones at the risk free rate, pay higher returns. But you also seem to be expecting this to result in everybody here placing their bets (savings) overseas, and everybody overseas not going for better paying low risk returns.
The policy's for covid (which were actually from the pandemic plan) were in 2020,2021,and were in place to enable vaccination rollouts. Since then with opening up,removal of most constraints,and removal of most funding the death toll increased .
The budget and funding moved on from there to increase spending under a regime of high inflation,little or nothing to show for it,that would increase either productivity,efficiency or enable debt decreases.
The blowout 3 months into the new budget is an increase in debt of 9 billion dollars in total government borrowings over projection.
The current account reduction was 20/21 was due to trade surpluses although debt increased to sustain deficit.
"The current account reduction was 20/21 was due to trade surpluses"
Welcome to the same page, please see 7.1.1.1.1.1, under want to actually deal with the current account. The rest is just a moan fest and will not actually change anything of NZs trade patterns anyway.
The debt blowout on the current account is now real,and payable as is the government borrowings of 219 billion (absolutes).20/21 ca was still on the credit card.
This is a re-run of the Covid debate, where people look around the globe, ignore 200 countries and cherry-pick one or two.
We were then told "be like Sweden/Australia/Singapore/Taiwan". Even China at one point (not surprisingly, that one has disappeared). The country we "should be" changed from week to week, of course.
Different topic, same misleading arguments. So now with inflation and the economy, we don't hear "be like UK/USA/EU" or the vast majority of comparable Western democracies. Why not? Because they are worse off, therefore ignored.
Simply plucking data on one issue (and overlooking all others) is a phoney rhetorical device, not good faith debate at all.
Switzerland? Sure. How about their property laws? That'll shake things up.
Its about living with you means,over the covid period we also had high returns on exports ( dairy and meat)which provided funding for health pharma,without blowing out debt so much.
We are borrowing now to sustain government policy ( in a period of low unemployment ) and increasing spending on the credit card in a period of high inflation,increasing interest rates,and fewer willing overseas lenders.
"country we "should be" changed from week to week".
As someone who suggested that we follow Switzerland I think I am allowed to comment on this topic.
From the very beginning of the Covid outbreak I suggested that we should follow the example of Taiwan. I never switched from week to week. The reason for Taiwan was they had a senior politician who was an expert in infectious diseases and he pre-prepared a plan and they followed it. We had a Government who just slung a line of bs about how good we were but actually did almost nothing. Why are they resisting an enquiry into what happened if we were so "good"? Because we weren't.
I am now advocating that we follow a similar path to Switzerland in economic policy. Why? Because they tend to do things the right way without all the waste and stupidity we are currently exhibiting. Are they always admirable? Of course not, with the particularly spectacular example of their behaviour with Germany around WW2. It doesn't mean that we can't behave like them when they get things right though.
The debt levels are not the issue per se, and the current account deficit is a signal of our underlying problem….we are too reliant (exposed) to offshore impacts…if our economy were more self reliant we could have greater (though not complete) control of prices…we dont and so we dont.
Sadly the argument that the RBNZ is posturing for its own benefit looks to be the case….as it ever was.
As the sign of each changes,there are now higher interest rates,fewer dollars chasing assets,and asset depreciation ( housing,equities,crypto) the leverage also changes.
Whilst tradeable inflation is stable (shipping rates back to pre covid)
We still have one advantage with energy as electricity and gas allow stable pricing ( outside policy increases) which few other countries have.
There are other ways to deflate asset bubbles…some of which have been implemented already….a little patience is in order, especially when as you note much of the tradable inflation is declining already.
The RBNZ are behaving exactly as expected though not as I think they should….the lagged impact of the previous hikes should have been allowed to do their work.
It is worth considering that none of this solves our labour problems.
The RBNZ is the only central bank in the G10C that gets inflation data in 3 month reporting,everyone else gets it monthly, and it still has the problem with all the dodgy bonds sitting on its balance sheet,and poor reporting from other government entities does not help.
You can be a little bit more imaginative all you want. Its called wishful thinking and its pretty wishful of you thinking NZ's inflation is specifically related to NZ's economic policy, rather than what's going on with the world economy.
Unfortunately its not well recognized that this presents an actual opportunity to free-load. NZ could have sensible public spending policies with less regard for deficits and forcing unemployment and still get the same kinds of inflation outcomes.
A Christmas wish come true for some of us, Otakaro, the Chch rebuild entity is going to become the reincarnation of the old Ministry of Works. Makes so much sense, keeping the knowledge in house and not rehiring for every new project. Brilliant, maybe they do listen.
