web analytics

Open mike 24/01/2021

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, January 24th, 2021 - 80 comments
Categories: open mike - Tags:

Open mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Step up to the mike …

80 comments on “Open mike 24/01/2021 ”

  1. weka 1

    Convo on twitter about whether the UK could have closed its borders early on in an attempt to contain covid transmission. Leaving aside whether elimination was ever an option for them, and whether it was culturally or politically possible to close the borders, looking simply at the logistics of a border close, are there good reasons why it wasn't possible? Or was it?

    Explanations please, not just assertions that it could or couldn't be done.

    • weka 1.1

    • weka 1.2

    • RedBaronCV 1.4

      As a complete aside – not been following news – have we started to vaccinate our border and other at risk staff yet? And if not how soon will it be done?

      • Andre 1.4.1

        No we haven't started yet. Ministry of Health sez second quarter 2021 to start. Medsafe hasn't yet approved any covid vaccines for use in NZ.

        https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-response-planning/covid-19-vaccine-planning

        • RedBaronCV 1.4.1.1

          April that seems to be a long way away for the staff at the interface and cabin crew going overseas. For the rest of us it's not so urgent as they shield us. I would have thought in the next 2-3 weeks would be a better idea. Does medsafe have expertise not held overseas?
          That document doesn’t exactly sound urgent in terms of protecting the virus from getting in. More interested in setting up a national spy system register that of course can only be accessed electronically and with no doubt significant capture of personal information. with a view to sharing it perhaps?

          • Andre 1.4.1.1.1

            Meh. It seems reasonable to me for us to wait.

            Overseas, people are dying and getting long term disabilities at huge rates. While we here in New Zealand are mostly containing it at the border with very few hiccups, using simple techniques and trained staff. The cost of containment really isn't that high, compared to the cost of dealing with disease that other countries are dealing with.

            I doubt Medsafe think they have greater expertise than overseas. It's just that overseas they have medical emergencies going on, so they have approved the vaccines for emergency use with less information than would be required for full approval. That full approval will be coming in due course. We don't have the medical emergency, so we have the luxury of waiting for more complete information for full approval.

            There's also questions around whether and how much the vaccine efficacy is reduced against the newer mutations. It may be that Pfizer/BioNTech (and Moderna) will adjust their mRNA recipe to improve efficacy against the newer strains. If that happens, there will be questions around how much new testing will be required for the adjusted recipe.

            So all up, looks to me like the Ministry of Health has found a good balance between urgency, getting enough info for full approval, and not trying to muscle into the queue when there really are many others with much greater needs than ours.

            • In Vino 1.4.1.1.1.1

              +1 Andre. I am rather irritated by critics who scream that we should be greedily queue-jumping like Singapore.

              Time will tell if this is yet another case where Righties are screaming that we should do what Sweden/Australia/whoever are doing, only to go all quiet when things turn to custard there, and we turn out to have chosen the better policy.

              It seems to me that much of the demands for instant vaccine supply is politically motivated. And a couple of 'academics' are getting quoted a lot in this respect. In our supposedly impartial but privately-run news media…

            • RedLogix 1.4.1.1.1.2

              Agree with all of that Andre.

              It may be that Pfizer/BioNTech (and Moderna) will adjust their mRNA recipe to improve efficacy against the newer strains.

              The latest news I'm hearing is that the rollout in the UK and EU of these mRNA vaccines has hit big problems with production. I don't know how seriously this will impact the timelines, but it does suggest that approval and access to more conventional alternatives like the Oxford AstraXenica (which can be easily made in dozens of existing plants globally) should be a priority.

              In this AU/NZ can and should wait for the inevitable teething problems overseas to be sorted.

          • Tricledrown 1.4.1.1.2

            Red Barron the reason why countries are vaccinating now and not later is because c19 is rampant in these countries and it makes sense to build up herd immunity because so many are dying compared to the risk an not fully tested vaccine program.

            NZ has the luxury of wait and see what vaccine is best.

            No advantage to be gained by rushing an untried vaccine.

            Especially as there is no evidence of the length the vaccine will protect us.

            • RedBaronCV 1.4.1.1.2.1

              i can see the sense in waiting for the general rollout.

              More specifically though – if these new strains are as contagious – dangerous as they are being made out to be – then surely it makes sense to protect the at risk people manning our border response, who are a fairly small group and even if it only lasts a few weeks surely that is better than leaving them without any protection at all. and given it's only a few thousand doses why not do it as fast as possible. It doesn't have to be tied to the general rollout surely? Bit like giving the border response better masks N95 than the standard bits of paper. The cost is tiny and the potential benefits are huge.
              There was a link floating around the other day on a research piece that showed how the virus had transmitted in flight on an Airnz service. Sober reading.

              • weka

                the vaccines are new, and they're still gathering data on how well they work, what kind of immunity they grant, whether the vaccinated person can still transmit the virus, and what kind of side effects and at what rate they are happening. Given CV is a novel virus causing a new disease that we don't fully understand yet, it makes sense to wait until there is more research on all those things. As explained above, NZ's situation isn't urgent and it's better to let the wrinkles get ironed out before using the vaccines here.

            • weka 1.4.1.1.2.2

              is herd immunity a current goal? I'm sure it's the long term goal, but I suspect atm it's to just get as many people protected as possible. Once we have longer term data on the vaccines I think it will be easier to see if herd immunity is possible or if we are going for something like the limitation of influenza.

              • lprent

                is herd immunity a current goal?

                … or if we are going for something like the limitation of influenza.

                I doubt that complete or near complete herd immunity is possible. This looks like being another endemic population disease.

                I suspect that we’re going to be looking at reducing the R0 to the point that outbreaks are small, contained, and infrequent. That requires vaccination in adults and possibly eventually down to kids. That depends on the effectiveness of the vaccines over time. But definitely always targeting vaccines for those at the highest mortality and damage risks from the covid-19 family.

                But vaccinated people will always have a small probability of getting it. So will the people who have already had it. The important thing is that there is sufficient population immunities to stop it going epidemic.

                • weka

                  how do you see that being achieved in NZ? Does that mean at some point after mass vaccination we open the borders and let CV in and contain any outbreaks? Or are you thinking border would open after other countries have achieved sufficient population immunities.

  2. Stephen D 2

    The best explanation of the rise of Trumpism I’ve read.
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/07/how-great-paradox-american-politics-holds-secret-trumps-success?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

    Not that I actually understand them.

    • RedLogix 2.1

      Interestingly that article starts with a description of appallingly bad safety standards at a major petrochem site in the 1960's. Yet remarkably everything has changed in the 50 years since; the events he describes are pretty much unthinkable in a developed country today.

      In particular:

      One day, Sherman was standing in a room, leaning over a large pipe to check a filter, when an operator in a distant control room mistakenly turned a knob, sending hot, almond-smelling, liquid chlorinated hydrocarbons coursing through the pipe, drenching him

      I worked for decades in that control room, always aware that I could kill or main with a bad or unlucky decision. Yet the technology advanced dramatically, giving us tools and platforms that properly implemented, making incidents like the above orders of magnitude less likely. Organisations soon realised that investing in safety tech actually saved them cash, and in the past decade virtually every major new install, and many smaller ones, now has a substantial safety tech component.

      Men like the person in that article used to do all the dirty, dangerous work. He describes it well; but it's worth noting that industry has changed, and continues to change since those days.

      Not that this takes much away from the primary narrative of the article; there is a strong sense of betrayal driving Trumpist populism in the USA. It's real and has legitimate causes and real consequences – homelessness and opiates stalk the lower rungs of the American dream.

      Yet the bottom 20% of the US, if they were treated as a nation by itself, is still one of the wealthiest in the world in terms of consumption per capita, falling just between the Netherlands and Canada. (And considerably higher than NZ). This is the paradox of inequality – it's not primarily about GINI coefficients and numbers – but I believe has it's roots in our psychological welfare. How connected we are, how healthy communities are and whether we feel the society we live in will look out for our interests. And in this the US political consensus from Clinton onward has squandered an enormous reservoir of trust on largely corrupt ends.

