Open mike 24/06/2020

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, June 24th, 2020 - 92 comments
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92 comments on “Open mike 24/06/2020 ”

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  1. Foreign waka 1
    24 June 2020 at 6:36 am

    Looking at the demands of returning Kiwis. To be honest, they have made the runner when things got tough years back instead of contributing and pulling up the sleeves. Now that the going gets tough at the other end, they come home asking the taxpayer to foot the bill for all their needs. Really?

    Well, my vote is now going to Winston, hands down. The only one not espousing political correct nonsense but rather dealing with the obvious. Logic and reason please.

    • I Feel Love 1.1
      24 June 2020 at 8:42 am

      That irony, coming back because we've been so successful in fighting this, yet not willing to help with that fight. Again, grateful to those that are just getting on with it, and all the staff and support people dealing with this, thank you.

    • Chris T 1.2
      24 June 2020 at 9:00 am

      Or they could have just been on their OE

    • Peter Chch 1.3
      24 June 2020 at 9:44 am

      I guess the consolation is that a few Student Loan Dodgers will get their comeuppance.

    • satty 1.4
      24 June 2020 at 10:18 am

      I can remember Winston telling the Kiwis abroad to come back home.

      Maybe the military should set up a tent / container city on an isolated island (maybe an unused ex-prison place). No fags, no booze, three meals from a field kitchen. That's the free option for returning Kiwis, otherwise you pay (and complain to) the quarantine hotel management, which is a private business, instead bitching and moaning about the government not providing you champagne and caviar for breakfast.

      They probably want first class public government services and tax cuts at the same time.

      • Halfcrown 1.4.1
        24 June 2020 at 11:34 am

        I agree with that, as I said on another post reopen Somes Island.

      • Gabby 1.4.2
        24 June 2020 at 1:15 pm

        Because obviously wealthy 'kiwis' should be able to buy a luxury quarantine.

      • Ed1 1.4.3
        24 June 2020 at 3:17 pm

        I know of two New Zealanders that were not able to get to the "rescue" from China, and are still in China, hoping to be able to get to New Zealand in July, depending on flights . . .

        The suggestion to return was heeded by a lot of New Zealanders – flights here were filled very quickly, and some may not have heard the warning in time. Certainly we now know there were a very large number of New Zealanders who were not able to get back to NZ at that time.

        • satty 1.4.3.1
          24 June 2020 at 3:29 pm

          Or unwilling… when the NZ government took COVID seriously and sent out clear warning signs, most other countries played the impacts of the pandemic down.

          While some might have "missed the boat/plane", as you describe, many overseas Kiwis ignored those warning and only now, after so many countries are seriously impacted, they decide to come home.

          Also interesting to note, that in the early stages the incoming people would have had to organise their own self-isolation accommodation, either squeeze in with NZ family, pay for rental home or pay for a hotel. So not sure why they seriously expect the government to pay for their 2 week isolation/quarantine luxury hotels (like Stamford, Pullman, Novotel, which cost – when I stayed their last for work – several hundreds of dollars a day!).

    • Gabby 1.5
      24 June 2020 at 1:13 pm

      But Winston invited them back.

      • Foreign waka 1.5.1
        24 June 2020 at 7:19 pm

        That was a month ago and yes, perhaps the flights are cancelled but some repatriate flights were undertaken.

        The point is: Many NZlaenders were going overseas because the grass was greener and they felt they did not get enough money to compensate for their work in their home country. Many were also fleeing the student loan repayments. Some might have gone on an OE.

        In all cases – I bluntly refuse to pay for their keep. Full stop, end of story.

  2. Dennis Frank 2
    24 June 2020 at 6:59 am

    I saw, on One News last night, Todd say "it's a national disgrace". The meme must be stuck in his head now: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/419646/covid-19-national-party-demands-answers-on-covid-19-testing-in-isolation

    I mused that it was rather unfair of the Nat leader to call National a disgrace when the quarantine shambles was a govt failure. I wonder how many others did likewise. Tricky, these contagious complex memes, they get into peoples heads and do their subversive thing. Perhaps Todd needs a competent media adviser? Oh wait, he's got Hooton for that… 🤩

  3. Dennis Frank 3
    24 June 2020 at 7:23 am

    Apocalypse now? No. Soon? Maybe – another pandemic, driven by a more contagious bug could do it. Eventually? Yeah, later this century though, so no worries…

    Notes from an Apocalypse: https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/mark-o-connell-interview-the-notes-from-an-apocalypse-to-be-a-machine-a9578961.html

    O’Connell zips around the world to meet people who are different in every way but their singular fixation on Armageddon. The book’s apocalyptic world tour journeys from the Scottish Highlands to the foothills of South Dakota, where a community of luxury bunkers built from missile silos peek out from grassy knolls, and onwards to New Zealand, the escape pod of choice for Silicon Valley’s millionaire tech-bros.