A person working in a dairy passed away due to stab wounds received earlier this evening – it started as aggravated assault and is now 'murder' or 'manslaughter'.
We can stand by and pretend that these ram raids, stabbing sprees, assaults on shopkeepers and their workes are normal and nothing can be done by, but if we do so, we should at least have the decency to admit that these crimes are more then just crimes against buildings, or rich business owners. And that he ones that end up dying more often then not are just some casual or part time workers trying to make an extra dollar.
A few years ago the dairy in my fringe was attacked a few times, the dairy in my current fringe was attacked three times since xmas day last year. At knife point, at gun point, with bats. Luckily so far no one ever paid that price that the poor worker had to pay tonight.
When we criticiss "boot camps" from the opposition, and don't demand effective measures from the current government, we are failing to address this and the cost will continue to get higher.
It's a poor response to consistently deride calls for "law and order" when providing little of either.
"“The politics in this space is often very lazy. The National Party’s political approach in this space is very lazy. They haven’t sought to understand what’s going on and what’s actually going to make a difference.”
He further adds that the notion that Labour is soft on crime doesn’t stack up when viewed in the context of the Government’s systematic targeting of gangs in recent months.
“There have been over 15,000 criminal charges filed against gang members since Operation Cobalt was started earlier this year and nearly 20,000 infringement offence notices have been issued to gang members. Police are out there very actively policing in that space.”
But is this enough to encourage the public to feel safe when crime feels so much more visible than it once was? And if the Government isn’t willing to get tough on young offenders, then what exactly are they doing to stop ram raids?"
No matter what he says about Gangs and the patched up men and boys that work from it will not matter to the person that got stabbed to death at their workplaces yesterday.
And if the guy that stabbed this worker to death yesterday was a patched up gangmember well i guess then police will file now a charge for homicide. Obviously, that is the only thing that can be done.
The Herald has published an article regarding the Balenciaga brand photoshoot. The issue of inclusion of bondage gear and references to child pornography being openly pictured with young children in strangely unsettling poses has been discussed on Twitter in the last few days, and a Claytons apology issued.
One observation not in the article, is that a teddy's eyes have been deliberately changed to perhaps indicate physical abuse, or reflect a known phenomenon of retinal haemorrhage in abused children.
(For those like me who have little brand knowledge, it is a well-known brand.)
So, the story continues, with the replacement shoot – post apology:
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This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
Karl du Fresne writes – There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
David Farrar writes – The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time.A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced ...
You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated. While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 7, 2024 thru Sat, April 13, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week is about adults in the room setting terms and conditions of ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Changes to minimum wage and benefit indexation means many New Zealanders will get less this year, as the Government gives a big tax break to landlords instead. ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further New Zealand cooperation with the United States in the Pacific Islands region through $16.4 million in funding for initiatives in digital connectivity and oceans and fisheries research. “New Zealand can achieve more in the Pacific if we work together more urgently and ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
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 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)Hot off the press, this debut ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
Chief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...
The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
Barcelona’s city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...
Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Government’s ‘War on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sofia Ammassari, Research Fellow, Griffith University Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has grown exponentially – and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) & Senior Manager (BCE), Charles Sturt University During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone ...
Yes, they’re better for the environment. No, that’s not a good enough reason for me to use them. Once every 26 days or so, my period arrives, and if struck by an act of God, I am caught red-crotched without products. How, after 17 years of this, do I still ...
“It will cause significant harm to our environment and communities. It is completely at odds with New Zealanders’ relationship with nature and our need for a low-carbon, sustainable economic future." ...
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has warned a Parliamentary Select Committee that fast-tracking legislation is a perilous practice that undermines the core tenets of democracy, transparency, and accountability. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Tenbensel, Associate Professor, Health Policy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Since coming into power, the coalition government has adopted a simple but shrewd see-how-fast-we-can-move political strategy. However, in the health sector this need for speed entails ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney Darya Sannikova/Pexels Whether you’re watching TV, attending a footy game, or eating a meal at your local pub, gambling is hard to escape. Although the rise of gambling is not unique to Australia, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Wong, Forrest Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Have you ever wondered if there are more insects out at night than during the day? We set out to answer this question by combing through the scientific ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carol T Kulik, Research Professor, University of South Australia IR Stone/Shutterstock In Australia, it’s not the done thing to know – let alone ask – what our colleagues are paid. Yet, it’s easy to see how pay transparency can make pay ...
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is sounding a warning to migrants, that running foul of the law may see them leaving the country prematurely. ...
