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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Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
Introduction Good morning. It’s a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. “Our servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...
New Zealand’s ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Government’s focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “An enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...
Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
By Kaneta Naimatu in Suva Journalists in the Pacific region play an important role as the “eyes and ears on the ground” when it comes to reporting the climate crisis, says the European Union’s Pacific Ambassador Barbara Plinkert. Speaking at The University of the South Pacific (USP) on World Press ...
Aldora Itunu is back in the Black Ferns squad after a three-year absence. The last of her 24 internationals was an underwhelming loss to France (7-29) in Castres to conclude the disastrous 2021 Northern Tour. The powerhouse prop won a Rugby World Cup in 2017 and thought she was done. ...
The fight to control major transport policy and projects in Auckland has burst into the open again, with councillors rejecting Mayor Wayne Brown’s latest attempt to steer things more under his influence. Councillors from the left and right broke ranks on the mayor’s bid to control Auckland Transport more directly ...
Exhausted by the general election campaign, horrified by the twilight zone of coalition negotiations, distracted by the silly season and waiting for the honeymoon to begin, Raw Politics has been in hibernation since October. From today, we’re back. Our weekly political video show and podcast returns for ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk Authorities in the small town of Boulouparis have commemorated Armistice Day on May 8 with a new memorial honouring New Zealand soldiers who were stationed in New Caledonia during World War II. The ceremony took place in the township on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Dehm, Senior lecturer, international migration and refugee law, University of Technology Sydney The High Court unanimously ruled today that the Australian government can keep asylum seekers in immigration detention indefinitely in cases where they do not “voluntarily” cooperate with their own ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Munro, Lecturer, Creative Industries and Digital Media, University of South Australia Twenty-four hours after the release of Macklemore’s pro-Palestine protest song Hind’s Hall on social media on May 7, the video had already notched up over 24 million views. In ...
Failing to anticipate the complexity of the consenting system is being cited as the the current builder's shortcomings, an Infrastructure Commission review says. ...
350 Aotearoa is calling the Environment Select Committee’s decision to allow oral submissions from just 40% of individual, unique submitters who asked to speak to the committee ‘a disgraceful blight to democracy’. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Helal, Assistant Dean (Sustainability), The University of Melbourne Dubai skylineAleksandarPasaric/Pexels Since ancient times, people have built structures that reach for the skies – from the steep spires of medieval towers to the grand domes of ancient cathedrals and mosques. Today ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Edward Musole, PhD Law Student, University of New England Girts Ragelis/ShutterstockRecent trends show Australians are increasingly buying wearables such as smartwatches and fitness trackers. These electronics track our body movements or vital signs to provide data throughout the day, with ...
Papua New Guinea experienced a significant earthquake on 24 March in East Sepik and there has also been recent flooding there and in surrounding provinces. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yousuf Mohammed, Dermatology researcher, The University of Queensland Maridav/Shutterstock You wake up, stagger to the bathroom and gaze into the mirror. No, you’re not imagining it. You’ve developed face wrinkles overnight. They’re sleep wrinkles. Sleep wrinkles are temporary. But as your ...
The Environment Select Committee has just announced that 60 percent of individuals who asked to speak at the hearings will not be heard. This equates to almost 700 people who made individual submissions and more than 1000 more who made a form submission. ...
The Royal New Zealand Ballet is performing Swan Lake around the country. What kind of dream does the ballet sell?Before going to see the Royal New Zealand Ballet perform Swan Lake, I had about as much familiarity with the plot of this ballet as could be expected from having ...
A new poem by Auckland poet Eamonn Tee. High Tide at Local Maxima It is only going to get worse. The streams will be narrow and fickle. The week will bend and buckle like a pot-bellied waist. You will make it to the weekend with one ...
The New Zealand entrepreneur behind beauty business Ethique is gearing up to launch a new eco-venture. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Our thirst for a tasty bevvy is insatiable, but it comes with a hefty plastic price for the planet: 580 billion ...
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 James by Percival Everett (Mantle, $38) A retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from ...