      While I'm on record here as defending the USA from it's more rabid detractors, the above is true at the same time. It’s not hard to understand them – they’re our brothers and sisters.

      • Nic the NZer 2.1.1

        I didn't find any refutations but, considering where that story is repeated, it seems likely to be a fraud.

        In pure gdp per capita terms the bottom 5% have about twice the income of the US bottom 5% with the US incomes only going higher about the 50th percentile. The study claims there is heaps of unrecorded material help in the US which compensates for this, but I don't think the conclusion is credible.

        • RedLogix 2.1.1.1

          Bottom 5% and bottom 20% are different cohorts. Moreover you're using income not consumption, again different measures. Statistics do not interpret themselves, there are often multiple, competing explanations for the same result, and we are left to choose among them.

          considering where that story is repeated

          Shooting the messenger ain't an argument. Not everything the other guy's say is by definition 'fraud'. You might not like their conclusions, but you're much better off trying to create constructive dialog and find common ground regardless.

          • Nic the NZer 2.1.1.1.1

            Yes, thats why I only said its likely to be fraud.

            But who knows, maybe the Democrats are about to adopt a new narrative of even our poorest are doing better than the average European?

            • RedLogix 2.1.1.1.1.1

              The only reason why I quoted it is that it provides a counterpoint to the usual inequality narrative that defines the problem solely in terms of 'poverty'. Because the USA is such a fundamentally prosperous nation, even with the extremes of wealth between the top 0.1% and the bottom 50% – virtually all Americans are still better off than the vast majority of humanity.

              This does not mean that inequality is not a problem, quite the contrary I've consistently held here for years that it's one of the most outstanding moral challenges humanity faces.

              Because when we start using numbers and statistics to anchor the argument alone – we soon come adrift if we cannot also find some common ground and understanding to reach a consensus on what they mean.

              • McFlock

                I struggle to see how one homeless person dying because of a lack of medical care is any better off than another homeless person dying because of a lack of medical care. So I suspect the lower-threshold incomes of your great nation intersect with everyone else's somewhere between 0% and your picked 50%.

                • RedLogix

                  Yup – the low threshold is an arbitrary choice. 20% was derived from the article I referenced. Then Nick wanted to go with 5%. The lowest 50% is another commonly used threshold point.

                  In essence yes you're correct, there will be some low number – 5% seems as good a guess as any – where the US population is definitely neck-deep in homelessness, opiates, minimal health care, poor education, precarious work etc. But still they're by and large still a long way from any global definition of absolute poverty.

                  But this doesn't negate the point I was making, inequality is important not just because of any arbitrary measures of income we might measure it with, but because it undermines trust in the social fabric.

                  Now here's an interesting point. In very poor countries there isn't much potential for inequality to be a problem, because with few exceptions the gap between the top 1% and the bottom 20% is not all that large in absolute terms. But when talking about the most prosperous nation on earth by a large margin, then suddenly the gap becomes very large indeed. And that matters a great deal.

                  • Tricledrown

                    Red logistics that's why Biden wants undocumented migrants and the poor to be immunised.

                    Also Biden wants everyone counted on the census to make sure that herd immunity can be achieved.

                    • Incognito

                      You’re talking a herd of shit. Provide some links.

                      But why do I bother replying to you, the one commenter here who never reads replies to their comments let alone responds to them?

                  • McFlock

                    In essence yes you're correct, there will be some low number – 5% seems as good a guess as any – where the US population is definitely neck-deep in homelessness, opiates, minimal health care, poor education, precarious work etc. But still they're by and large still a long way from any global definition of absolute poverty.

                    How much better off can they be if they're dying of the same things?

                    • RedLogix

                      This is the interesting thing about inequality, the mere fact of being stacked up at the very bottom of any society, regardless of absolute measures of income or consumption – tends to have a toxic effect across the board in outcomes.

                      That's what I'm trying to convey here, that while we measure inequality in terms of material parameters, the impact of it doesn't necessarily correlate with absolute wealth very well. So yes in this we're saying much the same thing.

                    • McFlock

                      It might help if you could find a coutry with high inequality where the conditions of the poorest people aren't repeated across the globe in absolute terms: malnourished, homeless, scarce (if any) healthcare, and preventable death.

                      Doesn't have to be an arbitray 40% or 50% of median. Just a place where the poorest people (documented or undocumented) live like kings compared to the poorest in another country.

                  • Nic the NZer

                    I was in no way suggesting an alternate threshold but just describing how large an income disparity there is observed by conventional measures for the fraud to be actually fact.

                    While in income terms and often materially the poorest of the first world will be better off than most in the second and third world (as is well known). Your example however claimed in the US they would be better off than the average of other first world countries.

                    • RedLogix

                      I’d ask you read the my comments in the whole and address that rather than selectively quibble and derail.

                      The point of using that reference is that data and statistics by themselves do not tell us what they mean. There are often competing meanings for the same information and I presented one that paints one different perspective. Reaching immediately for the 'fraud' card to make it go away is intellectually lazy.

                      But in the context of the whole comment it's perfectly clear I'm not in anyway diminishing inequality as a core moral issue – quite the contrary I personally believe the left has done a great disservice to the question by typically framing it in material terms only.

                      When in fact I believe it's a much more challenging and profound question than this.

      • millsy 2.1.2

        Quite frankly I have no symphathy for people like Sherman. A guy who thinks that some queer college student in New England who has a sex life is a huge threat to western civilasation but is willing to let corporations kill and maim their workers for profit, for a shit wage that is spent mostly on rent.

        Over it.

        These people have no place in the working class. Him and his shitty little Bible.

        • Tricledrown 2.1.2.1

          Looking back through history the billionaire class have always treated workers like this keep them poor and powerless.

          • RedLogix 2.1.2.1.1

            Well my comment points out the exact opposite, that this kind of poor safety practice is no longer normal at all. Much of it was just ignorance, and that men like Lee were acculturated to high risk – than malice.

            The good news is that, in most developed parts of the world, this has changed quite dramatically since the 1960's.

        • Nic the NZer 2.1.2.2

          Did Sherman have a particular stance on gay issues?

  3. RedLogix 3

    A tribute to Terry Pratchett, shot in NZ.

  4. joe90 4

    Hundreds of videos like this coming out of Russia. Poots won't be pleased.

    • Macro 4.1

      And a good report here.

      https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/23/the-problem-is-putin-protesters-throng-the-streets-to-support-navalny

      This crowd almost compares to a Chump Inauguration!/ sarc

      A very large crowd on a St Petersburg street blocked at the end nearest the camera by a large contingent of riot police

      • joe90 4.1.1

        They're pissed off with Poots larceny.

        Alexey Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation has released a bombshell investigation into a $1.35-billion residence built for Russian President Vladimir Putin near a resort town on the Black Sea. Navalny’s team published the report the day after the opposition figure was put in pre-trial detention at Moscow’s notorious Matrosskaya Tishina prison. In addition to sharing the building’s floor plan and visualizations of the interiors, the anti-corruption activists recount the history of the construction project and dig into how it was financed by companies connected to members of Putin’s inner circle. “Meduza” sums up the highlights from the investigation.

        https://meduza.io/en/feature/2021/01/19/putin-s-palace

        #putin is a thief

    • millsy 4.3

      This the same Nalvany who called Muslims "cockroaches"? Or who has made well known his disdain for those in Ukraine, Georgia etc?

      Putin is bascially Don Colreone with missile codes, but the so-called liberal opposition figures are hardly angels themselves. The other liberal darling, Ksenia Saubchuk, is on record as wanting to sell Russian assets to Western multinationals and was absolutely fine with the extra judicial killing of George Floyd.

      Probably why the Russian put up with Putin so much, the others are probably even worse.