The government’s plan to get 50,000 people off jobseeker support by 2030 has had a rocky start, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Beneficiary numbers are up – and so are ...
Raglan Roast is a staple of Wellington coffee culture. But with five branches across the capital, which one is the best? I am a die-hard Raglan Roast fan. It’s consistently the most affordable cafe in Wellington, and one of the only places you can get a coffee after 3pm. So, ...
Residents of University of Auckland halls are being urged to withhold their accommodation fees from May 1, in a bid to force the university to take student concerns over rent hikes seriously.The University of Auckland is facing a strike from students over the cost of on-campus accommodation. The Students ...
New Zealand and the Philippines have signed a new maritime security agreement and stated their concerns over activity in the South China Sea, as Chinese vessels continue to flout international law. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos committed to signing a Mutual Logistics Supporting Arrangement by ...
The thousands of government “back-office” job cuts are causing widespread pain in the capital city. In today’s episode of The Detail, we speak to three journalists and a think tank researcher, looking at the larger picture around the cuts and what effect it will have on Wellington, a city that’s ...
Opinion: The famed American architect and urban designer Daniel Burnham once said, “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood!” Burnham wouldn’t have been referring to the transport plans in Aotearoa New Zealand over the past five years; projects so big they hadn’t the credibility to ...
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Opinion: With maths understanding at 42 percent for Year 8 students, there’s no doubt something has to be done. But how? The post Financial literacy should be on all of us appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Hineaupounamu ‘Missy’ Nuku has been scaling mountains in Canada for her college basketball team, the Lakeland Rustlers. Alberta is currently home for the 20-year-old point guard, who is in her first year of a scholarship at Lakeland College, where she is studying for a business degree. She has certainly made ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra When ASIO boss Mike Burgess delivered his annual threat assessment earlier this year, he stressed the rising danger posed by espionage and foreign interference. “In 2024, threats to our way of life have surpassed ...
The Tribunal had called on Minister for Children Karen Chhour to provide evidence at an urgent inquiry into the repeal of Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By T.J. Thomson, Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication & Digital Media, RMIT University Midjourney image by T.J. Thomson As more than half of Australian office workers report using generative artificial intelligence (AI) for work, we’re starting to see this technology affect every ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa Nicole Sharwood, Injury epidemiologist | Expert Witness, UNSW Sydney Sergey Novikov/Shutterstock Injuries are the leading cause of disability and death among Australian children and adolescents. At least a quarter of all emergency department presentations during childhood are injury-related. Injuries can ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Di Winkler, Adjunct Associate Professor, Living with Disability Research Centre, La Trobe University Shutterstock/Ground PictureMany Australians with disability feel on the edge of a precipice right now. Recommendations from the disability royal commission and the NDIS review were released late ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Salman Shooshtarian, Senior Lecturer, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University Salman Shooshtarian Asbestos has been found in mulch used for playgrounds, schools, parks and gardens across Sydney and Melbourne. Local communities naturally fear for the health of their ...
Family First says that the latest abortion statistics make grim and upsetting reading, with a 25% increase in abortions since the decriminalisation of abortion in March 2020. According to an Official Information Act request received by Right to Life ...
Ipsos New Zealand's inaugural participation in a global study on populism reveals a pervasive sense of societal and economic decline among New Zealanders. MORE DETAILS AND FULL REPORT HERE Ipsos New Zealand's inaugural participation in a global study ...
Who was it that said Andrew Little has the 'Midas touch' but in reverse. I guess mental health isn't that important after all. They should have given funding to Mike King instead to actually get something done.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2022/11/new-zealand-has-same-number-of-acute-mental-health-beds-as-when-labour-came-to-power.html
5 years may be just enough time to have a small number more specialists completing training in mental health than had been arranged by the previous government, but other health workers are in short supply – we do keep forgetting that Covid is still with us. It is regrettable that even a small turn of a big ship takes time. Meantime I am aware that we have recruited some specialists from overseas, – that may have offset normal retirements and some going overseas, but forward planning with longer than a single term focus was not a feature of the previous government – and to be fair Covid has increased the need for mental services by as much as just recognising the issue . .. .
All Mr. King has to do is the apply through the required process like anybody else who wants Government money.
But Jimmy wants "something" done. There was a handy little dictionary first published in 1965 called Let Stalk Strine. The entry for the word Aorta is informative:
Aorta – Aorta is the vessel through which courses the life-blood of Strine public opinion. Aorta is a composite but non-existent Authority which is held responsible for practically everything unpleasant in the Strine way of life… The following are typical examples of such appeals. They reveal the innate reasonableness …which all Strines possess to such a marked degree: Aorta have more buses. And aorta mikem smaller so they don't take up half the road. An aorta have more room innem – you carn tardly move innem air so crairded.