    Capitalism takes a beating in the book, a critique filtered through characters like Peter Thiel, the billionaire venture capitalist who co-founded PayPal and was one of Facebook’s earliest investors. Looking at the ultra-rich through the lens of crisis is enough to disgust anyone. In the middle of a pandemic during which shortages on PPE are killing people daily, Jeff Bezos is set to become the world’s first trillionaire. But O’Connell knows that blaming capitalism can be a cop-out: “My editor suggested I reduce the number of times I refer to the evils of capitalism, so I went through and took out about 50 per cent of them,” he says.

    Naomi Klein and David Wallace-Wells have both produced seminal works laying out what a future on earth could look like post-climate catastrophe – and it’s pretty apocalyptic… Doomsday capitalism is reaching younger generations, with designer face masks and Kardashian-endorsed bug-out bags stuffed with duct tape, waterproof matches and a 400-calorie apple cinnamon food bar with a five-year shelf-life. “Which Kardashian?” asks O’Connell.

    Many of O’Connell’s most astute ruminations are framed through parenting, something which has always been a challenge but lately has become even more so. “You often hear people say, ‘Well you can’t protect your kids from the world forever’,” says O’Connell, ”but I do feel that you have to try.”

    “You create this world that’s magical, good and safe. My kids believe in the tooth fairy and gnomes and Santa Claus, so does that mean I’m lying? Objectively speaking I am, but it’s also not that simple. You’re shaping their reality and I think it’s important not to let too much horror in at an early age,” he explains. “I suppose the job is to sort of mediate reality for kids that age, not terrify them and also not reveal how terrifying you yourself find the world.”

    Sounds like he's got the right idea. The world has always been part imaginal, part real. It's how the psyche operates. To co-create a better world we must first imagine it.

    • Ad 3.1
      24 June 2020 at 7:29 am

      Thankfully the world's remaining centrists, liberals and statists will save us.

      • Incognito 3.1.1
        24 June 2020 at 8:23 am

        Dennis is right, I can’t imagine Hell on Earth without gatekeepers to keep a lid on things the way they are. If not for them, all Hell would break loose.

  4. Bearded Git 4
    24 June 2020 at 7:30 am

    Corin Dann doing a good job on Morning Report right now asking Muller why the border control system is broken when NZ has no community transmission at all. Muller floundering.

    National’s problem is that they are attacking border controls that, by and large, are working very well.

    Chris Trotter’s latest article on Bowalley Road is very odd where it attacks Labour’s performance and supports National’s hollow claims. Talk about over-egging it.

    • tc 4.1
      24 June 2020 at 7:45 am

      Ahh no they weren't that's why JA put the military in charge, sorted now.

      We have consistent themes; strong leadership from JA, DP and media assisted spin from national.

      Woodhouse and his politics over people needs to be held accountable on behalf of honest kiwis if nothing else…..rip open the deception.

      • Bearded Git 4.1.1
        24 June 2020 at 7:59 am

        Note the "are working very well"…..earlier for a short period they were slow to implement the 3-day and 12-day testing but without military involvement I think this would have happened anyway.

        So there was a small window where border controls were less-than-adequate but (as you say tc) this was quickly fixed. (Megan Woods was superb on Morning Report yesterday).

        Muller and Woodhouse are whinging about controls that have prevented any community transmission-that is the acid test.

    • Stunned Mullet 4.2
      24 June 2020 at 7:54 am

      If Muller is floundering all it proves is that he is a git.

      The fact remains that the significant number of people who left isolation without a test followed by the amount of time taken to find out what happened and source the data is an appalling failure and we've escaped another outbreak by good luck rather than good management.

      There must be no more failures of this nature and i'm certainly pleased that the Minister Woods is now in charge from an oversight perspective rather than the Minister of Health.

      • Bearded Git 4.2.1
        24 June 2020 at 8:01 am

        Agree totally about Woods-she is a safe pair of hands. But the "appalling failure" line is the media's beat-up take on the situation-see my posts above.

        • Dennis Frank 4.2.1.1
          24 June 2020 at 8:09 am

          You are correct in that. But nowadays perception prevails over reality much of the time, and the media are driven more by perception. Reality bores too many media consumers. They need more than that. So beat-ups get produced by human nature.

          There’s also this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturgeon%27s_law

          So 90% of journos will always be crap. Labour MPs likewise. Nat MPs? More than 95%. 😎

          • Bearded Git 4.2.1.1.1
            24 June 2020 at 8:13 am

            Agreed Dennis. Siouxsie Wills is doing a good job of putting the issue in perspective on Morning Report right now-well worth a listen.

        • Stunned Mullet 4.2.1.2
          24 June 2020 at 9:17 am

          Be assured it is an appalling failure if this kind of stuff up had occurred in a secondary healthcare setting think missing this many cancers etc … there would be hell to pay.

      • SPC 4.2.2
        24 June 2020 at 2:41 pm

        National knew there was no testing pre the move to Level 1 and argued for a move to Level 1 long before this was done – they are empty suits.

