Grow a hedgerow. Criss-cross the Canterbury Plains with them!
"The Government has just introduced its Agriculture Bill which will govern farming in England after Brexit, shifting away from the current EU subsidy system to one which rewards farmers for providing public goods such as carbon storage."
I trust your hedges will use Gorse. It was, after all, brought to New Zealand precisely for that purpose.
It even has its fans apparently. Here is a most laudatory article on the stuff. They even say, about Canterbury.
"Larry W. Price noted in a 1993 field study, in Canterbury gorse hedges “give the area much of its distinctive character”. As a consequence of the wholesale removal of hedges on the Canterbury plains between 1962 and 1989, gorse hedges are now viewed as features of historical significance. Some landscape architects even recommend their retention."
Imagine if Brexit brought some good changes. Just working my way through the new UK ag Bill to see if it's actually good or going to tie everyone up in regulations.
If they can manage the initial switchover without a logistical catastrophe, there will be occasional good things. But fewer and further between than things like degradation of worker and immigrant rights.
My question several comments above was more about whether the issues of Brexit are largely because of how RW governments will use it. So a left wing government could do more of the good things.
Then there's the transition phase, especially around border checks and how they will affect industries based on "just in time" logistics and inventory control. Especially on highly-perishable items (think live shrimp sitting on a wharf for days). Maybe that's a bit like Y2K, where the problems were so perilous that everyone worked for years to stop it happening. Maybe England shuts down. Who knows?
Then there's whether the EU was overall positive or negative on the UK economy. That will be longer term, viewable (and eternally debatable) as the years progress.
Whether a left wing government will be better for the UK if the UK is not part of the EU depends on whether the EU was stopping the UK from doing anything good. The only thing that comes to mind is preferential import/immigration controls that give a local advantage to UK producers. Environmental standards, heritage measures, AFAIK the EU mandates a required minimum effort, but no maximum on such issues. Like I'm not sure that the EU prevents any of its members going zero carbon, or boosting workers rights or living wages. So in that case, the benefit of a left wing government is the same regardles of brexit, but the harms of a tory government are increased.
Labour might get it's shit together (these leadership issues as tip of the factional fighting have been going on since Gordon Brown), then it just has to win an election in an FPP environment with a hard-tory press.
"But an independent Scotland might be much better off".
I don't think the people of Scotland, even in their most delusional moments would even consider it.
What do you think they will do? Apply to join the EU? I think that Spain would veto any such idea. Live off North Sea oil in what they would claim as Scottish waters? There isn't very much of it left. Trade with the EU when they they would have to transport all the goods through England? That would be fun wouldn't it, particularly if England insisted on inspection of every vehicle. Have all the Scottish Banks pack up and head South? They would because the Scottish economy isn't big enough to guarantee them. Do you really expect England to guarantee Scottish based Banks? Live of their own tax revenues? At the moment they get far more from Great Britain than they pay in taxes. Do you think that would continue?
Those are only a very few of the problems that an independent Scotland would face. I think they wouldn't ever vote to split. They would be far worse off than they are now.
Trump is aggressively rejecting the basic premise of American governance: that separate branches of government exist for the purpose of preventing abuses of power. By refusing to cooperate with the impeachment inquiry, the president is obviously engaging in obstruction of Congress. By bragging about this refusal to cooperate, however, he is doing something more. He is effectively shooting the Constitution in the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue.
An unconstitutional verdict of acquittal would present Americans with something far worse than a constitutional crisis. The nation will have blundered its way into creating an accidental autocracy governed by a president who, even if not reelected, would remain in office until January 20, 2021, beyond the reach of the rule of law.
“Wherever law ends, tyranny begins,” John Locke cautioned in his Two Treatises of Government. This is how autocracy comes to America: not with a declaration of martial law and tanks in the street, but by a roll-call vote in the Senate whipped by the leader of the Senate in violation of the Constitution.
If on the day the Senate returns its verdict, history records the failure to convict the president following a trial without witnesses, that will be the day the rule of law dies in America. The courts will remain open for business. Congress will be in session. Citizens will still be able to vote. And a free press will continue to launch withering attacks on President Trump. But the American people will no longer be living in a constitutional democracy.
I dunno whether to think it's because he's oblivious that obstruction of congress is a serious crime in itself and is one of the articles of impeachment, or because he's trying to show off to his cultists and rub it in to the Repug senators how complete the craven spineless subservience he now has from them really is.
He's perfectly entitled to shoot the Constitution in the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue or anywhere he wants. He's the boss. It's just a piece of paper to be used to do deals.
The collected hopes and ideals of hundreds of millions over a couple of hundred years? The Electoral College system, meets narcissism meets the world of 2020.
No doubt you would have thrown the constitution at Roosevelt too, the massive changes he implemented in the 1930's was power completely out of control.
Cold snap induces public health warning in Florida: falling iguanas! "The males can grow to at least 5 feet (1.5 meters) long and weigh nearly 20 pounds (9 kilograms)."
It's the `Labour set themselves up theory' of the Oz election: "The ALP had outlined – in quite incredible detail – its plans to massively ramp up government spending; jack up taxes, including on rental properties and capital gains; empower the unions and – shock horror – bring in some form of emissions trading scheme. It also at times adopted a sneering tone towards more traditional conservative Labor voters."
So looks like they've been brainstorming how to deal with the Nats replicating the Lib strategy. Moral: don't hand them the ammunition. Better to go further though: devise an effective response framing to each likely attack, well in advance.
The Labour party affiliated writers on this site can't stop explaining how proud they are of every surplus sequestered when Labour is in office either.
It astounds me how some people who claim to be from the left measure this government by the same framework as David Farrarr. A surplus is not the measure of a good government,
My cousin in Shanghai sent me this video. Apparently this happened today: a traveller with high fever from Wuhan went straight into a quarantine cage.#WuhanCoronaviruspic.twitter.com/NtFoeHpRTn
BEIJING (REUTERS, NYTIMES, AFP) – China put a second city on lockdown on Thursday (Jan 23) and imposed tough travel restrictions on three others amid fears over the spread of a new coronavirus that has killed 17 people and infected nearly 600.
The restrictions on train and other forms of travel will apply to tens of millions of people and come just days before the Lunar New Year holiday, when hundreds of millions of people travel around and out of the country.
The Chinese authorities on Thursday morning closed off Wuhan — a major port city of more than 11 million people and the centre of a pneumonia-like virus that has spread halfway around the world — by cancelling flights and trains leaving the city, and suspending buses, subways and ferries within it.
By evening, officials planned to close off Huanggang, a city of seven million about 70kmeast of Wuhan, shut rail stations in the nearby city of Ezhou, which has about one million residents, and impose travel restrictions on the smaller cities of Chibi and Xiantao as well.
The train station in Huanggang, which has a population of 7.5 million and is 70km from Wuhan – the first city that was put on lockdown – will be suspended until further notice from midnight. All vehicles will be checked, and bars and cinemas closed, said city authorities.
The railway station in a third nearby city, Ezhou, which has a population of over one million, will also close from tonight, though no other measures were announced.
Even reading about the population sizes of those cities is mind blowing, for a virus out break, how could you contain something like that, all the students will be turning up soon, holy fuck.
Years ago NZ ran a health exercise where a random plane had "infected" passengers, and the authorities had to track down and isolate the passengers and their contacts.
My uni found the students and their lecture buddies almost immediately.
It's the non-package-tourists/freedom campers who would be difficult to find – no local contacts and no set itinerary.
And don't forget, the Nigerians whacked freaking ebola on the head in Lagos.
The ones that are difficult to catch are the ones with either a longer incubation time or, like measles, the ones that can hang about for a couple of hours without a host (so you need to find the people who walked through the same space as your infected party, not the people who met them face to face).
Yeah that would be a "contact", prioritising the closest seated of course.
This is the early "prevention" stage of a pandemic. If it works, there will be no pandemic. If if fails, the worst case scenario is hundreds of millions get infected, maybe millions are directly killed by it, others die from other things because health systems are overloaded, and there's a huge economic impact that is more lethal than the direct infection rate.
The level of prevention is based on a number of factors from how infectious it is to how prone the virus is to mutation into something more lethal (or the pandemic sweet spot of "pretty lethal, but not immediately so there's a good period of undetected contagiousness"). There's probably a WHO flowchart of public health options somewhere.
So I suspect "worried" is a word that implies more concern than "following predetermined response pathways from a well-prepared plan". And some countries are more open to going full-restriction than others. North Korea seals its borders to tourists if the clouds are a funny shape.
But don't forget there's also the opportunity for good old-fashioned racism/immigration fearmongering of people "bringing in diseases". E.g. funnelling Wuhan-origin travellers through specific ports of entry.
If my memory serves me well SARS was able to be contained because it's fatality rate was linked to being spiky and burying itself deep in lungs. This made it more deadly to those who got it, but more difficult to spread because it was harder to cough and sneeze out being so deep.
It's always a problem for a virus if it kills too quickly.
Movies generally portray high spread rates + high fatality which when you think about it makes little sense. I guess the perfect virus would have a long incubation period then kill you slowly.
Must go and watch the TV adaptation of The Stand now. Yay for Max Headroom.
Movies vary greatly in accuracy, but it's a limitation of the medium that makes it difficult to portray a realistic passage of time (not to mention it's a fullt team effort, not one guy making the prediction, identifying the organism, and distributing the vaccine). They also tend to succumb to the temptation of "if these trends continue" drama.
ISTR Contagion wasn't too bad, though Outbreak was pretty funny in places, like when Dustin Hoffman got pissy at his boss because he wasn't allowed to deal with the specific outbreak of haemorrhagic fever he was obsessing over, but instead was directed to look at an outbreak of some lesser haemorrhagic fever.
"He’ll be witnessing to evangelicals at a mega-church, or addressing conservative supporters at a rally, and when the moment comes for him to pass along the president’s well-wishes, the words are invariably accompanied by an amused little chuckle that prompts knowing laughter from the attendees. It’s almost as if, in that brief, barely perceptible moment, Pence is sending a message to those with ears to hear—that he recognizes the absurdity of his situation; that he knows just what sort of man he’s working for; that while things may look bad now, there is a grand purpose at work here, a plan that will manifest itself in due time. Let not your hearts be troubled, he seems to be saying. I’ve got this."
All he had to do to implement the plan was to get the Democrats on board. There was a sure-fire way to achieve that: keep nudging the Donald to provoke their moral outrage, push the transition from bleating about impeachment to actually doing it. No problem: the suckers fell for it, hook, line & sinker.
If the topic is weird conspiracy ideas about getting the genital-grabbing golem out of the oval office, I've often mused what it would take to get the Nobel committee to offer him a prize in return for his resignation.
I don't think it would take that much, after all the reasons for giving one to Obama don't seem to be much more than he was "not Bush".
The Current Mob piles Insult onto Injury to family carers of MOH disabled clients.
Can't link from my phone parked in our 7m Bus…but on the MOH:DSS website they lay out the New Funded Family Care rules.
Pay rates for family carers will be based on experience…but only in a PAID capacity.
Those family carers who have done the work for years unpaid because of found discriminatory policy will not be considered "experienced" and will be paid at the lowest rate.
So.
Someone like myself who provides 24/7 support and "Advanced Personal Cares" (which are vital for the person's survival but are not funded by the MOH) will be told by some jumped up petty minded officious twerp of a bureacrat that what I've done for two decades is worthy of the lowest rate of pay.
To quote an earlier commentator on this issue…fuck this fucking bullshit.
For those not following the care worker pay rate settlement, the difference between the top bracket and the one Rosemary will be allocated is $5/hr ($20.50 – $25.50).
Is the budget blowout the issue here? Or is it a more general inability to create fair systems? I don't think it's that hard to create a process where unpaid work experience is accounted for, but I can see that some people would lack the imagination and/or ethical system to do that.
The amount of money is trivial in the context of their budgets. Why would you even need to have multiple pay rates for a non-professional workforce?
No, this is more about a risk averse culture (especially Legal team influence) and refusing to see that new ways of doing things might be more appropriate. Also possibly resentment at having their nose bloodied repeatedly by the courts. Minister should be aware of all this by now.
I’d like to hear more about how ACC has managed exactly the same issue for years.
In short…ACC clients are ENTITLED to the supports they are assessed as needing. Squadrons of wrgglely-arsed lawyers fuelled up and ready to swoop down on ACC to protect these rights.
The HRRT in 2008 heard that over 50% of funding for attendant care was paid to family.
Might account for the fact that research showed the household income for ACC spinal injured was twice that as for MOH funded unfortunates.
The pricks really, really hate disabled people.
Hark!
Is that the sound of the railway carriages clanking in the sidings?
also fucking bullshit is that someone in your situation going into paid work caring for other highly disabled people will likewise be paid the lowest rate despite the need for experienced carers.
I've got a post brewing about the inability of centre left neoliberal governments to manage fair pay and their health budget within neoliberal economics. Would it be ok to use your example here?
See also recent publicity about over-65 home help being affected by pay rises through DHB-hired staff opening up a gap with NGO-funded ones. Govt seems to deliberately create friction, perhaps to assuage punitive voters.