Brilliant. I wonder whether this authority exists elsewhere in the Southern hemisphere other than Aus/NZ?
Noting the semi medical etymology of aorta I wonder if it has any genetic link to the Moaning Minnie virus that I have long believed came attached to the Covid 19 virus in 2020.
The aorta and shoulda etc seem to be subsets of subsets of moaning being specific kinds of moaning with the complete link being……
MM virus – political moaning – aorta/shoulda.
Hopefully someone is doing a linguistics/sociology thesis on this……'The rise, and hopefully fall, of moaning as means of communication' as a title is snappy enough and broad enough. (actually only a little tongue in cheek……moan, moan seems everywhere)
and
PS I don't class as moaning a person seeing something and commenting with ideas on why it might have happened and with suggestions for improvement. .
A cousin of Laura Norder and Lauren Forcement…
"Jimmy wants something done". Yes AB Jimmy does and so do 24,000 and counting people who have signed a petition that student nurses should get paid while on placement.
For anyone seriously concerned about the state of the health work force and the plight of student nurses (I have posted previously) please head to change.org and type in student nurses to be paid petition. I would post the link here, but I am not sure if that is allowed.
As I posted yesterday the NZNO have been calling for this for sometime and are appreciative that Andrew Little is considering it.
Quote from a link from yesterday from the NZNO. "We are in the middle of a horrific nursing shortage crisis andit seems like a no-brainer that we must do everything possible to attract students into nursing"
"NZNO has been suggesting paid placements for sometime now and we are frnkly surprized that it has taken so long to even be considered"
I will try my best to repost the link onto this comment, but no guarantees.
https://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/article/undoctored/nzno-applauds-paid-placements-says-more-must-urgently-be-done
Sure Jimmy. There's a lot that needs fixing – no denying it. But why are you so convinced that Mike King is a solution to a part of it? And do you have a theory as to why our mental health is so shite? It would be good to have some plausible conception as to why, rather than spending truckloads doing an imperfect job of patching up after the event.
Can Mike King apply for funding to staff an in patient unit? I could be wrong about that, but I think funding isn't available for that.
Mike King is not far out of an institution himself.
What's wrong with Mike King?
(Also why am I being moderated out? I'm not saying anything offensive..?)
If this is your first comment, all first comments get held back for manual approval to stop spammers and trolls.
If it’s not your first comment, make sure there are no typos in name or email, must be an exact match to previous comments.
Ah OK – fair enough.
Thanks for the explanation
Did you not watch Celebrity Treasure Island, and subsequent interviews?
No – I am not interested in reality TV (or TV at all) but I respect all the work he's done towards the issue of suicide.
So what if he was on a shitty TV show – he does amazing work
SomeNewGuy. 100% re Mike King and the reality tv show. Who cares!
Mike King has worked tirelessly for mental health and gave his award (?QSM) back in disgust when he saw that not much was changing
Mike King aside, mental health services are a shocker.
But during his comedy career King was a vitriolic prick on stage and a narcissist with an ego the size of Africa offstage and the meltdown he had on TV3's AM over missing out on funding for his vanity project showed everybody just who he is.
He was ill-mannered, inarticulate, angry, and spent most of the interview hurling insults at people, he called Ashley Bloomfield a nasty little man who is killing our kids, and he looked like he was pissed.
Mental health is something I take seriously and have personally been bounced around many different services. I have seen friends commit suicide in situations that could have been managed better. It is an awful system and Mike King is at least doing something about it.
I don't know many stand up comics that aren't narcissistic to be honest and who cares. He is trying to make a difference in a very very sensitive and complicated system. And you call it a vanity project?
Family member's experience in mental health was that many of the nurses avoided doing their jobs and left it to the lower paid staff to do what the nurses should have been doing.
Was people like my family member that were the ones getting hit and abused and at the same time doing most of the rehabilitation, suicide checks and support.
What was the point of your comment Muttonbird? Mike King has been very open about have a mental illness. Its whats driven him to try and get help for others through his Gumboat foundation?
Mike King's done more for suicide prevention than Andrew Little that's for sure.
All Mike King has done is to feed on the angst of the worried well, he wouldn't recognize a serious mental illness until it hit him in the face. As happens.
psych nurse if your title is your occupation then you would see very seriously ill people indeed. People with schizophrenia and bi polar disorder and also with psychotic depression.