      • RedLogix 4.3.1

        In the context of Russian history over the past 200 years or more, Putin is by far and away the very best leader they've ever had.

        Russia is beset by challenges geopolitical, demographic, historic and cultural – but despite this progress has been visible in the past 20 years. Even at a personal level when I look (using google earth) at parts of the Russian city I lived and worked in for some months back in 2001, I'm astonished at the changes that have happened since.

        We forget that the 90's were an absolute disaster for Russia, and that Western betrayal played a large part in that debacle. When I was there the impacts of it were highly visible and quite visceral. That Putin has largely lifted Russia out of this explains a great deal of his enduring popularity.

        But his regime rests on a narrow circle of competent people, and they're both aging and short on fresh ideas. It's entirely understandable that younger generations of Russians are keen to look elsewhere for new ideas. The problem for them, is that there are very few alternative figures outside of the Kremlin system who have any real track record at governance.

  5. Adrian Thornton 5

    Clinton and Pelosi just won't give up on their fake news 'Russiagate' bat shit crazy conspiracy carry on….though I see there are still a few takers out there, one born every day I guess.

    Clinton: I would love to see if Trump 'was talking to Putin the day that the insurgents invaded our Capitol'

    https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/534767-clinton-i-would-love-to-see-if-trump-was-talking-to-putin-the

  6. joe90 6

    So much economic anxiety..

    A man who helped drag a police officer down the U.S. Capitol steps tried to flee to Switzerland after the day of the siege and then, in what authorities called a different type of flight effort, attempted suicide, prosecutors told a judge on Friday.

    Describing the case as “very disturbing,” a federal magistrate denied bail to Jeffrey Patrick Sabol, a 51-year-old divorced geophysicist with three children. Patrick has not been charged with assault but rather under a civil disorder statute barring any effort to “obstruct, impede, or interfere” law enforcement.

    […]

    Sabol’s federal defender Jason Ser argued that his client’s wealth, extensive family connections, and prominent, well-paid and celebrated geophysicist were sufficient to grant the bail request. The defense offered a $200,000 bail package, secured by several sureties, to ensure the defendant’s continued presence in the country and at future court appearances.

    The judge, however, said those facts weighed against any form of leniency in Sabol’s case.

    Remarking on the defendant’s highly-pedigreed, upper-crust background—and specifically citing his employment as a renowned geophysicist, his extensive family ties and his elite financial means—Krause said “this cuts against him” because “despite all that he did go and engage in that conduct on January 6.

    https://lawandcrime.com/u-s-capitol-siege/rioter-who-helped-drag-officer-down-u-s-capitol-steps-tried-to-flee-to-switzerland-feds/?

    • McFlock 6.1

      One thing about a lot of these people who have been arrested, they seem to have a high proportion of highly-qualified professions if not wealth. Geophysicist, ffs? Lawyers, dentists, etc.

      Atlas Whined…

    • Forget now 6.2

      Thanks for the link Joe90, though I can't be too happy about even a traitor's suicide attempt. Nor is he likely to be the only one facing prosecution for the coup attempt who chooses that method of saving face. Wasn't there a second cop who killed themself after the events of January 6th? Yes:

      Howard Liebengood — the son and namesake of a former Senate Sergeant-at-Arms, lobbyist and [Republican] Hill staffer… [then] President Trump ordered flags lowered to half-staff in honor of both Sicknick and Liebengood.

      https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/liebengood-capitol-police-death/2021/01/10/3a495b84-5357-11eb-a08b-f1381ef3d207_story.html

      So Trump made no sign of mourning the death of an officer (allegedly) beaten to death with a fire extinguisher by his own minions, until one linked to the GOP died by his own hand and both were suddenly worth his recognition.

      Anyway, I clicked on this link from your link which is a little off topic, but likewise shows that delusionists may not be able to elude justice for ever:

      “Since the day of the shooting, InfoWars has aggressively promoted a dreadful and despicable false narrative about Sandy Hook, mocking the families as liars and accusing them of a sinister conspiracy. Plaintiff’s family has been specifically targeted in this campaign of harassment,” the Lewis original petition alleged. “These baseless and vile accusations, which have been pushed by InfoWars and Mr. Jones a continuous basis since the shooting, advance the idea that the Sandy Hook massacre did not happen, or that it was staged by the government and concealed using actors, and that the families of the victims are participants in a horrifying cover-up. InfoWars knew its assertions were false or made these statements with reckless and outrageous disregard for their truth.”…

      Each of the Texas lawsuits seek damages in excess of $1 million.

      Jones repeatedly sought to have the filings dismissed during various stages of the legal process. Each time, the district courts and the appellate courts declined to toss the claims.

      Now, each of those four lawsuits can proceed on the merits.

      https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/texas-supreme-court-silently-denies-alex-jones-all-forms-of-relief-sandy-hook-families-and-others-can-now-sue-conspiracy-theorist-and-infowars-into-the-ground/?utm_source=mostpopular

  7. Ed 7

    Potential community case in Northland.

    Ashley Bloomfield to make an announcement at 4 pm

  8. Forget now 8

    The woman travelled around Northland after leaving isolation, and a thorough interview has suggested she has four close contacts. They are isolated and are talking to health officials and have been tested…

    She travelled to New Zealand from London, arriving in Auckland on 30 December.

    She returned two negative tests while in isolation, and had no symptoms while in isolation.

    After leaving isolation she returned to her home in Northland, where she lives with one other person. That person has reported no symptoms.

    Dr Bloomfield said she felt very mild symptoms on 15 January, but did not associate them with Covid. As her symptoms worsened, she got tested at a community testing facility.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/435090/watch-latest-covid-19-community-case-tested-negative-twice

    Really have to wonder what “travelled around Northland” means exactly. I imagine quite a few people from all around Aotearoa have been travelling around Northland in that time period.

    Those who don’t use the apps (I don’t do the bluetooth part myself, but maybe should start switching that on), should start taking pen and paper with them again.

    • Forget now 8.1

      Bloomfield said the woman lives south of Whangārei and she is still there. She travelled around southern parts of Northland, as far south as Helensville.

      https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300213205/live-health-officials-not-ruling-anything-out-after-covid19-case-detected-in-the-community-in-northland

      That's around the 21minute mark in the RNZ link above. Also acknowledgement to [email protected] for first mentioning this community COVID case on OM, I should've have made my comment as a reply to theirs but was distracted.

      • Ed 8.1.1

        The only good news is that she used her COVID App properly.

        The government needs to listen to Michael Baker.
        Listening to the news and he is saying the following.
        Hotels are not the places to manage isolation.
        We must stop entry of people from highly infectious countries.

        • Forget now 8.1.1.1

          Baker is not the only one to be calling for more extreme precautions. Though given the strains first detected in; Italy, the UK, South Africa, and Brazil have spread into other countries already, stopping entry from those particular countries is a bit of locking the barn door after the horse has bolted.

          Though this was on RNZ website mere hours before today's community COVID alert was announced. And I have to assume that the Professor knows more than I do:

          Otago University public health professor Nick Wilson said this is now the most dangerous period the country has faced since the August outbreak.

          "Because of the change in the virus, it is really time to take that increased risk more seriously," Professor Wilson said.

          "We really do need a serious look at reducing the number of infected people arriving, and improving the quality of the whole border control arrangements.

          "There's a genuine case for actually stopping all arrivals [from the UK] {Sic} until we improve the border facilities."…

          Dr Wilson said better masks need to be worn by both staff and returnees in the facilities and smoking areas – which were found to have played a part in the Russian seamen quarantine outbreak – should be eliminated. Ventilation in hotels needed to be improved, and a review should also look at the safety of shared exercise areas.

          He said there are also limits to hotel-based quarantine and a case could be made to move it to more rural facilities.

          https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/435047/govt-should-look-at-closing-border-to-uk-arrivals-professor

          • solkta 8.1.1.1.1

            How do you wear a mask while smoking?