Note that support services for over-65s are managed through DHBs rather than national MoH contracts for (stupid) historic reasons. These are more liiely to be budget pressures than institutionalised bloody-mindedness.
I hope you do and you'll come to realise that the biggest obstacle to reform actually lays in the senior ranks of our public service – over a number of issues.
That "Pretty Communist" (which would be the VERY LAST thing she is) hasn't yet got what the problem is, and I wish her the very best of luck on the next used car she tries to buy. I don't really hold out much hope though because the latest I've heard is:
Jacinda didn't realise how long it takes in making reform. (Well that's not the first time she's said that)
AND then her expression of utmost confidence in our public service. (Let's be very clear tho' – I'm talking about those in the senior ranks rather than those at the coal face – frustrated and willing as they may be)
I'm on the turn @ Weka. There is NO WAY I could vote for the "right's" bugger's muddle of gNatz and it's partners and pretenders.
But there's also no way I can ever vote for an alternative anymore that (over a glass of Chardonnay don't you know), thinks that the poorest amongst our globalised community resort to hunger strikes, planned suicides and a load of other shit.
Can't be done under whatever the excuses our current Labour Party have to offer up. They seem to have the distinction and inability to see what and who their worst enemas are. Thank (whatever your GOD is) there are a few months left to get their shit together and to show otherwise.
Currently, that interview she did with some muppett/cadet trying to prove his creds called Henry Cooke left me wondering whether she does actually get it – or whether ………..
Right now, I'm wondering whether she is onto it, or whether in that interview with Henry Cooke, she was just trying to be diplomatic maybe.
I've decided to give up on voting for the least worst option – especially when many in the political class know what they need to do
Just got off the phone from the inimitable Toni Atkinson who said I can 'do a course ' to gain the appropriate qualifications to qualify for the higher pay rates.
As for who does what I do for Peter while I am being trained how to do it???
We get someone else to provide the care….
"But, but, Toni, the last couple of times we were forced to ' get someone in' those someone's couldn't actually do the tasks required…."
'Well, you use your IF to train some to do the tasks….'
Astute and sensitive readers will see where this is going…and as I just said to the nice lady from Natrad…I will get more satisfaction from emptying the effluent tanks on the Bus than I will from continuing to talk about this.
At the moment…the smell of the local Dump Station is sweet perfume in comparison to the crap be presented as well thought out policy.
Considering MOH:DSS has for years purported to be 'flexible' and to 'treat each client as an individual' they continue to present themselves as incapable of actually doing this.
Is the IF issue there that you don't have enough allocation to pay to train someone and pay them to do the hours? Or is it more that the work is specialised and specific to your situation?
What were the training hoops they were suggesting? Am curiuus what they think is reasonable.
Successive governments have spent mega millions on various programmes (through, of course, a contracted provider) dedicated to upskilling the carer workforce.
I understand high spinal injury care is Level 4.
Does is not strike you as even the slightest bit ironic that I, an unpaid and unqualified family carer, is expected to preform a role that the government is already funding through a contracted provider?
Since we now have it on the Highest Authority that what I do is not even to the same standard as Level 1.
This is rabbit hole stuff in the extreme and it is doing my head in.
I can imagine (by which I mean I totally understand the dynamics you are describing from other situations). The ability to institutionally insult along with injury is stunning.
This problem goes way back to the notion that privatisation would give 40% savings.
It's a large part of how people were sold Roger Douglas (and Thatcher, etc) reforms. The private sector could do it cheaper and more efficiently.
Geriatric wards were closed, public servants were laid off, people like cleaners, builders, etc had to become self-employed and meet their own responsibilities for annual and sick leave, or work for lower wages for private firms or NGO's.
Initially the cost structure equalled the cost of the public service providing the service with companies making their profit from reducing wages. Overtime inflation reduced the adequacy of the funding as did budget reductions to gain the savings.
Health, welfare, childcare, water, cleaning, building maintenance, roading all went the same way.
Now that we have had some years of experience of privatisation the obvious question is were those savings of 40% gleaned. Apart from rubbish collection the answer is nope.
"Hart, Shleifer, and Vishny (1997) apply the theory of incomplete contracts and property rights to the choice between public and private production of public services. Their study suggests that under private production, incentives exist to reduce costs at the expense of quality. Under this framework, incentives work as follows:
1. With private ownership, the manager has incentives to reduce costs through quality deterioration. The manager does not need authorization from the government, which will bear the political costs of quality reduction. To give the manager incentives to innovate to increase quality, the manager would need to negotiate price increases with the government to ensure compensation for his investment. Most likely, this negotiation will not result in a full appropriation of benefits from the innovation, which reduces the manager’s incentives to innovate.
2. Under government ownership, incentives work in the opposite direction. Because the manager is government-employed, he will take into account potential quality erosion when considering the implementation of cost-reducing innovations. In addition, the public manager will need government permission for any innovation he wants to undertake (either quality improvement or cost reduction). In the absence of a pay-for-performance scheme, the public manager will not fully benefit from the results of innovation."
The problem that has been occurring is that as private sector trained managers and bean counters have moved into the public service quality has also taken a back seat. I'm not sure now there is that much difference between management in the two sectors – hence the quality drop off in both.
I'd like to think that putting these services back into the public service, improving pay rates and working conditions for staff, providing vehicles and equipment to do their job and re-instilling a sense of public service would improve things. I'm just not sure that existing public service leaders are up to the task.
I remember being at a DHB meeting in the 90's where the old public service type accountant raised his concerns about the free labour that the DHB was getting after cutting hours for caregivers (contracted out). Many of them were providing extra hours for free as the clients needed this. He estimated this cost saving as several million dollars per year. Management clearly knew that they were getting this extra work for free. No changes or extra hours were put in place. The accountant resigned soon after.
My wife was one of those caregivers. I know how many extra hours she did without pay, how hard she lobbied for client's hours to be increased, how much what hours you got depended upon which DHB you were under, and so on.
A few relevant articles – though I can't find the meta-analysis I was looking for.
@Rosemary, I was thinking of you when this story broke. I nearly broke a few things listening to it… you'll excuse me not adding any more to this thread, but not a good idea to get me started on the MOH, Minister, or just our wonderful system in general at the moment. Our battle is still going on too.
So, if the Democrats get their way, here's who they have lined up as next POTUS: "The Pences were devout Irish-Catholic Democrats, and Mike and his brothers served as altar boys at St. Columba Catholic Church." Yep, a catholic democrat.
"Pence agonized over his “calling.” He talked about entering the priesthood, but ultimately felt drawn instead to politics, a realm where he believed he could harness God’s power to do good." The Democrats will get their man in, God willing. Trojan horse strategy.
"But President Ronald Reagan won Pence over—instilling in him an appreciation for both movement conservatism and the leadership potential of vacuous entertainers". Ah, I get it. The Trump as vacuous entertainer thesis.
"Pence had called Kellyanne Conway, a top Trump adviser, whom he’d known for years, and asked for her advice on how to handle the meeting. Conway had told him to talk about “stuff outside of politics,” and suggested he show his eagerness to learn from the billionaire. “I knew they would enjoy each other’s company,” Conway told me, adding, “Mike Pence is someone whose faith allows him to subvert his ego to the greater good.”"
"Marc Short, a longtime adviser to Pence and a fellow Christian, told me that the vice president believes strongly in a scriptural concept evangelicals call “servant leadership.”" The idea that the best leaders serve the public has been widely held for a long time. Never under-rate it.
Then, in response to pussygate, Pence took the initiative. "October 7, 2016, The Washington Post published the Access Hollywood tape that showed Trump gloating about his penchant for grabbing women “by the pussy,” … Within hours of The Post’s bombshell, Pence made it clear to the Republican National Committee that he was ready to take Trump’s place as the party’s nominee. Such a move just four weeks before Election Day would have been unprecedented—but the situation seemed dire enough to call for radical action."
"Meanwhile, a small group of billionaires was trying to put together money for a “buyout”—even going so far as to ask a Trump associate how much money the candidate would require to walk away from the race. According to someone with knowledge of the talks, they were given an answer of $800 million. (It’s unclear whether Trump was aware of this discussion or whether the offer was actually made.) Republican donors and party leaders began buzzing about making Pence the nominee and drafting Condoleezza Rice as his running mate."
But Trump never took the bait, and all this hidden history reveals is that Republican powers that be know they've got the perfect fall-back position should Trump fail; their own tame Democrat.
In the US the number of Christian political activist groups eclipses the number of hard left activists by several zeroes. It's a really interesting crowd to run with particularly in Chicago-Illonois politics.
Far less so in New Zealand, where religious influence is in freefall across society.
The USA is one more Trump term away from a theocracy. And if you think that the Supreme Court and the Constitution will stop the Evangicals, I suggest you Google 'Prohibition'.
Story within the story..check out the pic in this article which has an estimated anger level (eg11%) of people viewed by facial recognition as they walk unsuspectingly down a street. Next they will be detaining people under the guise of prevention due to their anger score.
So will the slogan be `let's do this again' or `let's do more'? Toby does point to what the campaign will hinge on this far out – unless something new displaces it.
"Labour will be gearing up for the inevitable from the Greens and, especially, New Zealand First. Labour’s leadership will strive to dish out plenty of “wins” for both smaller parties in the next few months. And then do what they can to ensure that efforts to assert “brand” independence don’t blow the house down."
Walk & chew gum simultanously. Brand differentiation, while concurrently framing their three campaigns as a collaboration. This imposes a tight operation constraint, and Toby spells it out. "So a year out from the election, I’ll give you three words. Discipline, discipline, discipline.”
At next year's Budget, announce a 25% increase in benefits, to take effect on 1 April 2021. I guarantee that will mobilise the poor, unemployed and sick to outflank the tradies and soccer moms in the mortgage belt. In 2005 South Auckland held up Labour's vote in the face of a wipeout in the provinces. They need to do the same thing again.
This coat design isn't just saving lives. It's launching new careers for homeless people
Detroit (CNN)In the shadows of Detroit's tallest skyscrapers, dozens of homeless people shiver in the 17-degree cold.
Ferocious wind gusts of 15 mph feel like cold knives stabbing the face.
Such conditions claim the lives of countless homeless people every winter — especially those without warm coats.
Now, a nonprofit aimed at solving that problem has accidentally led to one of the most successful homeless employment programs as the country's homeless crisis keeps growing.
"This is so much bigger than anything I could have imagined," said Veronika Scott, the 30-year-old CEO and founder of the Empowerment Plan.
The plan hires homeless people and teaches them how to make coats for the destitute suffering on the streets.
I've been working with a group here in my town where there are around 30 rough sleepers a night. When one of them goes missing for a day or so there is always the worry – are they alright? And while the temperatures here, are not as severe as the winter in Mid West America, a wet and windy night can be something of an endurance. So on seeing this amazing programme I'm wondering if something like it could be carried out here. Of course, what all these people say is that they would really like to have a home they could call their own – and that is what what they really want . Their independence.
An inspiring, and heart filling story. Well worth the 10 mins watch and read.
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Reprehensible: There is much that could be said about Michael Woodhouse, but what would be the point? Any man who willingly involves himself in a situation as reprehensible as the one depicted in the above photograph has already vouchsafed all that decent people need to know about his character. That there have ...
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The East is Rent: The consequences of unleashing the young against the old; of elevating ideological rigor above reasoned debate; and of setting the present against the past; was a decade of unprecedented social stress and tension, interspersed with explosions of murderous mob violence and tragic material destruction. More than ...
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Remember the government's tyrannicalTerrorism Suppression (Control Orders) Bill? Remember how it was rammed through Parliament, with a four-day submission period and a select committee process that was a democratic fraud? At the time, the government gave the impression that there was an urgent need for this legislation, that a ...
Attack journalist - Tova O'BrienWe all know that much of the mainstream media in New Zealand is terribly biased. They are in effect another branch of the National Party, and can often be even more prejudiced than their right wing bosses.In fact many right wing politicians moonlight as journalists and ...
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One of the challenges of working on illegal wildlife markets, is you don’t really have scope to talk about your research into illegal wildlife markets. There is some stuff though that willbe coming out on Asiatic black bears in China, and before Covid19, I was delving more into rhinos. Which ...
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Michelle Boag - Former National Party PresidentWhen Todd Muller decided not to discipline Hamish Walker for his horribly racist press release last week, you had to wonder if his lack of proper leadership had something to do with a shared belief system? After all, the whiteness of the blue “team” ...
On Twitter today, lawyer Felix Geiringer asked a good question: why are MP's exempt from the Privacy Act? The Act imposes its obligations on "agencies", and s8 of the 2020 Act states that this term does not include... a member of Parliament in their official capacity The 1993 Act, ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzWhat was the climate and sea level like at times ...
So now we know, beyond all doubt. The National party has no interest in joining the “team of five million” in our fight against the pandemic but its priority is to take every opportunity it can to damage the government. The cynicism is breathtaking. It was prepared to leak the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters The massive dust storm that formed over the Sahara Desert in mid-June invaded the southeastern U.S. June 25-28, bringing dangerous levels of air pollution, low visibility, and colorful sunsets. The air pollution event over parts of Texas and the Gulf ...