The worried well is quite an old fashion term and use to be used to diminish other peoples suffering. Major Depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, OCD are pretty darn painful and distressing as too are eating disorders. All have higher rates of suicide than those without a mental illness.
But if you work in mental health with people who at times need hospitalization, I salute you for your work
In that five years that Labour have been in power we have had,
All of those are major stressors, happening on top of an already stressed mental health system.
Want to look at something really bad? See what happened in Chch after the quakes.
What we really need is to prevent mental health deterioration. Then we won't need so many extra beds.
Totally agree with you there Weka.
I think it all starts with building reslience into our children.
Always build resilience in kids. At this point we need to build resilience in adults as well, otherwise there won't be enough competent people to build resilience in children.
Latest Caspian Report that looks at the links between Russian geography and culture:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hOZ74kij2M
finally. lol
Thanks Red,
I really enjoy the Caspian report, so I will have a look later.
Listening and reading again the wisdom of Mr Luxon, I have come to a suspicion.
By refusing to state much of any policy, he is whetting our appetite. Mid next year policies will appear and we sceptics will fall back in shame as Luxon sweeps the field with fluent well founded policies.
Actually listening to his delivery this morning on Morning Report he has become a much more fluent assured speaker and if I was a National supporter, I would be saying, "Yeah!"
There's no shortage of policy:
Ankle bracelets, boot camps, tax cuts rubber-stamped.
Now, fines for principals and parents!
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2022/11/truancy-christopher-luxon-not-ruling-out-penalising-bad-parents-and-principals-in-truancy-policy-to-address-nz-s-abysmal-attendance-rates.html
I suppose if you were a National support, you would be saying, "Yeah!"
Yeah!
Ah the need to punish so apt ,so 'appropriate' and soo right wing.
"The beatings will continue until morale improves" – RW proverb
We should follow what Singapore do. They have a lower crime rate.
Your criticism of the government has been noted. As we are now following Singapore, prepare to be punished for your crime. Or stop breaking the law … by criticising the government.
Massive state-run apartment block building program?
What do Singapore do Jimmy?
Show us those fleshy buttocks, boy …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caning_in_Singapore
Barbaric
Your problem (and more importantly, Luxon's problem) is that people who are sympathetic to the idea of "boot camps" also totally disagree with him on "wraparound" services. Luxon says they are "kumbaya, mush", everyone else says they are essential.
Why the difference? Cost. Which proves that it's not a policy, only a headline. A serious policy requires long-term follow-up, therefore long-term investment, and invest means spend taxpayers' money. Luxon won't go there, because in reality, he doesn't care.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/130555478/boot-camps-one-of-the-best-things-that-ever-happened
'Your problem (and more importantly, Luxon's problem) is that people who are sympathetic to the idea of "boot camps" also totally disagree with him on "wraparound" services. Luxon says they are "kumbaya, mush", everyone else says they are essential.'
Wee Jimmy should have been at the same meeting as I was yesterday where the guest speakers were from a local organisation which provides wraparound services for people, young and not so young. The work they do is nothing short of amazing and I became more frustrated and angry as Chris Luxon's ill tempered comments describing them as kumbaya, mush kept getting in my head. I was tempted to ask them what they thought of what he said, but kept my counsel, but it was bloody hard. All power to Starfish Services, Matamata, they really are doing the mahi, particularly with our young people who are disenfranchised from their whanau, schools and life in general. https://starfishservices.org.nz/
They aren't policies, they are soundbites for simpletons and suckers (take a bow jimmy) who are too lazy to think.
None of them say why they will change the causes of the ill that they are purporting to cure. None of them even say how they will prevent repetition of the offense in the future.
Most of them are simply put out to put Luxon in the current news cycle.
Just wait until Jacinda chews him up and spits him out in the election debates!
He pretty much gets a free run in interviews!
Listen to him preform in QT in the House!
Luxon is critical of parents and principals – well where was he over Uffindell's bullying? Did he go on all media outlets saying what bad parents Uffindell must have had, and how bad was the principal of the private school Uffindell attended? No, it was softly, softly and welcome back Sam, all is forgiven, the QC will sort it out with legal terminology.
While not defending kids breaking the law in various ways, to my mind Uffindell's bullying was shocking. He came from a privileged family, lacking in nothing, was quickly moved on to another private school and an advantaged life from then on. But now Luxon wants ankle bracelets and boot camps for kids from bottom feeder families getting into trouble and should be treated differently to the likes of the well off who will vote National or become one of National's less than upstanding MPs.