            • Forget now 8.1.1.1.1.1

              Wilson is proposing eliminating smoking areas entirely, and presumably barring entry to those who are unable to cope with this requirement. Though the sentence is a bit ambiguous, there should have been at least a comma there.

              Also, I have had another glance at that tab, and when I say "mere hours" – that's actually more like 26 hours.

        • RedBaronCV 8.1.1.2

          Further up thread i wondered why we were waiting so long to vaccinate the few thousand manning the border but I seem to be the only one that feels it might be a good idea?

          • Forget now 8.1.1.2.1

            RBCV, there is no vaccine in the country with which to vaccinate border staff. Hipkins; in today’s announcement, said maybe March for that – depending on supply logistics.

            From the link that [email protected] posted in reply to your upthread query:

            Our first priority will be to vaccinate border workers and essential staff who are at the greatest risk of getting COVID-19. We expect vaccines to be delivered to our front line workers in the second quarter of 2021.

            Our aim is to then commence vaccination of the general public in the second half of the year. This will be dependent on Medsafe approving the vaccines as being safe and effective for use in New Zealand.

            • RedBaronCV 8.1.1.2.1.1

              And we can't fly a small quantity of doses in?? One of them at least doesn't need the very low temperatures. I think I'd appreciate a much greater sense of urgency around a couple of thousand doses. Nail for horseshoe type scenario –

            • lprent 8.1.1.2.1.2

              It was always planned for March / April at the earliest as far as I am aware. End of the first quarter.That was the earliest that I thought that we could start vaccinating assuming a near end of 2020 release of vaccines. I was saying that back in October. So was the government.

              We had no urgent need to do a emergency validation and certification of the vaccines because we didn’t have a pandemic raging in NZ. Therefore it was best to let other countries to work out the vaccine bugs in terms of delivery, contra immunisation factors (what to watch for to prevent side-effects), large scale efficacy, and everything else involved in rolling out a vaccine program.

              FFS: My long term expectation was I’d be surprised if we hit acceptable reasonable vaccination levels this year (ie < ~60%). I don’t expect opening the borders except to a handful of locations until the third quarter.

              And that was some of these more virulent strains turned up. So far they mostly look like just needing to increase the required level of vaccination in the population so that they can’t outbreak easily.

              Its all a stats & probability question. Listening to children wanting the satisfaction NOW.. Who does that?

              Thats right – National.. The party for children.

              • RedBaronCV

                Look I really get the scenario over the mass rollout – we don't have the pandemic so we can take a measured approach and I'm not suggesting otherwise. I've said this repeatedly.

                Then this is this other very small group of people – a few thousand.

                If we look at stats and probability the people manning the border, quarantine etc are the first ring of defence for the rest of us. Their chances of contracting it, along with the people actually doing the quarantine days must be higher than for the rest of the population.

                My question remains why are we not showing a great deal more urgency about vaccinating this very limited group separately from the main rollout? We could import a few thousand doses surely ( and also vaccinate people as they enter quarantine) because the cost of doing this is surely very minor compared to locking down Auckland , running mass testing etc etc. And even in terms of scarce vaccine it means we can kick the can down the road further for the mass usage leaving it for others.

                To me it's nuts not to be doing this small group for the good of us all. Even if the vaccine is not perfect.

        • Herodotus 8.1.1.3

          The woman has been very diligent with her movements, but no matter how diligent you are there can be times that there are gaps. I am taken back with the list of places she has visited that there are no gas stations that I can see listed.

          • McFlock 8.1.1.3.1

            Well, two options come to mind: one is that she's not a driver, and the other is that she does drive but uses those robo-pumps that have popped up in the last couple of years. Not much chance for close contact with those.

            • RedBaronCV 8.1.1.3.1.1

              Apart from touching the pump handles – hard surfaces like rubbish tins and lift buttons have been implicated in transmission. I always glove up and sanitise at the pump.

              • McFlock

                True, to a degree. But somewhat oily hard surfaces for an already low form of transmission…

  9. RedLogix 9

    What if Justin Bieber ran for President?