In 1987, as a British Labour MP, I was elected to the Shadow Cabinet by my colleagues and was asked by the party leader to direct Labour’s campaign in the general election of that year. The election was to take place at the height of Mrs Thatcher’s dominance and we ...
National MP Nicola WillisHousing, which I would argue is a fundamental human right, has long been a problem in New Zealand. Not only do we have some of the most overpriced houses in the entire world, much of the housing stock is substandard and therefore affects not just people’s health ...
If the government has not lined up behind a "Yes" vote in this year's cannabis referendum the way some reformers would have liked, one entirely laudable thing it did do was commission some science around the public's choice.That science landed today, in the form of the report from an expert ...
Associate Professor Sara WaltonAt the heart of the discussion on opening up our borders is the dichotomy of health and the economy – both of which are actually intertwined, like many things with our economy, as this epidemic has shown.If we think about our country as a system, ...
This is a re-post from Carbon Brief by Josh Gabbatiss This year will see the largest ever drop globally in both investment and consumer spending on energy as the coronavirus pandemic hits every major sector, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The crisis is accelerating the shutdown of older fossil-fuelled ...
A short opinion piece – Friday 26th June 2020 Whilst our Government has treated many financial victims of the current Covid-19 virus with appropriate generosity, the same cannot be said for those of the two earlier “epidemics” in NZ. The “Covid-84” virus (also called “Rogernomics”) spread systemic greed, with the ...
Everyone deserves a a decent life. We know this is possible with a fairer approach to income support and tax Read the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand’s Poverty Action Plan here ...
After a long break, the government is back inserting secrecy clauses in legislation. This time its the Overseas Investment Amendment Bill (No 3), which in its clause allowing Ministers to exempt purchasers of farm land from the usual rules also allows them to exempt an exemption from the publication requirement: ...
Over the past two years the government has repeatedly delayed a scheme to put cameras on boats to monitor Mew Zealand's pervasively criminal fishing industry. But it turns out that the industry actually wants cameras: Three of the country's biggest seafood companies have broken ranks with the rest of the ...
Louise Delany (public health lawyer)Health and emergency laws have played a critical role in this country’s successful elimination of community transmission of the COVID-19 pandemic. This blog details key aspects of the legislation and comments on issues around testing, payments by incoming travellers for quarantine costs, and mask use. ...
I like Andrew Curry’s succinct and insightful futures blog The Next Wave. His most recent post is about social change. In particular, the decadal-long periods usually required for changes in values. He highlights a 2016 paper by Inglehart and Norris, who examined whether economic insecurity or a “cultural backlash” ...
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... Story of the Week... Stop making sense: why it's time to get emotional about climate changeThe science has been settled to the highest degree, so now ...
MONDAY JULY 6Washington (History, Sky 073, 7.30pm). The brilliant Doris Kearns Goodwin is the executive producer of this six-part series about America's first president. It combines interviews with live action and is narrated by Jeff Daniels. It's engaging, said Salon.TUESDAY JULY 7The ABC Murders (Prime, 8.30pm). Sarah Phelps has done incredible things with ...
I think we can all agree that the mainstream media in New Zealand has a very different set of rules for the right wing compared to the left. While Labour and Green Party politicians don’t seem to be able to fart without it becoming a sackable offence, National and Act ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, June 28 through Sat, July 4, 2020Editor's Choice'2040': A funny, entertaining, upbeat climate documentaryA timely Australian documentary takes a 'solutions' approach, with the filmmaker inspired by visions of ...
Racist National MP Hamish WalkerEven before Todd Muller's coup ousted Simon Bridges by a single vote, it was patently obvious that the National Party promotes and stands for white privilege. In fact they’ve always worked to ensure the discriminatory status quo in New Zealand doesn’t change.So it’s no surprise that ...
Dave HeatleyZero community transmission. Just a handful of active cases, all in quarantine. New Zealand is in an attractive situation, at least compared to much of the world. The situation could be robust and enduring – or it might be fragile, just one border incursion away from a “second ...
Is the consequence of the Simpson Report proposals for restructuring the health system poorer accountability to people? When in doubt, centralise‘ has been a persistent theme in New Zealand public policy throughout our history. The current government is no exception. Here are some examples. - The regional polytechs have been ...
I wrote earlier in the week about the Scientology front organisations Drug Free World and Drug Free Ambassadors and their quite prominent role in anti-cannabis reform "coalition" assembled by Family First and a newloca branch of the American prohibitionist organisation SAM.It turns out Family First aren't the only ones helping ...
Nik GreenMuch of the public debate about the response to the COVID-19 pandemic has focused on the extent to which government regulations have restricted personal and business activity.Oxford University Blavatnik School of Government Here in New Zealand, the question of when to change Alert Levels dominated the ...
James Higham, University of OtagoUnprecedented border closures and the domestic lockdown have paralysed New Zealand’s $40.9 billion a year tourism industry. In the process, the vulnerability of the sector to external shocks and the tenuous nature of tourism employment have been exposed. While New Zealand’s handling of the pandemic ...
Raising The Bar: Would that the Prime Minister and her colleagues would listen as intently to what the people – as opposed to the power elites – are saying as the Greens. Were they so disposed, the popular clamour for a transformational post-Covid reset would be loud in their ears. ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzDo you think the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown will slow or ...
A bit like a letter home. I have now been full-time at the University of Melbourne since 2019. Before that, I was 20 years at the University of Otago, Wellington. Indeed, I set up this very Public Health Expert Blog with Nick Wilson ten years ago. Now I am your ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections House Democrats have released a comprehensive report showing how – if they control the White House and both the Senate and the House of Representatives – they might move forward on climate change. Their “Climate Crisis Action Plan,” released June 30 by the ...
A ballot for three Member's Bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Electoral (Integrity Repeal) Amendment Bill (David Carter) Harmful Digital Communications (Unauthorised Posting of Intimate Visual Recording) Amendment Bill (Louisa wall) Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Bill (Judith ...
Not Ready: Todd Muller’s lack-lustre and self-contradictory performances offer conclusive proof that a political leader cannot be managed into competence. National’s new boss has Janet Wilson handling his media and Matthew Hooton writing his speeches. Both are highly professional political and public relations specialists, and Muller is lucky to have ...
Unfortunately, due to a medical emergency, I have landed in hospital so am not able to do a current update on the NZ blog statistics. Let’s hope I can get back to this in good time. ...
It started as a family story, about a step-father who went out one night to break into an embassy in Wadestown, Wellington. John Daniell wanted to understand what his family had been part of when his mother and then step-father work for New Zealand’s Security Intelligence. He wanted to know ...
The Greens have shaken up the election campaign with the announcement of their radical poverty and action plan to reform welfare provision and introduce a new wealth tax for millionaires. It’s a big-thinking, controversial policy and has generated a lot of disagreement over how radical it is, whether it could ...
My house is currently supplied electricity by Meridian. As soon as I can change I will because Meridian spilled water to hike electricity prices. They got consumers to spend an extra $80 million on power unnecessarily. Clever them. The Electricity Authority has called their behaviour an “undesirable trading situation”, or ...
When Jacinda Ardern unexpectedly became the Labour Party leader shortly before the 2017 general election, she promised to lead a government of transformation. After nearly three years occupying the Treasury benches, health professionals working in public hospitals have been keenly waiting for transformational progress, including in the capacity and quality ...
Last night, One News ran a follow-up story to its Colmar Brunton poll results on the cannabis referendum, headed here as Government accuses big American anti-cannabis group of interfering in NZ politics.In truth it wasn't just the government: Justice minister Andrew Little, National's Shane Reti and the Greens' Chloe Swarbrick ...
When the government refused to put cameras on fishing boats to ensure fishers obeyed the law, Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash claimed that coalition partner NZ First (which has received large donations from the fishing industry) was not responsible for the decision. He has repeated that claim repeatedly since then. But ...
Heroic Evasions: Labour needs to be unequivocal in its communications with the electorate. Either it has a plan to prevent their fellow New Zealanders from falling off the economic cliff, or it doesn’t. Either it has a fiscal policy equal to the task of funding that plan, or it hasn’t. ...
Prof John Potter*Elimination has been an effective strategy for New Zealand in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic virus (SARS-CoV-2). Most other countries have not pursued this goal and are ignoring the opportunity even now. SARS-CoV-2 is not manageable by the influenza playbook; its longer incubation period makes tracing ...
Mark Patterson MP, Spokesperson for Primary Industry New Zealand First is supporting calls by hunters and the New Zealand Tahr Foundation (NZTF) to halt a large scale cull of Himalayan Tahr by the Department of Conservation in National Parks. The calls are supported by a 40,000 strong petition and the ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First leader Winston Peters today scoffed at suggestions that a team of six political operatives have been dispatched to New Zealand to assist his campaign. ‘As President Ronald Reagan once said, ‘there they go again.’ ‘The clickbait journos can’t ...
New Zealand First is pleased to announce Jenny Marcroft as the party’s election 2020 candidate for the Auckland Central electorate. Jenny spent years working in Auckland Central, having spent a vast proportion of her broadcasting career there. She says she, "knows the place and knows the people." Ms Marcroft says ...
New Zealanders deserve healthy rivers and lakes that are safe to swim in - but they have been getting worse for decades. That's why, with our latest announcement, we're investing in projects that will help clean up our rivers and lakes and restore them to health, within a generation. ...
This week we moved into the second half of 2020 - and our Government delivered another week of big changes and major progress for New Zealanders. Read below for a wrap of the key things moments from the week - from extending paid parental leave, to making major investments in ...
The Green Party has opposed the COVID-19 Recovery Fast-track Consenting Bill which shortcuts normal consenting processes under the Resource Management Act (RMA), reduces public participation and narrows environmental considerations. ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister of Regional Economic Development A regional freight hub for the lower North Island will be built just northeast of Palmerston North, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. The Government is investing $40 million through the Provincial Growth Fund to designate and buy land and design ...
Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson is calling for the introduction of a Guaranteed Minimum Income to lift hundreds of thousands of people out of poverty and prevent more families entering into further debt with the Ministry of Social Development. ...
There has been renewed focus on New Zealand First acting as a handbrake on the Government after our decision to not support Auckland light rail. We are a handbrake for bad ideas, that istrue, but our track record since 2017 has seen New Zealand First constructively also serve as an ...
Mark Patterson MP, New Zealand First List MP New Zealand First’s Fair Residency for Superannuation Bill passed its First Reading in Parliament today. The Bill makes a significant change to NZ Super by raising the minimum residency requirement from 10 to 20 years, after age 20. “Currently, a migrant of ...
Darroch Ball MP, Spokesperson for Law and Order A New Zealand First member’s bill in the name of Darroch Ball introducing a six-month minimum prison sentence for assaults on first responders has passed its second reading in Parliament. The new offence of "injuring a first responder or corrections officer with ...
Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Deputy Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First welcomes the launch of the new Criminal Cases Review Commission, gifted with the name from Waikato-Tainui - Te Kāhui Tātari Ture, announced in Hamilton today by Justice Minister Andrew Little. “New Zealand First has long believed in and ...
The Green Party is celebrating over $800m in new funding for green projects, which will get people into jobs while solving New Zealand’s long-term challenges. ...
Mark Patterson MP, Spokesperson for Primary Industries New Zealand First is appalled that Meridian seems to have been unnecessarily spilling water from its dams to drive up its profits."While New Zealanders have been coming together in some of our darkest hours, we don’t expect power gentailers to waste water and ...
We wrapped up the first half of 2020 with a busy month, taking additional steps to support New Zealanders as we continue with our economic recovery. We rolled out targeted packages to support key industries like tourism and construction, helped create jobs in the environmental and agriculture sectors, and set ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Infrastructure Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones has welcomed the appointment of Maurice Davis and his deep infrastructure and construction experience to the board of the Infrastructure Commission. Mr Davis (Ngāti Maniapoto), is the seventh and final appointment to the board led by former Reserve Bank Governor ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand’s click bait journalism is taking a turn for the worse, with yet another example of sensationalist, wilful-misrepresentation of the facts. “New Zealand First has worked constructively with its Coalition partner on hundreds of pieces of legislation and policy, and ...
The Green Party is today unveiling its Poverty Action Plan, which includes a Guaranteed Minimum Income to ensure people have enough to live with dignity. ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Rotorua Museum redevelopment and Whakarewarewa and Tokorangi Forest projects will be accelerated thanks to a $2.09 million Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) boost, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher ...
This week, we rolled out the next steps of our recovery plan, with new infrastructure investment, extra support for tourism operators, and a new programme to get Kiwis into agriculture careers. The global economic consequences of COVID-19 will continue to be a challenge, but we have a detailed plan to ...
Jenny Marcroft MP, Spokesperson for Health New Zealand First welcomes the passage of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Bill through its final reading in Parliament today fulfilling a coalition agreement commitment. “This is an important step in saving the lives of New Zealanders and delivers a key coalition commitment ...
Whakatāne has been given a $2.5 million boost to speed up previously funded projects and create more than 450 jobs in the next decade. Of those, the equivalent of 160 full-time jobs could be delivered in the next six weeks. Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters is in town to make ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is investing $2.5 million to accelerate three infrastructure projects in Whakatāne, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. “This package is about ...
Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones is throwing his weight behind a bid by the Auckland Council to fast-track the more than doubling of the city's water allowance from the Waikato River. And he's coming out strongly against anyone who plans on getting in the way of this campaign. "It is my ...
The Green Party is thrilled to see changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that mean consents for large projects can be declined if they will have significant climate change implications that are inconsistent with the Zero Carbon Act and Aotearoa New Zealand’s Paris Agreement obligations. ...
Hon Ron Mark, Minister of Defence The Royal New Zealand Navy’s new ship, Aotearoa, set sail for New Zealand on 10 June from the Republic of Korea, and is due to arrive in Auckland tomorrow, announced Minister of Defence Ron Mark. “Aotearoa is the Royal New Zealand Navy’s new fleet ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Racing Racing Minister Winston Peters has today welcomed the Racing Industry Bill passing its third reading, creating the legislative framework for revitalising the racing industry while limiting the need for future government intervention. “For too long our domestic racing industry has ...
The Green Party has today put forward an amendment to the Electoral (Registration of Sentenced Prisoners) Amendment Bill to ensure all people in prisons can vote in general elections. ...
The Green Party welcomes the decision to not proceed with Public Public Investment (PPI) delivery of Auckland’s light rail project and to instead run the process through the public service. ...
Hon Ron Mark, New Zealand First List MP based in the Wairarapa New Zealand First List MP Hon Ron Mark welcomes the announcement of Provincial Growth Funding investment of $1.4 million to help secure the Wairarapa’s water supply. The funding boost will allow the Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC), and ...
New Zealand First list MP Mark Patterson has been selected to represent the party in the newly formed Taieri electorate at the upcoming election. Mr Patterson, his wife Jude and two daughters farm sheep and beef at Lawrence and Waitahuna. He previously stood in the Clutha-Southland electorate however boundary changes ...
Hon Shane Jones, Associate Minister for State Owned Enterprises A new ‘super depot’ to be built for NZ Post in Wellington will create around 350 jobs during construction, Associate Minister for State Owned Enterprises Shane Jones says. Shane Jones today attended a ground-breaking and blessing ceremony for the parcel-processing depot ...
Our strong economic management prior to COVID-19 - with surpluses, low debt and near-record-low unemployment - put us in a good position to weather the impact of the virus and start to rebuild our economy much earlier than many other countries.Now we're putting our plan to recover and rebuild ...
Darroch Ball MP, New Zealand First Spokesperson for Law and Order Recently released Police fleeing driver statistics have shown yet another increase in incidents with another record-high in the latest quarter. “This new quarterly record-high is the latest in a string of record-high numbers since 2014. The data shows incidents ...
The Minister of Police says a major operation against the Mongrel Mob in Waikato will make a big dent in drug harm and violent offending linked to organised crime networks. “Senior leadership of the Waikato Mongrel Mob has been taken out as a result of Operation Kingsville, which resulted in ...
The Government is extending the border exception criteria to enable some offshore victims and support people of the Christchurch mosque attacks to attend the sentencing of the accused beginning on 24 August2020, says Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway. “We want to support our valued Muslim brothers and sisters who were directly ...
A project to support volunteer efforts to look after streams and rivers is getting a boost thanks to support from DOC’s Community Conservation Fund announced Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage today. “The government is backing efforts to look after waterways with $199,400 for the Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust from ...
Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter today announced that funding for the COVID-19 Community Fund for women and girls will be doubled, as the first successful funding applications for the initial $1million were revealed. “Women and girls across the country have suffered because of the effects of COVID-19, and I ...
The Government’s books were better than forecast with a higher GST take as the economy got moving again after lockdown, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. The Crown Accounts for the 11 months to the end of May indicate the year end results for tax revenue will be stronger than forecast. ...
A plan to revitalise New Zealand’s strong wool sector and set it on a new, more sustainable and profitable path was unveiled today by Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. The newly-released report - Vision and Action for New Zealand’s Wool Sector - was developed by the Wool Industry Project Action Group ...
Community efforts to create a Predator Free Whangārei will receive a $6 million boost, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage announced today. The new funding, through Government company Predator Free 2050 Ltd, will create around 12 jobs while enabling the complete removal of possums over ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced that the New Zealand Government is reviewing the settings of its relationship with Hong Kong. “China’s decision to pass a new national security law for Hong Kong has fundamentally changed the environment for international engagement there,” Mr Peters said. “New Zealand remains deeply ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has announced details of a multimillion-dollar investment in Whangārei for infrastructure projects that will help it recover from the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 200 jobs are expected to be created through the $26 million investment from the Government’s rejuvenation package ...
Following a second incident in which a person escaped from a managed isolation facility, security is being enhanced, including more police presence onsite, Minister Megan Woods said. “The actions of some individuals who choose to break the very clear rules to stay within the facilities means that more resourcing is ...
Waste reduction and recycling programmes in Kaipara are set to get a boost with Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage today announcing a $361,447 grant from the Ministry for the Environment’s Waste Minimisation Fund (WMF) Sustainable Kaipara. “The new funding will allow Sustainable Kaipara to partner with local schools, kura, community ...
The Government will support the Southland economy in the wake of multinational mining company Rio Tinto’s decision to follow through with its long signalled closure of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter. “This day has unfortunately been on the cards for some time now, but nevertheless the final decision is a ...
New tools being developed to help boost Aotearoa’s Predator Free 2050 effort were unveiled today by Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage and Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau. A new rat poison, a camera with predator recognition software to detect and report predators, a new predator lure and a ...
The Coalition Government has approved the purchase of a fleet of Bushmaster vehicles to replace the New Zealand Army’s armoured Pinzgauers, Defence Minister Ron Mark has announced today. The new fleet of 43 Australian-designed and built Bushmaster NZ5.5 will provide better protection for personnel and improved carrying capacity. “The age ...
The Government’s three prevention frameworks to reduce family violence in Aotearoa were launched this week by Associate Minister for Social Development Poto Williams. The frameworks were developed in partnership with communities around New Zealand, and build on the work the Government has already begun with its new family violence prevention ...
The Government is pleased to confirm funding for improvements to radiology and surgical services at Hawke's Bay DHB, Health Minister Chris Hipkins says. "The Minister of Finance the Hon Grant Robertson and former Health Minister Dr David Clark approved funding for Hawke's Bay DHB’s redevelopment of their radiology facilities ...
• New funding for four beds at Napier’s Springhill Residential Addiction Centre • A new managed withdrawal home and community service, and peer support before and after residential care at Tairāwhiti DHB • A co-ordinated network of withdrawal management services throughout the South Island • Peer support in Rotorua and ...
Introduction, seafarers and POAL Good morning everyone, I am delighted to be online with you all today. Before I begin, I have to acknowledge that COVID-19 has disrupted the maritime sector on an unprecedented scale. The work of seafarers and the maritime industry is keeping many economies around the world ...
A $13 million investment from Government will create jobs and improve the resilience of the rail connection between Christchurch and the West Coast, Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones and Regional Economic Development Under-Secretary Fletcher Tabuteau say. The funding comes from the tagged contingency set aside in Budget 2020 for infrastructure projects ...
The Government is investing $761 million to assist local government upgrade under-pressure water services across the country, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. The announcement was made at the site of the water bore that was found to be the source of the fatal ...
Recognised Seasonal Employers and migrant seasonal workers stranded in New Zealand will be able to continue working and supporting themselves with more flexible hours and roles, says Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway. The time-limited visa changes are: Stranded RSE workers will be able to work part-time (a minimum of 15 hours ...
The Government is making immediate short-term changes to visa settings to support temporary migrants already onshore in New Zealand and their employers, while also ensuring New Zealanders needing work are prioritised, Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. We are: Extending temporary work visas due to expire by the end of 2020 ...
Professor Peter Skelton CNZM has been appointed as Chief Freshwater Commissioner and Alternate Environment Court Judge Craig James Thompson as Deputy Chief Freshwater Commissioner for the newly established Freshwater Planning Process (FPP). Environment Minister David Parker today also announced the appointment of Chief Environment Court Judge Laurie Newhook as the ...
Auckland Queen’s Counsel Neil Campbell has been appointed a Judge of the High Court, Attorney‑General David Parker announced today. Justice Campbell graduated with a BCom and LLB (Hons) from the University of Auckland in 1992. He spent two years with Bell Gully Buddle Weir in Auckland before travelling to the United ...
The Associate Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration, Poto Williams, is seeking feedback on a proposal to better enable the development and operation of commercial film and video facilities in Christchurch. The Proposal, developed by Regenerate Christchurch in response to a request from Christchurch City Council, asks that powers under section ...
The Government has launched a bold plan to boost primary sector export earnings by $44 billion over the next decade, while protecting the environment and growing jobs. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today released Fit for a Better World – Accelerating our Economic Potential, a 10-year roadmap to unlock greater value ...
A new approach to prevent family harm that encourages greater collaboration across government and community groups is being celebrated at the opening of a new facility in Auckland. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today opened the Multi-Disciplinary Family Harm Prevention Hub Te Taanga Manawa in Lambie Road in Manukau. The facility ...
The Government has released a major new report on the options for relocating the Port of Auckland’s freight operations while deferring any decision on the issue. “That decision needs to be informed by policy analysis that is still to be completed. As a result it will be up to a ...
The history of Rāpaki is being restored through the inclusion of te reo in thirteen official place names on Te Pātaka-o-Rākaihautū / Banks Peninsula and around Lyttelton Harbour/Whakaraupō, the Minister for Land Information, Eugenie Sage, announced today. “I am pleased to approve the proposals from Te Hapū o Ngāti ...
Bookings for seats on Air New Zealand flights into New Zealand will be managed in the short term to ensure the Government is able to safely place New Zealanders arriving home into a managed isolation or quarantine facility, says Housing Minister Megan Woods. “Last week Air Commodore Darryn Webb and I ...
Grant Robertson has today announced the first major release of funding from the $265 million Sport Recovery Package announced at Budget 2020. “Today we’re setting out how $80 million will be invested, with $54 million of that over the 2020/2021 financial year for organisations from community level through to elite ...
The Government is maintaining current levy rates for the next 2 years, as part of a set of changes to help ease the financial pressures of COVID-19 providing certainty for businesses and New Zealanders, ACC Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. “New Zealanders and businesses are facing unprecedented financial pressures as a ...
Small businesses are getting greater certainty about access to finance with an extension to the interest-free cashflow loan scheme to the end of the year. The Small Business Cashflow Loan Scheme has already been extended once, to 24 July. Revenue and Small Business Minister Stuart Nash says it will be ...
A package of 23 projects across the country will clean up waterways and deliver over 2000 jobs Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Environment Minister David Parker announced today. The $162 million dollar package will see 22 water clean-up projects put forward by local councils receiving $62 million and the Kaipara ...
Tena koutou katoa Nga tangata whenua o tenei rohe o Pōneke, tena koutou Nau mai, haere mai ki te hui a tau mo te roopu reipa Ko tatou! Ko to tatou mana! Ko to tatou kaupapa kei te kokiri whakamua Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena tatou katoa Welcome. I ...
The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is investing $1.5 million to ensure QE Health in Rotorua can proceed with its world class health service and save 75 existing jobs, Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development, Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. The PGF funding announced today is in addition to the $8 million ...
A new programme, which sets a firm course for the Building and Construction sector to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, has been announced by the Minister for Building and Construction Jenny Salesa. “A significant amount of New Zealand’s carbon emissions come from the building and construction sector. If we’re serious ...
The Provincial Growth Fund is investing more than $7.5 million in Northland ventures to combat the economic impact of the COVID-19 virus, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones have announced. The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) investment is going to the Northern Adventure Experience and ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Education Minister Chris Hipkins today announced significant funding for Auckland’s Northcote College as part of the first wave of a new nationwide school redevelopment programme to upgrade schools over the next 10 years. The $48.5 million project brings the total investment in Northcote College to ...
The Government has opened an urgent response fund to support schools and early learning services to get children and young people back on track after the Covid-19 lockdown. “While we are seeing improvements in attendance under Alert Level 1 Ministry of Education data shows that attendance rates in our schools ...
In the heart of Christchurch is a Designated Character high school. What makes it unique? And should there be more like it? Frank Film visits Hagley College Paddy Grant was a 27-year-old truck driver when he rocked up to Christchurch’s Hagley High School, as it was then known. It was ...
"After he calms down we share the pie and talk about how hard the years since the show have been for him": a short story by Wellington writer Jordan Hamel. Every morning it’s the same. Cling wrap on the toilet seat, a pop up snake in my can of breakfast ...
Controversy and the America's Cup go hand-in-hand and the latest edition is no different with Emirates Team New Zealand at the centre of financial mismanagement allegations. Extra Time unpicks the debate and ponders what does the latest Cup drama mean? And should we care? A study has revealed racial bias ...
Over the decades, Mike Fox has witnessed the housing market progressively tilt towards larger, more expensive homes. Without a major overhaul of the current regulatory processes, he says, things will never change.It’s one of the biggest problems our country faces – we cannot produce the affordable housing that’s so desperately ...