I have formed an impression that Luxon only has time for those who "deserve" generous tax cuts, those who can hire a Mercedes for a very short walk, who own multiple properties, holiday in Hawaii. Has he directed his criticism for well off parents who let their children truant by taking them for mid term holidays?
In a word – he's a rich prick with no understanding of or empathy for the bottom-feeders!
And he could be the next PM! God help us!
um, he can from modest beginnings and has done ok in life, I am sure he has empathy for a wide range of people.
I wonder what you consider modest Alan? Both parents on above average incomes affording expensive Private Schools.? That is not "modest"
Howick College and Christchurch Boys High School are not private schools
True, only Saint Kentigern College is a private school – tough times
1 year at Saint Kent's, 1 year at Howick College, 3 years at CBHS, 80% is a pass mark, right???
Only 5 years at school? That's explains a lot
Very low decile schools, the poor children.
That he came from modest beginnings and has been able to distance himself from those beginnings is all the more reason we should be critical of him for, once again, his lack of understanding of or empathy for the bottom feeders (his words).
Alan, Luxon's "empathy" appears well hidden then. He seems a very cold person to me. The day he self-anointed himself as leader by hiring a Mercedes for a very short journey to Parliament, said a lot about his self-importance and wanting to make a grand entrance, and little understanding of those who walk or bus everyday of their lives.
RBNZ calls Jumbo size in hike to constrain both general and fiscal inflation.
Large hole now in Billie Bunters debt driven budget.
https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/monetary-policy/monetary-policy-decisions
Buckle in folks. We are coming in for a hard landing in 2023. Its going to be ugly.
Monetary policy statement says OCR will rise to 5.5% in 2023,and remain there for at least a year. (US fed statement was for 5.25% next year and also no pivot)
https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/hub/publications/monetary-policy-statement/monetary-policy-statement-november-2022
Well I'm surprised and my guess was low by 0.25%.
Were just copying the Fed now aren't we?
Seems that the beatings will continue until morale improves.
They (RBNZ) also have to manage the Current account deficit,forced mostly by the trade deficit.
The RBNZ was ahead of the fed in policy rate increases,The RBNZ is behind on QT,with little movement in the RBNZ balance sheet. ( Fed around 400b so far,and a reduction in M2.
.
Kainga Ora yet to evict single tenant | RNZ
["unruly" is such a piss-weak weasel word for hours of violent intimidation, vandalism & tresspass throughout the early hours & the inflicting of severe sleep deprivation & stress day after day, night after night, year after year … incidentally, spare me the sanctimonious shit about "wraparound services" … 5 years of "wraparound services" haven't altered the behaviour of the piece of shit nextdoor to my 91 / 92 yo parents one fucking iota … great way, though, for a callous, narcissistic, self-interested professional middle-class to play the role of the morally virtuous while allowing the nightmare situations that they've set up for people like my elderly parents to continue indefinitely … Woke Dogmatists & their fellow-travellers are such spineless little creeps … and like many cowards there’s more than a touch of sadism bubbling away beneath that virtue-signaling veneer]
The "beatings" that you seem to anticipate will probably have to continue until the RBNZ manages to reduce the mad stimulus that Robertson is imposing.
Actually, whats going to happen is that the NZ economy will eventually dip and enter recession. That doesn't dictate the path of inflation, which will more or less follow the international trajectory of inflation anyway. At that point the Robertson (or another finance minister, you can pick anyone) will 'add' further stimulus (I quoted add because they don't do anything, its completely automatic).
If we end up with recession coupled with inflation at this time (and its still Robertson) you'll be bitching about the finance minister causing the inflation. If its Nationals finance minister (Mr Seymour) you'll announce the finance minister had no discretion. That's about all we can say with certainty.
"which will more or less follow the international trajectory of inflation".
Why can't we be a little bit more imaginative and instead of following the path of the other lemmings we could follow the path of a country that has some similarity to us in size and openness of the economy.
Let's be like Switzerland where the inflation rate is about 2.9% at the moment.
https://www.nzinitiative.org.nz/reports-and-media/opinion/inflation-lessons-from-switzerland/
Switzerland has a current account surplus,which lowers rates for borrowing.
NZ has a double deficit with the current account and budget both in record deficit country,this which is persistent over time means we are always a price taker with interest rates,and exporting $$$ for debt remains one of our largest industries.
If your serious about current account deficits, well you go hard or go home.
NZ implemented a policy during 2020 which actually worked with all the border and import restrictions. Want to actually deal with the current account?Then, block, tariff or restrict imports.
The rest is just lobbying against public policy and doesn't work reliably in practice on the current account anyway.