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • All of Us, All of Us.
    Mutual Support: Democracy in New Zealand will not be saved by pitting Pakeha against Māori, but by joining together with every other citizen who still understands the meaning of working together to build something good that will last. Call that co-governance if you like, or call it something else – ...
    7 hours ago
  • Tracking the KPIs of eight-year-olds
    Imagine being a great big business success enjoying your lavish Waiheke island property with infinity pool and ballroom and riparian rights and heli-pad. Sweeeet. But imagine, also, having to take orders from some little bureaucratic oik about how often you can land a chopper on it.I can’t, really, but it ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    10 hours ago
  • Life Church Confirms its Leader Was Paid $10,000 For Investigating Sexual Misconduct at Hillsong Chu...
    Hi,New Zealand’s Life megachurch has confirmed to Webworm it was paid $10,000 by Hillsong for investigating Brian Houston’s sexual misconduct allegations.Following Webworm publishing this piece about the $10,000 payment, Life’s Corporate Communications Manager Phil Irons has confirmed what it was for:Paul [de Jong] was engaged by Hillsong to assist in ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    11 hours ago
  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #12
    A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Mar 19, 2023 thru Sat, Mar 25, 2023. Story of the Week Q&A: IPCC wraps up its most in-depth assessment of climate change The final part of the world’s most comprehensive assessment of ...
    11 hours ago
  • What I wanted to say before the mob stopped women speaking
    by Daphna Whitmore I thought the #LetWomenSpeak meeting would be a good time to talk about free speech and why it is important for the left. Then the mob stampeded the open-air gathering and no one got to speak. Here’s what I was had prepared. Today I want to talk ...
    RedlineBy Admin
    21 hours ago
  • Women’s rights meeting silenced
    By Don Franks Today my friend Ani O’Briien went to a meeting in Auckland and wrote: “No sooner had Kellie-Jay Keen Minshull arrived at the Rotunda, a protestor (who had managed to get past the barrier) ran at her and threw a red substance all over her and a security ...
    RedlineBy Admin
    22 hours ago
  • A serving of soup curbs Posie Parker’s appetite for speaking – and shows that might is right in ...
    Jonathan Milne, managing editor for Newsroom Pro, has expressed his indignation about the outcome of a court decision yesterday in an article headed Posie Parker wins the beautiful freedom to make an ugly argument. Newsroom Pro laments: High Court Justice David Gendall has regretfully allowed an outspoken anti-trans activist to enter New ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • It’s official: National have an education policy
    imagine my surprise this week when the National Party, in their infinite wisdom, decided to release an education policy. As you can imagine, this got us so riled up here in the office that we dusted off our Windows XP laptop, waiting 17 hours for all the updates to be ...
    My ThinksBy boonman
    1 day ago
  • Prosperity through Productivity.
    Come on Jess thought Mr Evans come on. He watched the large clock on the wall tick closer to 8:40am. Come on girl.In two minutes he had to submit the class attendance report and with Jess having already been late once that term it’d mean an automatic visit from the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • The hoon for the week that was to March 25
    This week’s UN IPCC report warned climate emissions will need to be cut by almost half by 2030, if warming is to be limited to 1.5°C. Bronwyn Hayward points out in The Hoon podcast how far behind NZ’s government and councils are now on climate action compared to the rest ...
    The KakaBy Peter Bale
    1 day ago
  • The big question for Labour: Will Hipkins have any more success than Ardern did with the top priorit...
    Chris  Hipkins,  after  he became prime minister, committed  to defeating the  cost-of- living crisis. He  proceeded to make a  bonfire of policies  that were at  the  heart of Jacinda Ardern’s administration.  But, as   Richard Prebble pointed out this week, “the government has not just U-turned, it has repudiated the ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    2 days ago
  • Reality check.
    There are some wellness, crystal-gazing, holistic spiritual guidance types in my disaster-hit coastal community who insist that the power of positive thinking will overcome the physical and material damages incurred by the community. They object to restrictions on road travel … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    2 days ago
  • High Performance Instability in the Financial Sector
    Evaluating the recent crashes of Silicon Valley Bank in the US and Credit Suisse in Switzerland plus two other banks (perhaps more by the time you read this) needs to begin with a review of the inevitable instability in the financial sector. The financial sector is inherently unstable, like military ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    2 days ago
  • The week in review
    1. We see here new police minister Ginny Andersen. Which larger than life NZ political figure was her great-uncle?a. Rob Muldoonb. Bill Andersenc. Richard John Seddond. Norman Kirk2. We see here archival footage of Ginny Andersen coming out of her electorate office to ask ex-tobacco lobbyist Chris Bishop if he ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Nash splashes out with a $900,000 investment in the blue economy (or is it more corporate welfare?)
    Buzz from the Beehive Stuart Nash, speaking as Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, one of his remaining portfolios after he was dropped down the Hipkins Government batting order, has drawn attention to the blue economy and its potential. Nash says the government is investing in the blue economy, or – ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago
  • Ask Me Anything about the week to March 24
    Photo by Josh Mills on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week for an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session for paying subscribers about the week that was for the next hour, including:The runs on Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic Bank on the west coast of the United States that forced the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 24-March-2023
    Roundup is back! We skipped last week’s Friday post due to a shortage of person-power – did you notice? Lots going on out there… Our header image this week shows a green street that just happens to be Queen St, by @chamfy from Twitter. This week (and last) in ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    2 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the Keen-Minshull visit
    After threatening Prime Minister Chris Hipkins of consequences if he dared to bar her entry, Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull has been given her visa, regardless. This will enable her to hold rallies in Auckland and Wellington this weekend, and spread her messages of hostility against an already marginalised trans community. Neo-Nazis may, ...
    2 days ago
  • BRYCE EDWARDS’ Political Roundup:  NZ needs to distance itself from Australia’s anti-China nucl...
    * Bryce Edwards writes – The New Zealand Government has been silent about Australia’s decision to commit up to $400bn acquiring nuclear submarines, even though this is a significant threat to peace and stability in the Asia Pacific. The deal was struck by the Albanese Labor Government as ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Wayne Brown's #Auxit moment
    Boomers voted him in, but Brown’s Trumpish moments might spook Aucklanders worried about what a change to National nationally might mean. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTL;DR: Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has become our version of Donald Trump and Boris Johnson, except without any of the insatiable appetite for media appearances. He ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: NZ needs to distance itself from Australia’s anti-China nuclear submarines
    The New Zealand Government has been silent about Australia’s decision to commit up to $400bn acquiring nuclear submarines, even though this is a significant threat to peace and stability in the Asia Pacific. The deal was struck by the Albanese Labor Government as part of its Aukus pact with the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    2 days ago
  • Posie Parker vs Transgender Rights.
    Recently you might have heard of a person called Posie Parker and her visit to Aotearoa. Perhaps you’re not quite sure what it’s all about. So let’s start with who this person is, why their visit is controversial, and what on earth a TERF is.Posie Parker is the super villain ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Select Committee told slow down; you’re moving too fast
    The chair of Parliament’s Select Committee looking at the Government’s resource management legislation wants the bills sent back for more public consultation. The proposal would effectively kill any chance of the bills making it into law before the election. Green MP, Eugenie Sage, stressing that she was speaking as ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #12 2023
    Open access notables  The United States experienced some historical low temperature records during the just-concluded winter. It's a reminder that climate and weather are quite noisy; with regard to our warming climate,, as with a road ascending a mountain range we may steadily change our conditions but with lots of ...
    3 days ago
  • What becomes of the broken hearted? Nanny State will step in to comfort them