By Kamna Kumar in Suva Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General Henry Puna stressed the importance of media freedom and its link to the climate and environmental crisis at the 2024 World Press Freedom Day event organised by the University of the South Pacific’s journalism programme. Under the theme “A Planet for ...
Tara Ward previews a new local TV series offering alternative visions of motherhood. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. A woman is clambering up the side of her two-story house, clinging desperately to a drainpipe. Nearby, her child is perched on the ...
Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) is supportive of the cross-party approach to climate adaptation announced by the Minister of Climate Change today. ...
The Sustainable Business Council (SBC) and Climate Leaders Coalition (CLC) welcome today’s announcement from Government around a bipartisan inquiry into an enduring climate adaptation framework for New Zealand. ...
The Free Speech Union welcomes the decision by the Department of Internal Affairs, and Minister Brooke Van Velden, to abandon proposals to further regulate online speech. ...
Its new building in Wellington will not be nearly big enough for all its records, and it has also run out of money to build its new storage facility in Levin. ...
BusinessNZ is congratulating the Minister of Climate Change for his work in achieving cross-party consensus for a way forward on climate adaptation. ...
Recent research reveals the repeal of smokefree measures is not only bad for our health, but also the economy. The Government has repealed various smokefree measures to ensure it keeps collecting $1.2 billion a year in tobacco taxes, in order to pay for tax cuts already being delivered to ...
The club’s surprisingly good season is built on the desire to prove a random A-League YouTuber wrong… and a few other factors.“There’s no way that Wellington Phoenix play finals this year. I can’t see it happening at all.” Those are the words of Lachlan Raeside, an Australian football content ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By César Albarrán-Torres, Senior Lecturer, Department of Media and Communication, Swinburne University of Technology Apple TV+ As one of billions of bilingual individuals in the world, it disappoints me when a film or TV show with characters of a non-English-speaking background is ...
The under-utilised course is a waste of space, and with a little political will, it could be turned into something better. For the duration of her stay in Wellington, my long-suffering cousin listened to me rant about golf courses. They’re bad for the environment: water intensive and pesticide heavy. They ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leah Ruppanner, Professor of Sociology and Founding Director of The Future of Work Lab, Podcast at MissPerceived, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock A recent report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows US fertility rates dropped 2% in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amy Corderoy, Medical doctor and PhD candidate studying involuntary psychiatric treatment, School of Psychiatry, UNSW Sydney shop_py/Shutterstock Picture two people, both suffering from a serious mental illness requiring hospital admission. One was born in Australia, the other in Asia. Hopefully, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Treby, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, RMIT University P.j.Hickox, Shutterstock Peatlands store more carbon per square metre than any other ecosystem on Earth. These waterlogged, mossy bogs beat even dense rainforests for their ability to act as carbon reservoirs. Under the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Goss, Adjunct Associate Professor, Health Research Institute, University of Canberra Government spending on health has been growing so rapidly that a decade ago the then health minister Peter Dutton called it “unmanageable” and “unsustainable”. Health spending grew in real terms by ...
New Zealand's largest electricity distributor is warning the country to hurry up with controls around charging electric vehicles or face unnecessary bills running into the billions. ...
New Zealanders have been asked to conserve energy this morning to combat a possible electricity shortfall, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. A call to conserve power New Zealand is facing a possible electricity shortfall, with people up ...
Writer Rebecca K Reilly breaks down the national book awards. What are the Ockhams?The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are our annual national awards for books published for adults, and have existed in this form since 2016. There are four categories: Fiction, Poetry, General Non-fiction and Illustrated Non-fiction. There ...
Wellington City Council should keep its 34% ownership share in Wellington International Airport, argue Unions Wellington spokespeople Finn Cordwell and Ashok Jacob. Insanity, as the saying goes, is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Wellington City Council (WCC) is yet again proposing to dispose ...
New Zealand’s largest book publisher has undergone drastic changes this week, leaving its future role in local publishing uncertain. Two of the most recognisable local publishers in New Zealand are among those restructured out of Penguin Random House, it was announced this week. Head of publishing Claire Murdoch will leave ...
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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:
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