So-called dirty deals have been roundly denounced over the years. Hayden Donnell argues that they need to be normalised, and even embraced, in September’s election.Just before the 2011 general election, Patrick Gower was confronted with a political act so stomach-churning, it forced him to abandon his trademark reserve. John Key ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Esterman, Professor of Biostatistics, University of South Australia Victoria has recorded 288 new COVID-19 cases since yesterday, the largest daily increase we’ve seen so far. This big jump must have the Victorian government and health authorities very concerned, especially since nearly ...
The controversial 101 East episode Locked Up in Malaysia’s Lockdown on 3 July 2020. Video: Al JazeeraPacific Media Watch Newsdesk Malaysian police summoned six Al Jazeera media workers today for questioning relating to an investigation for defamation and violation of Malaysia’s Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA), reports IFJ Asia-Pacific. ...
Analysis - A National MP destroys his career, the government explains how someone with Covid-19 could walk around a supermarket and the closure of Tiwai Point aluminium smelter is announced. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Abrar Ahmad Chughtai, Epidemiologist, UNSW Australia’s chief medical officer Paul Kelly today recommended people in Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire wear masks when leaving the house: […] If people have symptoms and they need to go for a test, for example, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rochelle Wynne, Director, Western Sydney Nursing & Midwifery Research Centre, Western Sydney University Over the past week, we’ve seen a spike in the number of COVID-19 infections among health-care workers in Victoria. This includes a doctor at Melbourne’s St Vincent’s Hospital, one ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Paddy Nixon and Professorial Fellow Michelle Grattan discuss the week in politics including the return to lockdown in Victoria, National Cabinet setting to slow the flow of Australian’s ...
We prefer our heroes untarnished. And few match the heroism of Winston Churchill. But a recent report in the Times reminds us of the inevitability of human frailty and the consequences of keeping it under wraps.During the second world war, Britain’s greatest single loss of life at sea was the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ou Yang, Research Fellow, University of Melbourne Donald Trump has ordered US federal agencies to bypass environmental protection laws and fast-track pipeline, highway and other infrastructure projects. Signing the executive order last month, the US president declared regulatory delays would hinder “our ...
SAFE CEO Debra Ashton says "The NZDIA has done the right thing, and we’re glad to see Bertram has been held to account over his actions. He should take this as an opportunity to right his wrongs and show that he takes animal welfare seriously." ...
Takuta Ferris, Te Tai Tonga candidate for the Māori Party, is urging government to place whānau first in the wake of announcements around Tiwai Point. “The declaration that one of the region's major employers the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter is closing ...
Dietary Requirements is The Spinoff’s monthly podcast in which we eat, drink and talk about it too, with special thanks to Freedom Farms. This month, we’re joined by The Spinoff’s managing editor, mall rat and self-confessed food philistine Duncan Greive.On this month’s Dietary Requirements, the gang’s back in the studio, and ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Chart 1: United States and Australia rising. Chart by Keith Rankin. These charts look at Covid19 incidence in China (the most important first-wave country, with a limited second wave), Italy (the lead second-wave country), and USA and Australia (second-wave countries – drawing their caseload from Europe ...
The Government must listen to the Muslim community to rectify its failure to act in the past, says the Human Rights Commission. The Islamic Women’s Council of New Zealand (IWCNZ) submission to the Royal Commission of Inquiry was released this week. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hugh Breakey, President, Australian Association for Professional & Applied Ethics. Senior Research Fellow, Moral philosophy, Institute for Ethics, Governance & Law, Law Futures Centre., Griffith University Earlier this week, 150 high-profile authors, commentators and scholars signed an open letter in Harper’s magazine ...
You can’t keep a good woman down and Helen Clark is no exception. Her new appointment, as co-chair of a review of how the World Health Organisation handled the coronavirus pandemic, will test her formidable political skills. Sitting with her is Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former Liberian president, who handled the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Connor, Lecturer, James Cook University While many people may enjoy a game of backyard cricket, only a few go on to become elite professional batsmen in Australia. Cricket batting is example of what human skills can achieve. The fastest bowling delivery ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lee Baumgartner, Professor of Fisheries and River Management, Institute for Land, Water, and Society, Charles Sturt University This article is a preview of Flora, Fauna, Fire, a multimedia project launching on Monday July 13. The project tracks the recovery of Australia’s native ...
CEAC review of pre-election National’s “outline plan” just sent to us by Todd Muller 9/7/20 was actually his speech about his plan and was described as ‘an outline’. So in our review of National Party response to A Greener, Smarter Future; climate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Podger, Honorary Professor of Public Policy, Australian National University In Hidden Hand, China scholars Clive Hamilton and Marieke Ohlberg examine the Chinese Communist Party’s influence in Europe and North America in a similar way to how Hamilton dissected the CCP’s influence ...
“I can see why people are fed up, many are wondering how to clothe and feed their kids, or how they are going to pay their rent next week and still others are wondering what has happened to our beautiful Kiwi Way of Life. Well no party in parliament ...
Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk Sixty press freedom groups and civil society organisations, journalism institutions, filmmakers, and other supporters have formed a coalition in support of Maria Ressa and independent media in the Philippines, united around the call to #HoldTheLine. Today the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the International Center for ...
National MP Michael Woodhouse also received Covid-19 patient emails from Michelle Boag, and deleted them when he realised she was implicated in a separate email scandal. National Party leader Todd Muller says no further MPs in his party received confidential information from Michelle Boag, after revelations today that Michael Woodhouse also ...
The government is extending border exceptions to allow overseas victims of the Christchurch mosque attacks and their support people to attend the shooter's sentencing. ...
Ever wanted to be Iron Man? Sam Brooks prefers Pepper Potts, but he had a great time stepping into the iron suit anyway.The first few moments of Iron Man VR are where it plays its hand, confidently and assuredly. You hold your palms out in front of you, and Iron ...
SAP has released to the public a policy paper, “Helping Kiwis get back to work: How data and technology can drive a bigger, better, faster economic recovery.” ...
A new poem by Jordan Hamel.Mermaids When you lose grip and start to drift.The first thing you’re supposed to do issteer into it or steer away? Not all mermaids are royaltysomeone needs to audit the oceanprovide cashflow projectionssome mermaids are actuallymiddle-aged accountants named Stephendreaming of a land-view holiday home. I saw a ...
Want to work for The Spinoff? We’re looking for someone to fill an exciting new role based in our Auckland office. We’re looking for a video and podcast content manager: an experienced writer or sub-editor with a strong understanding of social media to manage our video and podcast content across various channels. ...
National Party leader Todd Muller says no further MPs in his party received confidential information from Michelle Boag, after revelations today that Michael Woodhouse also received four unsolicited emails. ...
By RNZ News Opposition National list MP Dr Jian Yang has announced his retirement from New Zealand politics and says he will not stand in the 2020 general election after three terms in the party caucus. He said politics was “demanding” and he wanted to spend more time with his ...
Bayer-Monsanto's June 24 announcement of a US$10.9 billion pay out (1) to people who have been harmed by Glyphosate, is effectively an admission of guilt. Spokesperson for The People’s Inquiry 2020 Asha Andersen says, “The Ministry of Health, The ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has filed a complaint with the Electoral Commission and the Parliamentary Speaker’s Office over Lawrence Yule’s new taxpayer funded billboards promoting Mr Yule as the ‘Voice in Tukituki’. Union spokesman, Louis Houlbrooke ...
Ten points, two plans. Which points are whose? With an election within spitting distance, Aotearoa’s two biggest political parties are all about the plans. “You don’t have a plan!” says one party to the other. “Yes we have a plan, or certainly a plan to have a plan, or a plan ...
Four months after he announced his re-selection, a National Party MP whose links to Chinese spy agencies attracted the interest of New Zealand’s Security Intelligence Service has announced he will not stand in the next election A three-term National Party MP who studied at an elite Chinese spy school before moving to ...
National list MP Dr Jian Yang announced his retirement from politics and said he would not stand in the 2020 general election after three terms in the party caucus. ...
A new political party, the New Zealand TEA Party, with headquarters in Auckland, has been established. The party aims to contest the queen- or kingmaker position to form a coalition with the largest parliamentary party as part of the general elections ...
A review has determined fish oils are non-hazardous and no longer require oversight by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA). We regulate pesticides, household chemicals and other dangerous goods and substances under the Hazardous Substances ...
New Conservative calls on the government to join with our Five Eyes allies and add New Zealand's signature to a joint statement condemning the continued removal of freedoms in Hong Kong. New Conservative also calls on the government to give safe-haven ...
Latest from the Beehive – Hard on the heels of the government promising help for the Southland economy in the wake of Rio Tinto’s decision to close the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter, it was announcing the delivery of more money to the North, at the other end of the country. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luciano Beheregaray, Professor in Biodiversity Genomics, Flinders University As the global climate shifts, it’s important to know which species have adaptations to survive. Our research published today in PNAS found it largely depends on where they evolved. We looked at the capacity ...
From eggplant emojis and twerking llamas to sweaty anthropomorphic butts, we present some of the most fascinating, hilarious and outrageous complaints dismissed by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) from 2019 to now.Avocadon’t (January 2019)The ad: In this ad from Specsavers, a man gets ready to join a cricket match, but ...
They might sound like the same thing, but light rail is quite different from light metro – the system that transport minister Phil Twyford now favours for Auckland. Katy Wakefield and Jessica Rose of Women in Urbanism explain why the metro option is a poor substitute for LRT. Transport is ...
Why isn't the Government spending $30m to extend Tiwai Point's 2,600 jobs until after the Covid-19 recession, after Manapouri's power can be transmitted elsewhere, and after there's a hydrogen plan for the smelter site, Bernard Hickey asks. The sense of shock and foreboding about the future was clear in Invercargill Mayor ...
An intensive care doctor is outraged health officials are giving helicopter rescue trusts a daily list of Covid-19 patients, saying it's completely unnecessary. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Seth Lazar, Professor, Australian National University In the US, tireless opposition to state use of facial recognition algorithms has recently won some victories. Some progressive cities have banned some uses of the technology. Threetechcompanies have pulled facial recognition products from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rick Sarre, Adjunct Professor of Law and Criminal Justice, University of South Australia Facial recognition technology is increasingly being trialled and deployed around Australia. Queensland and Western Australia are reportedly already using real-time facial recognition through CCTV cameras. 7-Eleven Australia is also ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carol T Kulik, Research Professor of Human Resource Management, University of South Australia The coronavirus pandemic has forced many of us to work from home, often in less than ideal circumstances. Many employees had little choice in the decision, limited time to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katja Hogendoorn, University of Adelaide This article is a preview of Flora, Fauna, Fire, a multimedia project launching on Monday July 13. The project tracks the recovery of Australia’s native plants and animals after last summer’s bushfire tragedy. Sign up to The ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By SriPallavi Nadimpalli, PhD Candidate, University of Melbourne Women manage many overlapping responsibilities in both public and private spheres. Their busy routines leave them with just a little time to take a break or a pause in their activity. These pauses are a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Naoise McDonagh, Lecturer in Political Economy, University of Adelaide The pandemic has changed the way we think about supply chains, in particular the chains that feed our need for food, medical supplies, and defence equipment. It has led Prime Minister Scott Morrison ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW As Victoria grapples with a second-wave outbreak of COVID-19, the importance of large-scale testing has again been highlighted. Without its “testing blitz” aiming at 10,000 tests a day, the extent of the outbreak would have been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jean Burgess, Professor and Director, Digital Media Research Centre, Queensland University of Technology Perhaps no single character has been as iconic a symbol of Twitter as the now-ubiquitous hashtag. The syntax of the hashtag has a few simple rules: it consists of ...
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level one – read about what that means here. For official government advice, see here.The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is made possible thanks to donations from Spinoff Members. To support this ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Major implications from Tiwai Pt closure, diplomatic rift over Hong Kong deepens, and grim new approach to managed isolation.The story of Rio Tinto pulling out of the Tiwai Point smelter is one that shows the deep connections between regional stories ...
How can Southland cope without its engine and biggest employer, the Tiwai Point smelter? Invercargill's deputy mayor Toni Biddle and Dee St businesswoman Anne Marie Thomas on what happens nowToni Biddle: "We've always known this could potentially happen. So, therefore, there has been a huge amount of work done in the background ...
This week's biggest-selling New Zealand books, as recorded by the Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list and described by Steve Braunias.NON-FICTION 1 Pull No Punches by Judith Collins (Allen & Unwin, $36.99) Junk. 2 Vegful by Nadia Lim (Nude Food, $55) 3 The Book of Overthinking by Gwendoline ...
Most Kiwis aren't aware that the end of life choice act is not a concept they'll be voting for, but specific, unmovable legislation. And if we make a mistake, death is a heavy penalty, writes Caralise Trayes. A new Colmar Brunton poll revealed last weekend doesn’t do any favours in helping people ...
Talented teenage shooter Khiarna Williams is committed to travelling 18 hours a week - after school - to realise her netball dreams. Three times a week, 17-year-old Khiarna Williams gets picked up from school to make a six-hour round trip, from Whakatāne to Hamilton, to train with the Magic. Her designated driver ...