    Buzz from the Beehive The Nanny State has scored some wins (or claimed them) in the past day or two but it faltered when it came to protecting Kiwi citizens from being savaged by one woman armed with a sharp tongue. The wins are recorded by triumphant ministers on the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Acceptance, decency, road food.
    Sometimes you see your friends making the case so well on social media you think: just copy and share.On acceptance and decency, from Michèle A’CourtA notable thing about anti-trans people is they way they talk about transgender women and men as though they are strangers “over there” when in fact ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Climate Change: More Labour sabotage
    Not that long ago, things were looking pretty good for climate change policy in Aotearoa. We finally had an ETS, and while it was full of pork and subsidies, it was delivering high and ever-rising carbon prices, sending a clear message to polluters to clean up or shut down. And ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • Is bundling restricting electricity competition?
    Comparing (and switching) electricity providers has become easier, but bundling power up with broadband and/or gas makes it more challenging. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The Kākā TL;DR: The new Consumer Advocacy Council set up as a result of the Labour Government’s Electricity Price Review in 2019 has called on either ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Westland Milk puts heat on competitors as global dairy demand  remains softer for longer
    Hokitika-based Westland Milk Products  has  put the heat on dairy giant Fonterra with  a $120m profit turnaround in 2022, driven by record sales. Westland paid its suppliers a 10c premium above the forecast Fonterra price per kilo, contributing $535m to the West Coast and Canterbury economies. The dairy ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    3 days ago
  • BRYCE EDWARDS’ Political Roundup:  The Beehive’s revolving door and corporate mateship
    * Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealanders are uncomfortable with the high level of influence corporate lobbyists have in New Zealand politics, and demands are growing for greater regulation. A recent poll shows 62 per cent of the public support having a two-year cooling off period between ministers leaving public ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: The Beehive’s revolving door and corporate mateship
    New Zealanders are uncomfortable with the high level of influence corporate lobbyists have in New Zealand politics, and demands are growing for greater regulation. A recent poll shows 62 per cent of the public support having a two-year cooling off period between ministers leaving public office and becoming lobbyists and ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • A miracle pill for our transport ills
    This is a guest post by accessibility and sustainable transport advocate Tim Adriaansen It originally appeared here.   A friend calls you and asks for your help. They tell you that while out and about nearby, they slipped over and landed arms-first. Now their wrist is swollen, hurting like ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    3 days ago
  • The Surprising Power of Floating Wind Turbines
    Floating offshore wind turbines offer incredible opportunities to capture powerful winds far out at sea. By unlocking this wind energy potential, they could be a key weapon in our arsenal in the fight against climate change. But how developed are these climate fighting clean energy giants? And why do I ...
    3 days ago
  • The next Maori challenge
    Over the past two or three weeks, a procession of Maori iwi and hapu in a series of little-noticed appearances before two Select Committees have been asking for more say for Maori over resource management decisions along the co-governance lines of Three Waters. Their submissions and appearances run counter ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • Secret “war-crime” warrants by International Criminal Court is mischief-making
    The decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue war crimes arrest warrants for the Russian President and the Russia Children Ombudsman may have been welcomed by the ideologically committed but otherwise seems to have been greeted with widespread cynicism (see Situation in Ukraine: ICC judges issue arrest warrants ...
    4 days ago
  • How to answer Drunk Uncle Kevin's Climate Crisis reckons
    Let’s say you’re clasping your drink at a wedding, or a 40th, or a King’s Birthday Weekend family reunion and Drunk Uncle Kevin has just got going.He’s in an expansive frame of mind because we’re finally rid of that silly girl. But he wants to ask an honest question about ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • National’s Luxon may be glum about his poll ratings but has he found a winner in promising to rai...
    National Party leader Christopher Luxon may  be feeling glum about his poll ratings, but  he could be tapping  into  a rich political vein in  describing the current state of education as “alarming”. Luxon said educational achievement has been declining,  with a recent NCEA pilot exposing just how far it has ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    4 days ago
  • Climate Change: More Labour foot-dragging
    Yesterday the IPCC released the final part of its Sixth Assessment Report, warning us that we have very little time left in which to act to prevent catastrophic climate change, but pointing out that it is a problem that we can solve, with existing technology, and that anything we do ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Te Pāti Māori Are Revolutionaries – Not Reformists.
    Way Beyond Reform: Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer have no more interest in remaining permanent members of “New Zealand’s” House of Representatives than did Lenin and Trotsky in remaining permanent members of Tsar Nicolas II’s “democratically-elected” Duma. Like the Bolsheviks, Te Pāti Māori is a party of revolutionaries – not reformists.THE CROWN ...
    4 days ago
  • When does history become “ancient”, on Tinetti’s watch as Minister of Education – and what o...
    Buzz from the Beehive Auckland was wiped off the map, when Education Minister Jan Tinetti delivered her speech of welcome as host of the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers “here in Tāmaki Makaurau”. But – fair to say – a reference was made later in the speech to a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • Climate Catastrophe, but first rugby.
    Morning mate, how you going?Well, I was watching the news last night and they announced this scientific report on Climate Change. But before they got to it they had a story about the new All Blacks coach.Sounds like important news. It’s a bit of a worry really.Yeah, they were talking ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • What the US and European bank rescues mean for us
    Always a bailout: US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Government would fully guarantee all savers in all smaller US banks if needed. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: No wonder an entire generation of investors are used to ‘buying the dip’ and ‘holding on for dear life’. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Who will drain Wellington’s lobbying swamp?
    Wealthy vested interests have an oversized influence on political decisions in New Zealand. Partly that’s due to their use of corporate lobbyists. Fortunately, the influence lobbyists can have on decisions made by politicians is currently under scrutiny in Guyon Espiner’s in-depth series published by RNZ. Two of Espiner’s research exposés ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • It’s Raining Congestion
    Yesterday afternoon it rained and traffic around the region ground to a halt, once again highlighting why it is so important that our city gets on with improving the alternatives to driving. For additional irony, this happened on the same day the IPCC synthesis report landed, putting the focus on ...
    4 days ago
  • Checking The Left: The Dreadful Logic Of Fascism.
    The Beginning: Anti-Co-Governance agitator, Julian Batchelor, addresses the Dargaville stop of his travelling roadshow across New Zealand . Fascism almost always starts small. Sadly, it doesn’t always stay that way. Especially when the Left helps it to grow.THERE IS A DREADFUL LOGIC to the growth of fascism. To begin with, it ...
    4 days ago
  • Good Friends and Terrible Food
    Hi,From an incredibly rainy day in Los Angeles, I just wanted to check in. I guess this is the day Trump may or may not end up in cuffs? I’m attempting a somewhat slower, less frenzied week. I’ve had Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s new record on non-stop, and it’s been a ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago
  • At a glance – What evidence is there for the hockey stick?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    5 days ago
  • Carry right on up there, Corporal Espiner
    RNZ has been shining their torch into corners where lobbyists lurk and asking such questions as: Do we like the look of this?and Is this as democratic as it could be?These are most certainly questions worth asking, and every bit as valid as, say:Are we shortchanged democratically by the way ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • This smells
    RNZ has continued its look at the role of lobbyists by taking a closer look at the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff Andrew Kirton. He used to work for liquor companies, opposing (among other things) a container refund scheme which would have required them to take responsibility for their own ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Major issues on the table in Mahuta’s  talks in Beijing with China’s new Foreign Minister
    Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta has left for Beijing for the first ministerial visit to China since 2019. Mahuta is  to  meet China’s new foreign minister Qin Gang  where she  might have to call on all the  diplomatic skills  at  her  command. Almost certainly she  will  face  questions  on what  role ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    5 days ago