The NZ current account has not been this bad since labour was last in charge,so there is form.
https://www.interest.co.nz/sites/default/files/2022-09/currac1.png
The covid policy was also used by other countries such as Taiwan,which does not have either a current account deficit,or high inflation.Using the excess funding that remained for 3 water policy and pork bone policy with infrastructure during a time of high building costs,supply shortages,and high inflation is fiscal irresponsibility.
There are two notes with NZ on debt watch,with alarms ringing Pullup Pullup,and half the government raking up air miles on overseas junkets.With QT in the US,UK,and Eurozone (starting december) there will be a penalty premium on NZ debt.
Its very odd. Your chart also shows a very low current account during this govt's term as recently as 2020. You claim to find this important but your not advocating for any of the policies at that time which actually worked.
You also seem in favour of making the interest rates on NZ investments, especially the ones at the risk free rate, pay higher returns. But you also seem to be expecting this to result in everybody here placing their bets (savings) overseas, and everybody overseas not going for better paying low risk returns.
The policy's for covid (which were actually from the pandemic plan) were in 2020,2021,and were in place to enable vaccination rollouts. Since then with opening up,removal of most constraints,and removal of most funding the death toll increased .
The budget and funding moved on from there to increase spending under a regime of high inflation,little or nothing to show for it,that would increase either productivity,efficiency or enable debt decreases.
The blowout 3 months into the new budget is an increase in debt of 9 billion dollars in total government borrowings over projection.
The current account reduction was 20/21 was due to trade surpluses although debt increased to sustain deficit.
"The current account reduction was 20/21 was due to trade surpluses"
Welcome to the same page, please see 7.1.1.1.1.1, under want to actually deal with the current account. The rest is just a moan fest and will not actually change anything of NZs trade patterns anyway.
The debt blowout on the current account is now real,and payable as is the government borrowings of 219 billion (absolutes).20/21 ca was still on the credit card.
This is a re-run of the Covid debate, where people look around the globe, ignore 200 countries and cherry-pick one or two.
We were then told "be like Sweden/Australia/Singapore/Taiwan". Even China at one point (not surprisingly, that one has disappeared). The country we "should be" changed from week to week, of course.
Different topic, same misleading arguments. So now with inflation and the economy, we don't hear "be like UK/USA/EU" or the vast majority of comparable Western democracies. Why not? Because they are worse off, therefore ignored.
Simply plucking data on one issue (and overlooking all others) is a phoney rhetorical device, not good faith debate at all.
Switzerland? Sure. How about their property laws? That'll shake things up.
Its about living with you means,over the covid period we also had high returns on exports ( dairy and meat)which provided funding for health pharma,without blowing out debt so much.
We are borrowing now to sustain government policy ( in a period of low unemployment ) and increasing spending on the credit card in a period of high inflation,increasing interest rates,and fewer willing overseas lenders.
"country we "should be" changed from week to week".
As someone who suggested that we follow Switzerland I think I am allowed to comment on this topic.
From the very beginning of the Covid outbreak I suggested that we should follow the example of Taiwan. I never switched from week to week. The reason for Taiwan was they had a senior politician who was an expert in infectious diseases and he pre-prepared a plan and they followed it. We had a Government who just slung a line of bs about how good we were but actually did almost nothing. Why are they resisting an enquiry into what happened if we were so "good"? Because we weren't.
I am now advocating that we follow a similar path to Switzerland in economic policy. Why? Because they tend to do things the right way without all the waste and stupidity we are currently exhibiting. Are they always admirable? Of course not, with the particularly spectacular example of their behaviour with Germany around WW2. It doesn't mean that we can't behave like them when they get things right though.
The debt levels are not the issue per se, and the current account deficit is a signal of our underlying problem….we are too reliant (exposed) to offshore impacts…if our economy were more self reliant we could have greater (though not complete) control of prices…we dont and so we dont.
Sadly the argument that the RBNZ is posturing for its own benefit looks to be the case….as it ever was.
The debt levels are a result of the trilemma of policies that unfolded,
Lower interest rates,QE,and increased asset appreciation.
As the sign of each changes,there are now higher interest rates,fewer dollars chasing assets,and asset depreciation ( housing,equities,crypto) the leverage also changes.
Whilst tradeable inflation is stable (shipping rates back to pre covid)
We still have one advantage with energy as electricity and gas allow stable pricing ( outside policy increases) which few other countries have.
There are other ways to deflate asset bubbles…some of which have been implemented already….a little patience is in order, especially when as you note much of the tradable inflation is declining already.