Dr Michael SW Lee uses an Easter egg hunt analogy to explain wealth distribution and our innate sense of fairness Ten kids are at an Easter egg hunt searching for 100 eggs. Donald was fortunate, he inherited an Easter egg detector. He spends four hours looking and collects 40 eggs. Steve is a ...
In theory, the closure of Tiwai Point aluminium smelter should bring down electricity prices and help get New Zealand closer to its Carbon Zero 2050 goal. In practice, that isn’t so easy. The announcement Tiwai Point aluminium smelter will close by August next year is a massive blow for the ...
Today The Beths release Jump Rope Gazers, the follow-up to their beloved and acclaimed debut album Future Me Hates Me. Back in December, Side Eye cartoonist Toby Morris joined the band in the studio while they recorded ‘Just Shy of Sure’, which you can listen to here: ...
Open mike 24/01/2020 
...8 hours ago
Check out Speak Up For Women’s new podcasts: Episode 3 In this episode Speak Up For Women spokeswoman Ani O’Brien (@aniobrien) is joined by Beth Johnson (@beth_nosnhoj) to discuss the proposal from Statistics NZ to change standard data collection policy to “gender by default” rather than sex. They discuss why the ...11 hours ago
During a recent public consultation on the future of Archives New Zealand, a key report was suppressed. The Ombudsman has ruled that the refusal was unjustified. Sadly, the consultation was over by the time of the the decision has been made. However, the law on the use of the ...13 hours ago
National MP - Michael WoodhouseUnbelievable! Michelle Boag also sent National’s Michael Woodhouse confidential emails about COVD-19 patients, and he continued to publicly attack the Government over these very same breaches of privacy.This is the biggest political self-own since the Act Party’s David Garrett admitted in Parliament that he used a ...19 hours ago
Everyone is paying attention today to the Supreme Court ruling that the President is not above the law and that Trump's tax returns can be given to a New York grand jury investigating him. But the Supreme Court decided another, far more important case yesterday, and effectively restored Native American ...19 hours ago
Transcript: National Party policy announcement on roads – 8 July, 2020 Muller: Good afternoon everybody. Thank you for coming. Reporter 1: Is Hamish Walker a racist? Muller: Hang on… you haven’t even said good afternoon to me yet. Reporter 1: Good afternoon Mr Muller. Is Hamish Walker a racist? ...20 hours ago
Back in April, I wrote about trials in Iran of a fixed-dose combination of two existing anti-viral drugs used to treat hepatitis C – sofosbuvir and daclatasvir – that could point to an effective treatment for Covid-19 symptoms.At the time, data from those trials was not available outside the hospitals ...21 hours ago
Today’s content Tiwai Point to close Hamish Rutherford (Herald): Government subsidising practically everything plays hardball with Rio Tinto (paywalled) Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Sudden closure of aluminium smelter worst outcome for jobs, consumers and the environment Brian Fallow (Herald): Tiwai closure sad news – and an opportunity for the environment (paywalled) Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Rio ...22 hours ago
Prof Nick Wilson, Dr Anja Mizdrak, Dr Jennifer Summers, Prof Michael Baker The pandemic-related lockdown is possibly the most dramatic public health intervention in NZ history. It helped achieve the elimination of community transmission of the COVID-19 virus in NZ. But it was also associated with 548 fewer total ...22 hours ago
Reprehensible: There is much that could be said about Michael Woodhouse, but what would be the point? Any man who willingly involves himself in a situation as reprehensible as the one depicted in the above photograph has already vouchsafed all that decent people need to know about his character. That there have ...24 hours ago
79 Articles Observations & observational methods of global warming & effects Six hundred years of South American tree rings reveal an increase in severe hydroclimatic events since mid-20th century (open access) Late summer temperature variability for the Southern Rocky Mountains (USA) since 1735 CE: applying blue light intensity to low-latitude ...3 days ago
Some are surprised at this sudden brain implosion on the part of both Michelle Boag, former National Party President, and the National Party in general, in exposing the private, confidential details of COVID patients. Others…? Let’s be blunt: not so much. Too many of that Party have long operated with ...3 days ago
So now we know, beyond all doubt. The National party has no interest in joining the “team of five million” in our fight against the pandemic but its priority is to take every opportunity it can to damage the government. The cynicism is breathtaking. It was prepared to leak the ...3 days ago
...4 days ago
Unfortunately, due to a medical emergency, I have landed in hospital so am not able to do a current update on the NZ blog statistics. Let’s hope I can get back to this in good time. ...1 week ago
Mark Patterson MP, Spokesperson for Primary Industry New Zealand First is supporting calls by hunters and the New Zealand Tahr Foundation (NZTF) to halt a large scale cull of Himalayan Tahr by the Department of Conservation in National Parks. The calls are supported by a 40,000 strong petition and the ...4 days ago
New Zealanders deserve healthy rivers and lakes that are safe to swim in - but they have been getting worse for decades. That's why, with our latest announcement, we're investing in projects that will help clean up our rivers and lakes and restore them to health, within a generation. ...6 days ago
The Green Party has opposed the COVID-19 Recovery Fast-track Consenting Bill which shortcuts normal consenting processes under the Resource Management Act (RMA), reduces public participation and narrows environmental considerations. ...1 week ago
The Minister of Police says a major operation against the Mongrel Mob in Waikato will make a big dent in drug harm and violent offending linked to organised crime networks. “Senior leadership of the Waikato Mongrel Mob has been taken out as a result of Operation Kingsville, which resulted in ...17 hours ago
In the heart of Christchurch is a Designated Character high school. What makes it unique? And should there be more like it? Frank Film visits Hagley College Paddy Grant was a 27-year-old truck driver when he rocked up to Christchurch’s Hagley High School, as it was then known. It was ...19 mins ago
"After he calms down we share the pie and talk about how hard the years since the show have been for him": a short story by Wellington writer Jordan Hamel. Every morning it’s the same. Cling wrap on the toilet seat, a pop up snake in my can of breakfast ...49 mins ago
Controversy and the America's Cup go hand-in-hand and the latest edition is no different with Emirates Team New Zealand at the centre of financial mismanagement allegations. Extra Time unpicks the debate and ponders what does the latest Cup drama mean? And should we care? A study has revealed racial bias ...1 hour ago
Over the decades, Mike Fox has witnessed the housing market progressively tilt towards larger, more expensive homes. Without a major overhaul of the current regulatory processes, he says, things will never change.It’s one of the biggest problems our country faces – we cannot produce the affordable housing that’s so desperately ...2 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Esterman, Professor of Biostatistics, University of South Australia Victoria has recorded 288 new COVID-19 cases since yesterday, the largest daily increase we’ve seen so far. This big jump must have the Victorian government and health authorities very concerned, especially since nearly ...9 hours ago
Analysis - A National MP destroys his career, the government explains how someone with Covid-19 could walk around a supermarket and the closure of Tiwai Point aluminium smelter is announced. ...11 hours ago
We prefer our heroes untarnished. And few match the heroism of Winston Churchill. But a recent report in the Times reminds us of the inevitability of human frailty and the consequences of keeping it under wraps. During the second world war, Britain’s greatest single loss of life at sea was the ...12 hours ago
SAFE CEO Debra Ashton says "The NZDIA has done the right thing, and we’re glad to see Bertram has been held to account over his actions. He should take this as an opportunity to right his wrongs and show that he takes animal welfare seriously." ...13 hours ago
You can’t keep a good woman down and Helen Clark is no exception. Her new appointment, as co-chair of a review of how the World Health Organisation handled the coronavirus pandemic, will test her formidable political skills. Sitting with her is Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former Liberian president, who handled the ...14 hours ago
National MP Michael Woodhouse also received Covid-19 patient emails from Michelle Boag, and deleted them when he realised she was implicated in a separate email scandal. National Party leader Todd Muller says no further MPs in his party received confidential information from Michelle Boag, after revelations today that Michael Woodhouse also ...16 hours ago
Alan Brent looks at how NZ's solar resources can be used more effectively to address energy demand in our transitioning economy. ...19 hours ago
Four months after he announced his re-selection, a National Party MP whose links to Chinese spy agencies attracted the interest of New Zealand’s Security Intelligence Service has announced he will not stand in the next election A three-term National Party MP who studied at an elite Chinese spy school before moving to ...20 hours ago
Latest from the Beehive – Hard on the heels of the government promising help for the Southland economy in the wake of Rio Tinto’s decision to close the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter, it was announcing the delivery of more money to the North, at the other end of the country. ...20 hours ago
Why isn't the Government spending $30m to extend Tiwai Point's 2,600 jobs until after the Covid-19 recession, after Manapouri's power can be transmitted elsewhere, and after there's a hydrogen plan for the smelter site, Bernard Hickey asks. The sense of shock and foreboding about the future was clear in Invercargill Mayor ...22 hours ago
Tiwai Point closure decision hammers Meridian, Contact and Genesis shares on fears wholesale power prices could drop ...23 hours ago
Experts say ECE staff ratios are not fit for purpose, and the ministry has no record of how they were set in the first place. ...23 hours ago
How can Southland cope without its engine and biggest employer, the Tiwai Point smelter? Invercargill's deputy mayor Toni Biddle and Dee St businesswoman Anne Marie Thomas on what happens now Toni Biddle: "We've always known this could potentially happen. So, therefore, there has been a huge amount of work done in the background ...1 day ago
This week's biggest-selling New Zealand books, as recorded by the Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list and described by Steve Braunias. NON-FICTION 1 Pull No Punches by Judith Collins (Allen & Unwin, $36.99) Junk. 2 Vegful by Nadia Lim (Nude Food, $55) 3 The Book of Overthinking by Gwendoline ...1 day ago
Most Kiwis aren't aware that the end of life choice act is not a concept they'll be voting for, but specific, unmovable legislation. And if we make a mistake, death is a heavy penalty, writes Caralise Trayes. A new Colmar Brunton poll revealed last weekend doesn’t do any favours in helping people ...1 day ago
Talented teenage shooter Khiarna Williams is committed to travelling 18 hours a week - after school - to realise her netball dreams. Three times a week, 17-year-old Khiarna Williams gets picked up from school to make a six-hour round trip, from Whakatāne to Hamilton, to train with the Magic. Her designated driver ...1 day ago
Dr Michael SW Lee uses an Easter egg hunt analogy to explain wealth distribution and our innate sense of fairness Ten kids are at an Easter egg hunt searching for 100 eggs. Donald was fortunate, he inherited an Easter egg detector. He spends four hours looking and collects 40 eggs. Steve is a ...1 day ago
In theory, the closure of Tiwai Point aluminium smelter should bring down electricity prices and help get New Zealand closer to its Carbon Zero 2050 goal. In practice, that isn’t so easy. The announcement Tiwai Point aluminium smelter will close by August next year is a massive blow for the ...1 day ago
Grow a hedgerow. Criss-cross the Canterbury Plains with them!
"The Government has just introduced its Agriculture Bill which will govern farming in England after Brexit, shifting away from the current EU subsidy system to one which rewards farmers for providing public goods such as carbon storage."
https://www.itv.com/news/2020-01-22/bringing-back-bigger-bushier-hedgerows-will-help-wildlife-and-store-carbon/
I trust your hedges will use Gorse. It was, after all, brought to New Zealand precisely for that purpose.
It even has its fans apparently. Here is a most laudatory article on the stuff. They even say, about Canterbury.
"Larry W. Price noted in a 1993 field study, in Canterbury gorse hedges “give the area much of its distinctive character”. As a consequence of the wholesale removal of hedges on the Canterbury plains between 1962 and 1989, gorse hedges are now viewed as features of historical significance. Some landscape architects even recommend their retention."
https://www.hedgecutter.co.nz/tips-advice/facts-about-gorse-in-new-zealand/
Trouble with gorse is that it does too well here, like rabbits.
" Trouble with gorse is that it does too well here, like rabbits
And neo liberal policies.
meh, boxthorn, or go home
Lovely hedgerows!
Imagine if Brexit brought some good changes. Just working my way through the new UK ag Bill to see if it's actually good or going to tie everyone up in regulations.
If they can manage the initial switchover without a logistical catastrophe, there will be occasional good things. But fewer and further between than things like degradation of worker and immigrant rights.
And if there is a change of govt next time?
I think we've seen that such a proposal is a bold call.
But an independent Scotland might be much better off.
Do you mean you think the left can't win the next election?
An independent Scotland will be much better off, but then England will be truly fucked.
My question several comments above was more about whether the issues of Brexit are largely because of how RW governments will use it. So a left wing government could do more of the good things.
The issue of how tories will use it is one thing.
Then there's the transition phase, especially around border checks and how they will affect industries based on "just in time" logistics and inventory control. Especially on highly-perishable items (think live shrimp sitting on a wharf for days). Maybe that's a bit like Y2K, where the problems were so perilous that everyone worked for years to stop it happening. Maybe England shuts down. Who knows?
Then there's whether the EU was overall positive or negative on the UK economy. That will be longer term, viewable (and eternally debatable) as the years progress.