  • Inside TOP's Teal Card and political strategy
    TL;DR: The Opportunities Party’s Leader Raf Manji is hopeful the party’s new Teal Card, a type of Gold card for under 30s, will be popular with students, and not just in his Ilam electorate where students make up more than a quarter of the voters and where Manji is confident ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Make Your Empties Go Another Round.
    When I was a kid New Zealand was actually pretty green. We didn’t really have plastic. The fruit and veges came in a cardboard box, the meat was wrapped in paper, milk came in a glass bottle, and even rubbish sacks were made of paper. Today if you sit down ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on how similar Vladimir Putin is to George W. Bush
    Looking back through the names of our Police Ministers down the years, the job has either been done by once or future party Bigfoots – Syd Holland, Richard Prebble, Juduth Collins, Chris Hipkins – or by far lesser lights like Keith Allen, Frank Gill, Ben Couch, Allen McCready, Clem Simich, ...
    5 days ago
  • CHRIS TROTTER:  Te Pāti Māori’s uncompromising threat to the status quo
    Chris Trotter writes – The Crown is a fickle friend. Any political movement deemed to be colourful but inconsequential is generally permitted to go about its business unmolested. The Crown’s media, RNZ and TVNZ, may even “celebrate” its existence (presumably as proof of Democracy’s broad-minded acceptance of diversity). ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Shining a bright light on lobbyists in politics
    Four out of the five people who have held the top role of Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff since 2017 have been lobbyists. That’s a fact that should worry anyone who believes vested interests shouldn’t have a place at the centre of decision making. Chris Hipkins’ newly appointed Chief of ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    5 days ago
  • Auckland Council Draft Budget – an unnecessary backwards step
    Feedback on Auckland Council’s draft 2023/24 budget closes on March 28th. You can read the consultation document here, and provide feedback here. Auckland Council is currently consulting on what is one of its most important ever Annual Plans – the ‘budget’ of what it will spend money on between July ...
    5 days ago
  • Talking’ Posey Parker Blues
    by Molten Moira from Motueka If you want to be a woman let me tell you what to do Get a piece of paper and a biro tooWrite down your new identification And boom! You’re now a woman of this nationSpelled W O M A Na real trans woman that isAs opposed ...
    RedlineBy Admin
    6 days ago
  • More Māori words make it into the OED, and polytech boss (with rules on words like “students”) ...
    Buzz from the Beehive   New Zealand Education Minister Jan Tinetti is hosting the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers for three days from today, welcoming Education Ministers and senior officials from 18 Pacific Island countries and territories, and from Australia. Here’s hoping they have brought translators with them – or ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Social intercourse with haters and Nazis: an etiquette guide
    Let’s say you’ve come all the way from His Majesty’s United Kingdom to share with the folk of Australia and New Zealand your antipathy towards certain other human beings. And let’s say you call yourself a women’s rights activist.And let’s say 99 out of 100 people who listen to you ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • The Greens, Labour, and coalition enforcement
    James Shaw gave the Green party's annual "state of the planet" address over the weekend, in which he expressed frustration with Labour for not doing enough on climate change. His solution is to elect more Green MPs, so they have more power within any government arrangement, and can hold Labour ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • This sounds familiar…
    RNZ this morning has the first story another investigative series by Guyon Espiner, this time into political lobbying. The first story focuses on lobbying by government agencies, specifically transpower, Pharmac, and assorted universities, and how they use lobbyists to manipulate public opinion and gather intelligence on the Ministers who oversee ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Letter to the NZ Herald: NCEA pseudoscience – “Mauri is present in all matter”
    Nick Matzke writes –   Dear NZ Herald, I am a Senior Lecturer in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Auckland. I teach evolutionary biology, but I also have long experience in science education and (especially) political attempts to insert pseudoscience into science curricula in ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • So what would be the point of a Green vote again?
    James Shaw has again said the Greens would be better ‘in the tent’ with Labour than out, despite Labour’s policy bonfire last week torching much of what the Government was doing to reduce emissions. File Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The Green Party has never been more popular than in some ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Gas stoves pose health risks. Are gas furnaces and other appliances safe to use?
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah Wesseler Poor air quality is a long-standing problem in Los Angeles, where the first major outbreak of smog during World War II was so intense that some residents thought the city had been attacked by chemical weapons. Cars were eventually discovered ...
    6 days ago
  • Genetic Heritage and Co Governance
    Yesterday I was reading an excellent newsletter from David Slack, and I started writing a comment “Sounds like some excellent genetic heritage…” and then I stopped.There was something about the phrase genetic heritage that stopped me in tracks. Is that a phrase I want to be saying? It’s kind of ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • BRIAN EASTON: Radical Uncertainty
    Brian Easton writes – Two senior economists challenge some of the foundations of current economics. It is easy to criticise economic science by misrepresenting it, by selective quotations, and by ignoring that it progresses, like all sciences, by improving and abandoning old theories. The critics may go ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s Middle East strategy, 20 years after the Iraq War
    This week marks the twentieth anniversary of the Iraq War. While it strongly opposed the US-led invasion, New Zealand’s then Labour-led government led by Prime Minister Helen Clark did deploy military engineers to try to help rebuild Iraq in mid-2003. With violence soaring, their 12-month deployment ended without being renewed ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    6 days ago
  • The motorways are finished
    After seventy years, Auckland’s motorway network is finally finished. In July 1953 the first section of motorway in Auckland was opened between Ellerslie-Panmure Highway and Mt Wellington Highway. The final stage opens to traffic this week with the completion of the motorway part of the Northern Corridor Improvements project. Aucklanders ...
    6 days ago
  • Kicking National’s tyres
    National’s appointment of Todd McClay as Agriculture spokesperson clearly signals that the party is in trouble with the farming vote. McClay was not an obvious choice, but he does have a record as a political scrapper. The party needs that because sources say it has been shedding farming votes ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago
  • As long as there is cricket, the world is somehow okay.
    Rays of white light come flooding into my lounge, into my face from over the top of my neighbour’s hedge. I have to look away as the window of the conservatory is awash in light, as if you were driving towards the sun after a rain shower and suddenly blinded. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • So much of what was there remains
    The columnists in Private Eye take pen names, so I have not the least idea who any of them are. But I greatly appreciate their expert insight, especially MD, who writes the medical column, offering informed and often damning critique of the UK health system and the politicians who keep ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Mar 12, 2023 thru Sat, Mar 18, 2023. Story of the Week Guest post: What 13,500 citations reveal about the IPCC’s climate science report   IPCC WG1 AR6 SPM Report Cover - Changing ...
    1 week ago
  • Financial capability services are being bucked up, but Stuart Nash shouldn’t have to see if they c...
    Buzz from the Beehive  The building of financial capability was brought into our considerations when Social Development and Employment Minister Carmel Sepuloni announced she had dipped into the government’s coffers for $3 million for “providers” to help people and families access community-based Building Financial Capability services. That wording suggests some ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago
  • Things that make you go Hmmmm.
    Do you ever come across something that makes you go Hmmmm?You mean like the song?No, I wasn’t thinking of the song, but I am now - thanks for that. I was thinking of things you read or hear that make you stop and go Hmmmm.Yeah, I know what you mean, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • The hoon for the week that was to March 19
    By the end of the week, the dramas over Stuart Nash overshadowed Hipkins’ policy bonfire. File photo: Lynn GrieveasonTLDR: This week’s news in geopolitics and the political economy covered on The Kākā included:PM Chris Hipkins’ announcement of the rest of a policy bonfire to save a combined $1.7 billion, but ...
    The KakaBy Peter Bale
    1 week ago