The RBNZ are behaving exactly as expected though not as I think they should….the lagged impact of the previous hikes should have been allowed to do their work.
It is worth considering that none of this solves our labour problems.
The RBNZ is the only central bank in the G10C that gets inflation data in 3 month reporting,everyone else gets it monthly, and it still has the problem with all the dodgy bonds sitting on its balance sheet,and poor reporting from other government entities does not help.
NZ is not a G10 country…..and thats no excuse
G10C is for currency countries.where debt and currency are readily tradeable.(liquid)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G10_currencies
Ah, i see…i also seem to recall we are no longer in the top ten traded currencies….14th now I believe.
https://www.interest.co.nz/currencies/118200/nz-dollar-drops-four-places-worlds-14th-most-traded-currency-after-12-years-10th#:~:text=NZ%20dollar%20drops%20four%20places,12%20years%20in%2010th%20place&text=The%20New%20Zealand%20dollar%20is,for%20International%20Settlements%20(BIS).
Still counted on the platforms as G10C ,and the move here also moved rates in Australia (at the short end).
A 1% change in interest rates changes the government books by -1b as does a decrease in gdp of 1%.
The RBNZ is forecasting a decrease in unemployment for the Dec 1/4,( to 3.2%) so there may be adjustments in tax revenue.
You can be a little bit more imaginative all you want. Its called wishful thinking and its pretty wishful of you thinking NZ's inflation is specifically related to NZ's economic policy, rather than what's going on with the world economy.
Unfortunately its not well recognized that this presents an actual opportunity to free-load. NZ could have sensible public spending policies with less regard for deficits and forcing unemployment and still get the same kinds of inflation outcomes.
Let’s not – I don’t want to have to learn yodeling and carry a silly little knife in my pocket.
A Christmas wish come true for some of us, Otakaro, the Chch rebuild entity is going to become the reincarnation of the old Ministry of Works. Makes so much sense, keeping the knowledge in house and not rehiring for every new project. Brilliant, maybe they do listen.
National thinks kids should be treated like adults when it comes to punishment and taxation but not when it comes to voting.
Its bizarre.
A person working in a dairy passed away due to stab wounds received earlier this evening – it started as aggravated assault and is now 'murder' or 'manslaughter'.
We can stand by and pretend that these ram raids, stabbing sprees, assaults on shopkeepers and their workes are normal and nothing can be done by, but if we do so, we should at least have the decency to admit that these crimes are more then just crimes against buildings, or rich business owners. And that he ones that end up dying more often then not are just some casual or part time workers trying to make an extra dollar.
A few years ago the dairy in my fringe was attacked a few times, the dairy in my current fringe was attacked three times since xmas day last year. At knife point, at gun point, with bats. Luckily so far no one ever paid that price that the poor worker had to pay tonight.
When we criticiss "boot camps" from the opposition, and don't demand effective measures from the current government, we are failing to address this and the cost will continue to get higher.
It's a poor response to consistently deride calls for "law and order" when providing little of either.
Herald article posted this morning:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/the-front-page-chris-hipkins-on-gangs-ram-raids-and-new-zealand-feeling-unsafe/6V5B6XDRCRERHFOT24S2VTU5IE/
Chris Hipkins:
No matter what he says about Gangs and the patched up men and boys that work from it will not matter to the person that got stabbed to death at their workplaces yesterday.
And if the guy that stabbed this worker to death yesterday was a patched up gangmember well i guess then police will file now a charge for homicide. Obviously, that is the only thing that can be done.
It's a noticeable redirect away from the concerns being expressed.
The Herald has published an article regarding the Balenciaga brand photoshoot. The issue of inclusion of bondage gear and references to child pornography being openly pictured with young children in strangely unsettling poses has been discussed on Twitter in the last few days, and a Claytons apology issued.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/horror-detail-found-in-creepy-balenciaga-ad-featuring-children/PVFFK7EIX2L5GEG7JNKJUQNAUE/
One observation not in the article, is that a teddy's eyes have been deliberately changed to perhaps indicate physical abuse, or reflect a known phenomenon of retinal haemorrhage in abused children.
(For those like me who have little brand knowledge, it is a well-known brand.)
So, the story continues, with the replacement shoot – post apology:
https://twitter.com/itsnatlydenise/status/1595301521134354432?s=20&t=AsIrLz4AMBk_nT3QE_g61w
A fashion photographer has posted an appropriate response to the first:
https://twitter.com/misanharriman/status/1595213794246098950?s=20&t=AsIrLz4AMBk_nT3QE_g61w