Whether a left wing government will be better for the UK if the UK is not part of the EU depends on whether the EU was stopping the UK from doing anything good. The only thing that comes to mind is preferential import/immigration controls that give a local advantage to UK producers. Environmental standards, heritage measures, AFAIK the EU mandates a required minimum effort, but no maximum on such issues. Like I'm not sure that the EU prevents any of its members going zero carbon, or boosting workers rights or living wages. So in that case, the benefit of a left wing government is the same regardles of brexit, but the harms of a tory government are increased.
Labour might get it's shit together (these leadership issues as tip of the factional fighting have been going on since Gordon Brown), then it just has to win an election in an FPP environment with a hard-tory press.
So I think the odds are against it.
"But an independent Scotland might be much better off".
I don't think the people of Scotland, even in their most delusional moments would even consider it.
What do you think they will do? Apply to join the EU? I think that Spain would veto any such idea. Live off North Sea oil in what they would claim as Scottish waters? There isn't very much of it left. Trade with the EU when they they would have to transport all the goods through England? That would be fun wouldn't it, particularly if England insisted on inspection of every vehicle. Have all the Scottish Banks pack up and head South? They would because the Scottish economy isn't big enough to guarantee them. Do you really expect England to guarantee Scottish based Banks? Live of their own tax revenues? At the moment they get far more from Great Britain than they pay in taxes. Do you think that would continue?
Those are only a very few of the problems that an independent Scotland would face. I think they wouldn't ever vote to split. They would be far worse off than they are now.
That's the conservative party line. Worked last time.
It'll be interesting to see what happens if Brexit is a Breaks-it, though.
The Labour party is presently lecturing the Tories on the dangers of fiscal stimulus (e.g public expenditure). This is not promising at all.
http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/?p=44094
The election of a Foot era Labour party would probably see the UK prosper under brexit.
For an independent Scotland it depends how they position themselves regarding the EU.
Would be great to see hedges recognised as ecosystems in UK law. Here's a glimpse of habitat participants: https://ypte.org.uk/factsheets/hedges/animals-in-a-hedge?hide_donation_prompt=1
Also https://ptes.org/hedgerow/hedgerow-wildlife/
This one says 11 mammal species in hedges but fails to list them! http://www.hedgelink.org.uk/index.php?page=21
Chump-in-chief boasts about obstructing constitutional accountability. https://www.thenation.com/article/trump-constitution-pennsylvania-avenue/
The impending acquittal will be a much stronger Constitutional challenge.
The ability of the Congress+Senate to remove a wayward President will be obliterated.
Only remaining check is the election.
That is a proper Constitutional breakdown.
Exactly as intended.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/01/impeachment-trial-without-witnesses-would-be-unconstitutional/605332/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share
I dunno whether to think it's because he's oblivious that obstruction of congress is a serious crime in itself and is one of the articles of impeachment, or because he's trying to show off to his cultists and rub it in to the Repug senators how complete the craven spineless subservience he now has from them really is.
He's perfectly entitled to shoot the Constitution in the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue or anywhere he wants. He's the boss. It's just a piece of paper to be used to do deals.
The collected hopes and ideals of hundreds of millions over a couple of hundred years? The Electoral College system, meets narcissism meets the world of 2020.
He would like to be 'the boss'. Whole point of their Constitution was always to make sure he can't be, unfettered.
No doubt you would have thrown the constitution at Roosevelt too, the massive changes he implemented in the 1930's was power completely out of control.
If you have anything about Roosevelt overpowering Congress, please do share.
Cold snap induces public health warning in Florida: falling iguanas! "The males can grow to at least 5 feet (1.5 meters) long and weigh nearly 20 pounds (9 kilograms)."
So if you're walking underneath at the time it drops, you'll know all about it. https://www.itv.com/news/2020-01-23/iguanas-stunned-by-chilly-temperatures-in-florida-fall-from-trees/
"They have been in South Florida since the 1960s, but their numbers have increased dramatically in recent years." Global warming.
It's the `Labour set themselves up theory' of the Oz election: "The ALP had outlined – in quite incredible detail – its plans to massively ramp up government spending; jack up taxes, including on rental properties and capital gains; empower the unions and – shock horror – bring in some form of emissions trading scheme. It also at times adopted a sneering tone towards more traditional conservative Labor voters."
"The Libs used this wide target and added some rhetorical contortions to suggest that Labour might introduce a retiree tax, a death tax, a car tax, and so on. These claims were then spurted out on social media. It took hold, and was effective." https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/118997353/jacinda-ardern-bets-big-on-election-year-positivity
So looks like they've been brainstorming how to deal with the Nats replicating the Lib strategy. Moral: don't hand them the ammunition. Better to go further though: devise an effective response framing to each likely attack, well in advance.
Its the self imposed neo-liberal framing of the debate which causes this.
http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/?p=44139
The Labour party affiliated writers on this site can't stop explaining how proud they are of every surplus sequestered when Labour is in office either.
Exactly
It astounds me how some people who claim to be from the left measure this government by the same framework as David Farrarr. A surplus is not the measure of a good government,
Which they have shown no sign of having the skills or discipline to do for over a decade now. Still, never too late..
Blockbuster writes itself.
BEIJING (REUTERS, NYTIMES, AFP) – China put a second city on lockdown on Thursday (Jan 23) and imposed tough travel restrictions on three others amid fears over the spread of a new coronavirus that has killed 17 people and infected nearly 600.
The restrictions on train and other forms of travel will apply to tens of millions of people and come just days before the Lunar New Year holiday, when hundreds of millions of people travel around and out of the country.
The Chinese authorities on Thursday morning closed off Wuhan — a major port city of more than 11 million people and the centre of a pneumonia-like virus that has spread halfway around the world — by cancelling flights and trains leaving the city, and suspending buses, subways and ferries within it.
By evening, officials planned to close off Huanggang, a city of seven million about 70kmeast of Wuhan, shut rail stations in the nearby city of Ezhou, which has about one million residents, and impose travel restrictions on the smaller cities of Chibi and Xiantao as well.
The train station in Huanggang, which has a population of 7.5 million and is 70km from Wuhan – the first city that was put on lockdown – will be suspended until further notice from midnight. All vehicles will be checked, and bars and cinemas closed, said city authorities.
The railway station in a third nearby city, Ezhou, which has a population of over one million, will also close from tonight, though no other measures were announced.
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/china-locks-down-two-more-cities-huanggang-and-ezhou-after-wuhan
Even reading about the population sizes of those cities is mind blowing, for a virus out break, how could you contain something like that, all the students will be turning up soon, holy fuck.
Years ago NZ ran a health exercise where a random plane had "infected" passengers, and the authorities had to track down and isolate the passengers and their contacts.
My uni found the students and their lecture buddies almost immediately.
It's the non-package-tourists/freedom campers who would be difficult to find – no local contacts and no set itinerary.
And don't forget, the Nigerians whacked freaking ebola on the head in Lagos.
The ones that are difficult to catch are the ones with either a longer incubation time or, like measles, the ones that can hang about for a couple of hours without a host (so you need to find the people who walked through the same space as your infected party, not the people who met them face to face).
With the WCV won't it be anyone you shared an enclosed space with air? eg bus from the airport.
Does the Chinese closing transport in such massive cities when there have been relatively few deaths mean that they're more worried than normal?
Yeah that would be a "contact", prioritising the closest seated of course.
This is the early "prevention" stage of a pandemic. If it works, there will be no pandemic. If if fails, the worst case scenario is hundreds of millions get infected, maybe millions are directly killed by it, others die from other things because health systems are overloaded, and there's a huge economic impact that is more lethal than the direct infection rate.
The level of prevention is based on a number of factors from how infectious it is to how prone the virus is to mutation into something more lethal (or the pandemic sweet spot of "pretty lethal, but not immediately so there's a good period of undetected contagiousness"). There's probably a WHO flowchart of public health options somewhere.
So I suspect "worried" is a word that implies more concern than "following predetermined response pathways from a well-prepared plan". And some countries are more open to going full-restriction than others. North Korea seals its borders to tourists if the clouds are a funny shape.
But don't forget there's also the opportunity for good old-fashioned racism/immigration fearmongering of people "bringing in diseases". E.g. funnelling Wuhan-origin travellers through specific ports of entry.
If my memory serves me well SARS was able to be contained because it's fatality rate was linked to being spiky and burying itself deep in lungs. This made it more deadly to those who got it, but more difficult to spread because it was harder to cough and sneeze out being so deep.
It's always a problem for a virus if it kills too quickly.
Movies generally portray high spread rates + high fatality which when you think about it makes little sense. I guess the perfect virus would have a long incubation period then kill you slowly.
Must go and watch the TV adaptation of The Stand now. Yay for Max Headroom.
Movies vary greatly in accuracy, but it's a limitation of the medium that makes it difficult to portray a realistic passage of time (not to mention it's a fullt team effort, not one guy making the prediction, identifying the organism, and distributing the vaccine). They also tend to succumb to the temptation of "if these trends continue" drama.
ISTR Contagion wasn't too bad, though Outbreak was pretty funny in places, like when Dustin Hoffman got pissy at his boss because he wasn't allowed to deal with the specific outbreak of haemorrhagic fever he was obsessing over, but instead was directed to look at an outbreak of some lesser haemorrhagic fever.
MAGA: Mike's Alright Given Alternative
Never-Trump Repugs are getting more vocal …
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/gop-group-president-pence-ad_n_5e293ad1c5b67d8874acb7fa
God’s Plan for Mike Pence was revealed a couple of years ago: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/01/gods-plan-for-mike-pence/546569/
"He’ll be witnessing to evangelicals at a mega-church, or addressing conservative supporters at a rally, and when the moment comes for him to pass along the president’s well-wishes, the words are invariably accompanied by an amused little chuckle that prompts knowing laughter from the attendees. It’s almost as if, in that brief, barely perceptible moment, Pence is sending a message to those with ears to hear—that he recognizes the absurdity of his situation; that he knows just what sort of man he’s working for; that while things may look bad now, there is a grand purpose at work here, a plan that will manifest itself in due time. Let not your hearts be troubled, he seems to be saying. I’ve got this."
All he had to do to implement the plan was to get the Democrats on board. There was a sure-fire way to achieve that: keep nudging the Donald to provoke their moral outrage, push the transition from bleating about impeachment to actually doing it. No problem: the suckers fell for it, hook, line & sinker.
It may or may not be useful to their electoral chances, but the Congress Democrats did the job that the Constitution demanded of them.
Neither Pence nor anyone around him has the wit to orchestrate Trump into impeachable behaviour.
If the topic is weird conspiracy ideas about getting the genital-grabbing golem out of the oval office, I've often mused what it would take to get the Nobel committee to offer him a prize in return for his resignation.
I don't think it would take that much, after all the reasons for giving one to Obama don't seem to be much more than he was "not Bush".
The Current Mob piles Insult onto Injury to family carers of MOH disabled clients.
Can't link from my phone parked in our 7m Bus…but on the MOH:DSS website they lay out the New Funded Family Care rules.
Pay rates for family carers will be based on experience…but only in a PAID capacity.
Those family carers who have done the work for years unpaid because of found discriminatory policy will not be considered "experienced" and will be paid at the lowest rate.
So.
Someone like myself who provides 24/7 support and "Advanced Personal Cares" (which are vital for the person's survival but are not funded by the MOH) will be told by some jumped up petty minded officious twerp of a bureacrat that what I've done for two decades is worthy of the lowest rate of pay.
To quote an earlier commentator on this issue…fuck this fucking bullshit.
SSDD
Bastards.
This one? https://www.health.govt.nz/funded-family-care-2020
For those not following the care worker pay rate settlement, the difference between the top bracket and the one Rosemary will be allocated is $5/hr ($20.50 – $25.50).
Snap. The attitude behind those details has not improved at all. Some firings are really in order.
Is the budget blowout the issue here? Or is it a more general inability to create fair systems? I don't think it's that hard to create a process where unpaid work experience is accounted for, but I can see that some people would lack the imagination and/or ethical system to do that.
The amount of money is trivial in the context of their budgets. Why would you even need to have multiple pay rates for a non-professional workforce?
No, this is more about a risk averse culture (especially Legal team influence) and refusing to see that new ways of doing things might be more appropriate. Also possibly resentment at having their nose bloodied repeatedly by the courts. Minister should be aware of all this by now.
I’d like to hear more about how ACC has managed exactly the same issue for years.
In short…ACC clients are ENTITLED to the supports they are assessed as needing. Squadrons of wrgglely-arsed lawyers fuelled up and ready to swoop down on ACC to protect these rights.
The HRRT in 2008 heard that over 50% of funding for attendant care was paid to family.
Might account for the fact that research showed the household income for ACC spinal injured was twice that as for MOH funded unfortunates.
The pricks really, really hate disabled people.
Hark!
Is that the sound of the railway carriages clanking in the sidings?
also fucking bullshit is that someone in your situation going into paid work caring for other highly disabled people will likewise be paid the lowest rate despite the need for experienced carers.
I've got a post brewing about the inability of centre left neoliberal governments to manage fair pay and their health budget within neoliberal economics. Would it be ok to use your example here?
Use whatever…if I've posted it's with the knowledge that it us public.