  • Crown apology to Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-a-Rua
    Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Andrew Little has delivered the Crown apology to Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-a-Rua for its historic breaches of Te Tiriti of Waitangi today. The ceremony was held at Queen Elizabeth Park in Masterton, hosted by Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-a-Rua, with several hundred ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Minister of Foreign Affairs meets with Chinese counterpart
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Nanaia Mahuta has concluded her visit to China, the first by a New Zealand Foreign Minister since 2018. The Minister met her counterpart, newly appointed State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Qin Gang, who also hosted a working dinner. This was the first engagement between the two ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Government delivering world-class satellite positioning services
    World-class satellite positioning services that will support much safer search and rescue, boost precision farming, and help safety on construction sites through greater accuracy are a significant step closer today, says Land Information Minister Damien O’Connor. Damien O’Connor marked the start of construction on New Zealand’s first uplink centre for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • District Court Judges appointed
    Attorney-General David Parker has announced the appointment of Christopher John Dellabarca of Wellington, Dr Katie Jane Elkin of Wellington, Caroline Mary Hickman of Napier, Ngaroma Tahana of Rotorua, Tania Rose Williams Blyth of Hamilton and Nicola Jan Wills of Wellington as District Court Judges.  Chris Dellabarca Mr Dellabarca commenced his ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • New project set to supercharge ocean economy in Nelson Tasman
    A new Government-backed project will help ocean-related businesses in the Nelson Tasman region to accelerate their growth and boost jobs. “The Nelson Tasman region is home to more than 400 blue economy businesses, accounting for more than 30 percent of New Zealand’s economic activity in fishing, aquaculture, and seafood processing,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • National’s education policy: where’s the funding?
    After three years of COVID-19 disruptions schools are finally settling down and National want to throw that all in the air with major disruption to learning and underinvestment.  “National’s education policy lacks the very thing teachers, parents and students need after a tough couple of years, certainty and stability,” Education ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Free programme to help older entrepreneurs and inventors
    People aged over 50 with innovative business ideas will now be able to receive support to advance their ideas to the next stage of development, Minister for Seniors Ginny Andersen said today. “Seniors have some great entrepreneurial ideas, and this programme will give them the support to take that next ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government target increased to keep powering up the Māori economy
    A cross government target for relevant government procurement contracts for goods and services to be awarded to Māori businesses annually will increase to 8%, after the initial 5% target was exceeded. The progressive procurement policy was introduced in 2020 to increase supplier diversity, starting with Māori businesses, for the estimated ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Continued progress on reducing poverty in challenging times
    77,000 fewer children living in low income households on the after-housing-costs primary measure since Labour took office Eight of the nine child poverty measures have seen a statistically significant reduction since 2018. All nine have reduced 28,700 fewer children experiencing material hardship since 2018 Measures taken by the Government during ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Speech at Fiji Investment and Trade Business Forum
    Deputy Prime Minister Kamikamica; distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. Tēnā koutou katoa, ni sa bula vinaka saka, namaste. Deputy Prime Minister, a very warm welcome to Aotearoa. I trust you have been enjoying your time here and thank you for joining us here today. To all delegates who have travelled to be ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government investments boost and diversify local economies in lower South Island
    $2.9 million convertible loan for Scapegrace Distillery to meet growing national and international demand $4.5m underwrite to support Silverlight Studios’ project to establish a film studio in Wanaka Gore’s James Cumming Community Centre and Library to be official opened tomorrow with support of $3m from the COVID-19 Response and Recovery ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government future-proofs EV charging
    Transport Minister Michael Wood has today launched the first national EV (electric vehicle) charging strategy, Charging Our Future, which includes plans to provide EV charging stations in almost every town in New Zealand. “Our vision is for Aotearoa New Zealand to have world-class EV charging infrastructure that is accessible, affordable, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • World-leading family harm prevention campaign supports young NZers
    Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment Priyanca Radhakrishnan has today launched the Love Better campaign in a world-leading approach to family harm prevention. Love Better will initially support young people through their experience of break-ups, developing positive and life-long attitudes to dealing with hurt. “Over 1,200 young kiwis told ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • First Chief Clinical Advisor welcomed into Coroners Court
    Hon Rino Tirikatene, Minister for Courts, welcomes the Ministry of Justice’s appointment of Dr Garry Clearwater as New Zealand’s first Chief Clinical Advisor working with the Coroners Court. “This appointment is significant for the Coroners Court and New Zealand’s wider coronial system.” Minister Tirikatene said. Through Budget 2022, the Government ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Next steps for affected properties post Cyclone and floods
    The Government via the Cyclone Taskforce is working with local government and insurance companies to build a picture of high-risk areas following Cyclone Gabrielle and January floods. “The Taskforce, led by Sir Brian Roche, has been working with insurance companies to undertake an assessment of high-risk areas so we can ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • New appointment to Māori Land Court bench
    E te huia kaimanawa, ko Ngāpuhi e whakahari ana i tau aupikinga ki te tihi o te maunga. Ko te Ao Māori hoki e whakanui ana i a koe te whakaihu waka o te reo Māori i roto i te Ao Ture. (To the prized treasure, it is Ngāpuhi who ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Government focus on jobs sees record number of New Zealanders move from Benefits into work
    113,400 exits into work in the year to June 2022 Young people are moving off Benefit faster than after the Global Financial Crisis Two reports released today by the Ministry of Social Development show the Government’s investment in the COVID-19 response helped drive record numbers of people off Benefits and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Vertical farming partnership has upward momentum
    The Government’s priority to keep New Zealand at the cutting edge of food production and lift our sustainability credentials continues by backing the next steps of a hi-tech vertical farming venture that uses up to 95 per cent less water, is climate resilient, and pesticide-free. Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor visited ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Conference of Pacific Education Ministers – Keynote Address
    E nga mana, e nga iwi, e nga reo, e nga hau e wha, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou kātoa. Warm Pacific greetings to all. It is an honour to host the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers here in Tāmaki Makaurau. Aotearoa is delighted to be hosting you ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • New $13m renal unit supports Taranaki patients
    The new renal unit at Taranaki Base Hospital has been officially opened by the Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall this afternoon. Te Huhi Raupō received around $13 million in government funding as part of Project Maunga Stage 2, the redevelopment of the Taranaki Base Hospital campus. “It’s an honour ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Second Poseidon aircraft on home soil
    Defence Minister Andrew Little has marked the arrival of the country’s second P-8A Poseidon aircraft alongside personnel at the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s Base at Ohakea today. “With two of the four P-8A Poseidons now on home soil this marks another significant milestone in the Government’s historic investment in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Further humanitarian aid for Türkiye and Syria
    Aotearoa New Zealand will provide further humanitarian support to those seriously affected by last month’s deadly earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, says Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta. “The 6 February earthquakes have had devastating consequences, with almost 18 million people affected. More than 53,000 people have died and tens of thousands more ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Community voice to help shape immigration policy
    Migrant communities across New Zealand are represented in the new Migrant Community Reference Group that will help shape immigration policy going forward, Immigration Minister Michael Wood announced today.  “Since becoming Minister, a reoccurring message I have heard from migrants is the feeling their voice has often been missing around policy ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • State Highway 3 project to deliver safer journeys, better travel connections for Taranaki
    Construction has begun on major works that will deliver significant safety improvements on State Highway 3 from Waitara to Bell Block, Associate Minister of Transport Kiri Allan announced today. “This is an important route for communities, freight and visitors to Taranaki but too many people have lost their lives or ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Ginny Andersen appointed as Minister of Police
    Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has today appointed Ginny Andersen as Minister of Police. “Ginny Andersen has a strong and relevant background in this important portfolio,” Chris Hipkins said. “Ginny Andersen worked for the Police as a non-sworn staff member for around 10 years and has more recently been chair of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government confirms vital roading reconnections
    Six further bailey bridge sites confirmed Four additional bridge sites under consideration 91 per cent of damaged state highways reopened Recovery Dashboards for impacted regions released The Government has responded quickly to restore lifeline routes after Cyclone Gabrielle and can today confirm that an additional six bailey bridges will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Foreign Minister Mahuta to meet with China’s new Foreign Minister
    Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta departs for China tomorrow, where she will meet with her counterpart, State Councillor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang, in Beijing. This will be the first visit by a New Zealand Minister to China since 2019, and follows the easing of COVID-19 travel restrictions between New Zealand and China. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Education Ministers from across the Pacific gather in Aotearoa
    Education Ministers from across the Pacific will gather in Tāmaki Makaurau this week to share their collective knowledge and strategic vision, for the benefit of ākonga across the region. New Zealand Education Minister Jan Tinetti will host the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers (CPEM) for three days from today, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • State Highway 5 reopens between Napier and Taupō following Cyclone Gabrielle
    A vital transport link for communities and local businesses has been restored following Cyclone Gabrielle with the reopening of State Highway 5 (SH5) between Napier and Taupō, Associate Minister of Transport Kiri Allan says. SH5 reopened to all traffic between 7am and 7pm from today, with closure points at SH2 (Kaimata ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Special Lotto draw raises $11.7 million for Cyclone Gabrielle recovery
    Internal Affairs Minister Barbara Edmonds has thanked generous New Zealanders who took part in the special Lotto draw for communities affected by Cyclone Gabrielle. Held on Saturday night, the draw raised $11.7 million with half of all ticket sales going towards recovery efforts. “In a time of need, New Zealanders ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government delivers a $3 million funding boost for Building Financial Capability services
    The Government has announced funding of $3 million for providers to help people, and whānau access community-based Building Financial Capability services. “Demand for Financial Capability Services is growing as people face cost of living pressures. Those pressures are increasing further in areas affected by flooding and Cyclone Gabrielle,” Minister for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Education New Zealand | Manapou ki te Ao – new Chair and member
    Minister of Education, Hon Jan Tinetti, has announced appointments to the Board of Education New Zealand | Manapou ki te Ao. Tracey Bridges is joining the Board as the new Chair and Dr Therese Arseneau will be a new member. Current members Dr Linda Sissons CNZM and Daniel Wilson have ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Scholarships honouring Ngarimu VC and the 28th (Māori) Battalion announced
    Fifteen ākonga Māori from across Aotearoa have been awarded the prestigious Ngarimu VC and 28th (Māori) Battalion Memorial Scholarships and Awards for 2023, Associate Education Minister and Ngarimu Board Chair, Kelvin Davis announced today.  The recipients include doctoral, masters’ and undergraduate students. Three vocational training students and five wharekura students, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Appointment of Judge of the Court of Appeal and Judge of the High Court
    High Court Judge Jillian Maree Mallon has been appointed a Judge of the Court of Appeal, and District Court Judge Andrew John Becroft QSO has been appointed a Judge of the High Court, Attorney‑General David Parker announced today. Justice Mallon graduated from Otago University in 1988 with an LLB (Hons), and with ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • NZ still well placed to meet global challenges
    The economy has continued to show its resilience despite today’s GDP figures showing a modest decline in the December quarter, leaving the Government well positioned to help New Zealanders face cost of living pressures in a challenging global environment. “The economy had grown strongly in the two quarters before this ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Western Ring Route Complete
    Aucklanders now have more ways to get around as Transport Minister Michael Wood opened the direct State Highway 1 (SH1) to State Highway 18 (SH18) underpass today, marking the completion of the 48-kilometre Western Ring Route (WRR). “The Government is upgrading New Zealand’s transport system to make it safer, more ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Briefings to Incoming Ministers
    This section contains briefings received by incoming ministers following changes to Cabinet in January. Some information may have been withheld in accordance with the Official Information Act 1982. Where information has been withheld that is indicated within the document. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Teaming up for a stronger, more resilient Fiji
    Aotearoa New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta reaffirmed her commitment to working together with the new Government of Fiji on issues of shared importance, including on the prioritisation of climate change and sustainability, at a meeting today, in Nadi. Fiji and Aotearoa New Zealand’s close relationship is underpinned by the Duavata ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Investment in blue highway a lifeline for regional economies and cyclone recovery
    The Government is delivering a coastal shipping lifeline for businesses, residents and the primary sector in the cyclone-stricken regions of Hawkes Bay and Tairāwhiti, Regional Development Minister Kiri Allan announced today. The Rangitata vessel has been chartered for an emergency coastal shipping route between Gisborne and Napier, with potential for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Next steps developing clean energy for NZ
    The Government will progress to the next stage of the NZ Battery Project, looking at the viability of pumped hydro as well as an alternative, multi-technology approach as part of the Government’s long term-plan to build a resilient, affordable, secure and decarbonised energy system in New Zealand, Energy and Resources ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2023-03-26T03:19:17+00:00