I've just got of the phone with Natrad…mayhap they'll pick this up.
A very elderly lady the other day commented that God (her capital) must love arseholes since He made so many.
Thanks for picking this up and doing the link thing.
See also recent publicity about over-65 home help being affected by pay rises through DHB-hired staff opening up a gap with NGO-funded ones. Govt seems to deliberately create friction, perhaps to assuage punitive voters.
What's this? Do you mean the recent attempts to remove home help for elderly were because of budget pressures from the pay increase?
"through DHB-hired staff opening up a gap with NGO-funded ones."
What's this?
Day job intervenes, sorry. Can pick up later.
Sacha is more than on to it Weka.
I have 'work' to do also…but I'd reccomend checking out the NZDSN.
FFearless guardians of what they perceive is THEIR Trough.
Remove the profit incentive/ requirement and the system would be affordable.
MOH:DSS …the incubator of neo liberalism in the NZ Public Health service.
Here's one of the recent stories: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/118654829/no-time-to-care-is-there-a-crisis-in-caring-for-the-elderly
Note that support services for over-65s are managed through DHBs rather than national MoH contracts for (stupid) historic reasons. These are more liiely to be budget pressures than institutionalised bloody-mindedness.
thanks to you both, I'll do a bit more research and reading.
"I'll do a bit more research and reading."
I hope you do and you'll come to realise that the biggest obstacle to reform actually lays in the senior ranks of our public service – over a number of issues.
That "Pretty Communist" (which would be the VERY LAST thing she is) hasn't yet got what the problem is, and I wish her the very best of luck on the next used car she tries to buy. I don't really hold out much hope though because the latest I've heard is:
Jacinda didn't realise how long it takes in making reform. (Well that's not the first time she's said that)
AND then her expression of utmost confidence in our public service. (Let's be very clear tho' – I'm talking about those in the senior ranks rather than those at the coal face – frustrated and willing as they may be)
I'm on the turn @ Weka. There is NO WAY I could vote for the "right's" bugger's muddle of gNatz and it's partners and pretenders.
But there's also no way I can ever vote for an alternative anymore that (over a glass of Chardonnay don't you know), thinks that the poorest amongst our globalised community resort to hunger strikes, planned suicides and a load of other shit.
Can't be done under whatever the excuses our current Labour Party have to offer up. They seem to have the distinction and inability to see what and who their worst enemas are. Thank (whatever your GOD is) there are a few months left to get their shit together and to show otherwise.
Currently, that interview she did with some muppett/cadet trying to prove his creds called Henry Cooke left me wondering whether she does actually get it – or whether ………..
Right now, I'm wondering whether she is onto it, or whether in that interview with Henry Cooke, she was just trying to be diplomatic maybe.
I've decided to give up on voting for the least worst option – especially when many in the political class know what they need to do
It's all sorted!!!
YAY!!!
Just got off the phone from the inimitable Toni Atkinson who said I can 'do a course ' to gain the appropriate qualifications to qualify for the higher pay rates.
As for who does what I do for Peter while I am being trained how to do it???
We get someone else to provide the care….
"But, but, Toni, the last couple of times we were forced to ' get someone in' those someone's couldn't actually do the tasks required…."
'Well, you use your IF to train some to do the tasks….'
Astute and sensitive readers will see where this is going…and as I just said to the nice lady from Natrad…I will get more satisfaction from emptying the effluent tanks on the Bus than I will from continuing to talk about this.
At the moment…the smell of the local Dump Station is sweet perfume in comparison to the crap be presented as well thought out policy.
Considering MOH:DSS has for years purported to be 'flexible' and to 'treat each client as an individual' they continue to present themselves as incapable of actually doing this.
SSDD
Is the IF issue there that you don't have enough allocation to pay to train someone and pay them to do the hours? Or is it more that the work is specialised and specific to your situation?
What were the training hoops they were suggesting? Am curiuus what they think is reasonable.
Successive governments have spent mega millions on various programmes (through, of course, a contracted provider) dedicated to upskilling the carer workforce.
I understand high spinal injury care is Level 4.
Does is not strike you as even the slightest bit ironic that I, an unpaid and unqualified family carer, is expected to preform a role that the government is already funding through a contracted provider?
Since we now have it on the Highest Authority that what I do is not even to the same standard as Level 1.
This is rabbit hole stuff in the extreme and it is doing my head in.
I can imagine (by which I mean I totally understand the dynamics you are describing from other situations). The ability to institutionally insult along with injury is stunning.
This is a great thread weka and some hugely enlightening details from Rosemary, Sacha, and yourself.
It is shameful that our govt cannot bring themselves to:
a. Increase the basic benefit to a liveable level, and
b. Ensure caregivers and home helpers are properly funded and supported.
I'm looking forward to reading the post you say you are working on.
kia kaha kia maia kia manawanui to you all.
This problem goes way back to the notion that privatisation would give 40% savings.
It's a large part of how people were sold Roger Douglas (and Thatcher, etc) reforms. The private sector could do it cheaper and more efficiently.
Geriatric wards were closed, public servants were laid off, people like cleaners, builders, etc had to become self-employed and meet their own responsibilities for annual and sick leave, or work for lower wages for private firms or NGO's.
Initially the cost structure equalled the cost of the public service providing the service with companies making their profit from reducing wages. Overtime inflation reduced the adequacy of the funding as did budget reductions to gain the savings.
Health, welfare, childcare, water, cleaning, building maintenance, roading all went the same way.
Now that we have had some years of experience of privatisation the obvious question is were those savings of 40% gleaned. Apart from rubbish collection the answer is nope.
"Hart, Shleifer, and Vishny (1997) apply the theory of incomplete contracts and property rights to the choice between public and private production of public services. Their study suggests that under private production, incentives exist to reduce costs at the expense of quality. Under this framework, incentives work as follows:
1. With private ownership, the manager has incentives to reduce costs through quality deterioration. The manager does not need authorization from the government, which will bear the political costs of quality reduction. To give the manager incentives to innovate to increase quality, the manager would need to negotiate price increases with the government to ensure compensation for his investment. Most likely, this negotiation will not result in a full appropriation of benefits from the innovation, which reduces the manager’s incentives to innovate.
2. Under government ownership, incentives work in the opposite direction. Because the manager is government-employed, he will take into account potential quality erosion when considering the implementation of cost-reducing innovations. In addition, the public manager will need government permission for any innovation he wants to undertake (either quality improvement or cost reduction). In the absence of a pay-for-performance scheme, the public manager will not fully benefit from the results of innovation."
http://www.ub.edu/graap/JPAM_BFW.pdf
The problem that has been occurring is that as private sector trained managers and bean counters have moved into the public service quality has also taken a back seat. I'm not sure now there is that much difference between management in the two sectors – hence the quality drop off in both.
I'd like to think that putting these services back into the public service, improving pay rates and working conditions for staff, providing vehicles and equipment to do their job and re-instilling a sense of public service would improve things. I'm just not sure that existing public service leaders are up to the task.
I remember being at a DHB meeting in the 90's where the old public service type accountant raised his concerns about the free labour that the DHB was getting after cutting hours for caregivers (contracted out). Many of them were providing extra hours for free as the clients needed this. He estimated this cost saving as several million dollars per year. Management clearly knew that they were getting this extra work for free. No changes or extra hours were put in place. The accountant resigned soon after.
My wife was one of those caregivers. I know how many extra hours she did without pay, how hard she lobbied for client's hours to be increased, how much what hours you got depended upon which DHB you were under, and so on.
A few relevant articles – though I can't find the meta-analysis I was looking for.
https://chpi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/CHPI-SocialCare-Oct16-Proof01a.pdf
https://www.ciwem.org/the-environment/how-should-water-and-environmental-management-firms-tap,-retain-and-promote-female-talent
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/privatisation-very-british-disease/
Unimpressed that the Minister has meekly let this through. Scroll down to 'Increased Pay Rates'. https://www.health.govt.nz/funded-family-care-2020
Has the stench of entrenched bureaucracy all over it.
Ugh.
Scared grey creatures.
@Rosemary, I was thinking of you when this story broke. I nearly broke a few things listening to it… you'll excuse me not adding any more to this thread, but not a good idea to get me started on the MOH, Minister, or just our wonderful system in general at the moment. Our battle is still going on too.
Thanks Kay.
Sincerely.
So, if the Democrats get their way, here's who they have lined up as next POTUS: "The Pences were devout Irish-Catholic Democrats, and Mike and his brothers served as altar boys at St. Columba Catholic Church." Yep, a catholic democrat.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/01/gods-plan-for-mike-pence/546569/
"Pence agonized over his “calling.” He talked about entering the priesthood, but ultimately felt drawn instead to politics, a realm where he believed he could harness God’s power to do good." The Democrats will get their man in, God willing. Trojan horse strategy.
"But President Ronald Reagan won Pence over—instilling in him an appreciation for both movement conservatism and the leadership potential of vacuous entertainers". Ah, I get it. The Trump as vacuous entertainer thesis.
"Pence had called Kellyanne Conway, a top Trump adviser, whom he’d known for years, and asked for her advice on how to handle the meeting. Conway had told him to talk about “stuff outside of politics,” and suggested he show his eagerness to learn from the billionaire. “I knew they would enjoy each other’s company,” Conway told me, adding, “Mike Pence is someone whose faith allows him to subvert his ego to the greater good.”"
"Marc Short, a longtime adviser to Pence and a fellow Christian, told me that the vice president believes strongly in a scriptural concept evangelicals call “servant leadership.”" The idea that the best leaders serve the public has been widely held for a long time. Never under-rate it.
Then, in response to pussygate, Pence took the initiative. "October 7, 2016, The Washington Post published the Access Hollywood tape that showed Trump gloating about his penchant for grabbing women “by the pussy,” … Within hours of The Post’s bombshell, Pence made it clear to the Republican National Committee that he was ready to take Trump’s place as the party’s nominee. Such a move just four weeks before Election Day would have been unprecedented—but the situation seemed dire enough to call for radical action."
"Meanwhile, a small group of billionaires was trying to put together money for a “buyout”—even going so far as to ask a Trump associate how much money the candidate would require to walk away from the race. According to someone with knowledge of the talks, they were given an answer of $800 million. (It’s unclear whether Trump was aware of this discussion or whether the offer was actually made.) Republican donors and party leaders began buzzing about making Pence the nominee and drafting Condoleezza Rice as his running mate."
But Trump never took the bait, and all this hidden history reveals is that Republican powers that be know they've got the perfect fall-back position should Trump fail; their own tame Democrat.
In the US the number of Christian political activist groups eclipses the number of hard left activists by several zeroes. It's a really interesting crowd to run with particularly in Chicago-Illonois politics.
Far less so in New Zealand, where religious influence is in freefall across society.
The USA is one more Trump term away from a theocracy. And if you think that the Supreme Court and the Constitution will stop the Evangicals, I suggest you Google 'Prohibition'.
Story within the story..check out the pic in this article which has an estimated anger level (eg11%) of people viewed by facial recognition as they walk unsuspectingly down a street. Next they will be detaining people under the guise of prevention due to their anger score.
Toby Manhire previews Labour's election year strategy but offers no revelation: https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/23-01-2020/lets-do-this-again-whats-on-the-whiteboard-for-jacinda-ardern-and-labour/
So will the slogan be `let's do this again' or `let's do more'? Toby does point to what the campaign will hinge on this far out – unless something new displaces it.
"Labour will be gearing up for the inevitable from the Greens and, especially, New Zealand First. Labour’s leadership will strive to dish out plenty of “wins” for both smaller parties in the next few months. And then do what they can to ensure that efforts to assert “brand” independence don’t blow the house down."
Walk & chew gum simultanously. Brand differentiation, while concurrently framing their three campaigns as a collaboration. This imposes a tight operation constraint, and Toby spells it out. "So a year out from the election, I’ll give you three words. Discipline, discipline, discipline.”
There is one way to win.
At next year's Budget, announce a 25% increase in benefits, to take effect on 1 April 2021. I guarantee that will mobilise the poor, unemployed and sick to outflank the tradies and soccer moms in the mortgage belt. In 2005 South Auckland held up Labour's vote in the face of a wipeout in the provinces. They need to do the same thing again.
in 2005 wasn't South Auckland offered Working For Families, not benefit increases? You may be stereotyping a bit.
2005 was about keeping Brash out, who was set to launch the greatest ever assault on this country's living standards
Yep I'd support that.
Buy votes of the poor.
Good leftie stuff.
Unfortunately, Sepuloni is just shit.
you guarantee?,,,,are you even sure that the 30 odd percent that dont vote are predominantly in that cohort?
I came across this programme in Detroit the other day
I've been working with a group here in my town where there are around 30 rough sleepers a night. When one of them goes missing for a day or so there is always the worry – are they alright? And while the temperatures here, are not as severe as the winter in Mid West America, a wet and windy night can be something of an endurance. So on seeing this amazing programme I'm wondering if something like it could be carried out here. Of course, what all these people say is that they would really like to have a home they could call their own – and that is what what they really want . Their independence.
An inspiring, and heart filling story. Well worth the 10 mins watch and read.