  5. Tricledrown 5
    24 June 2020 at 7:42 am

    National say they would be more competent but the faulty repairs to houses in the Canterbury earthquake show National would be worse.

    The report shows most repairs were as bad as the leaky homes another National failure.

    Woodhouse should put up or shut up!

  6. observer 6
    24 June 2020 at 8:33 am

    In this morning's interviews Muller doubled down on the Woodhouse claims. He backed his MP so strongly that he can't now separate his own leadership from the allegations. (A more experienced leader would say "he's just asking the questions" or similar waffle, keeping his distance).

    If he has evidence that Woodhouse is right, then Muller gets a win. If he doesn't then he is shooting himself in the foot, for no political gain. There are enough real issues with quarantine for National to focus on. They don't need to be making them up.

    • dv 6.1
      24 June 2020 at 8:45 am

      Surely the easiest way to show that Woodhouse is right is to comply with Wood request.

      • aj 6.1.1
        24 June 2020 at 9:19 am

        Woodhouse has backed himself and Muller into a corner, you are right, the only way out now is to comply because Woodhouse already looks slippery as an eel and it's all downhill from here if he tries weasal words again. In one sense I hope they front up with proof it happened, to demonstrate they don't have the best interests of the public in mind at all and are only interested in the political game.

    • Incognito 6.2
      24 June 2020 at 9:04 am

      The picture National is trying to paint is that the quarantine system is like a revolving door and people can just walk in and out as they please, all on the Taxpayers’ expense, while having unprotected kisses and cuddles.

    • Gabby 6.3
      24 June 2020 at 1:20 pm

      Right or wrong, Labour should be pushing the issue of the expense Woodlouse is putting the public to with his coyness.

  7. Incognito 7
    24 June 2020 at 8:52 am

    National’s homeless person is a variation of their bene bashing theme, a no-hoper bottom-dweller who hacked the system and got something from the Taxpayer that they’re not entitled to without harsh consequences. JC would crush their carton board home, dirty old sleeping bag and all, with a swamp Kauri log covered in milk powder.

    The story is a dead cat on the table unless the homeless person is a super spreader, which makes no sense because they have just self-isolated for 14 days in a posh hotel. I’ve heard that those isolation hotels are almost as posh as our prisons. Can somebody please ask National how much it costs per day to be in prison?

    I hope they’ll find the homeless person and lock them up in prison. That’ll teach them what welfare is for: hardworking law-abiding citizens who find themselves in trouble through no fault of their own.

    • Hooch 7.1
      24 June 2020 at 9:24 am

      I may be wrong but wasn’t the original story based on the person in question not being able to provide an address when leaving isolation. That doesn’t mean they were a homeless person who walked off the street. They may genuinely not have known where they were going to be staying once released if they hadn’t lived in NZ for a while. With friends, family, or they needed a rental. I have family who moved back before lockdown who have been staying at multiple addresses while they work out where they will stay permanently.

      • Dennis Frank 7.1.1
        24 June 2020 at 9:32 am

        If so, the story has morphed somewhat. As stories do. There was a children's game where everyone sat in a circle and the starter whispered something to the person on one side who then repeated the whisper to the child on their other side & so on. When it reached around the circle back to the source the message is never the same as it was.

        Assuming Woodhouse is spinning it deliberately seems unfair. However if there was a Nat-sympathiser in the chain of messaging between him and the departmental source, or if that source was a Nat voter, spin becomes understandable.

      • Ed1 7.1.2
        24 June 2020 at 3:23 pm

        The claim was that the person was not entitled (or presumably required!) to go into isolation but tagged along behind some people who had come from a flight to quarantine, and was given a room. Whether they were prepared to give an address when leaving is another matter entirely. Woodhouse needs to give his sources of information, or be seen as a liar.

  8. ianmac 8
    24 June 2020 at 9:31 am

    Here is another one calling for perspective and good on Gehan Gunasekara:

    Consider the attitudes of many of the very people now criticising the Government for its laxity in managing quarantine facilities towards bureaucracy and red tape. Those on the right of the political spectrum have tended not only to advocate for less regulation of business and society generally but have also blamed excessive regulation and administrative requirements for everything from the lack of affordable housing to business failures.

    https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2020/06/24/1245867/well-need-that-red-tape-if-we-want-to-beat-covid?utm_source=Friends+of+the+Newsroom&utm_campaign=e74bfd9258-Daily+Briefing+23.6.20_COPY_02&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_71de5c4b35-e74bfd9258-95522477

    • observer 8.1
      24 June 2020 at 9:46 am

      Yes, good piece.

      The new National leadership have been unclear about how much of the baggage they inherited from Bridges/Bennett is still their party's policy.

      But we have to assume it still is, unless they tell us it's been dumped. So National still want to have a "bonfire of red tape", and scrap 2 rules for every new one.

  9. Adrian 9
    24 June 2020 at 9:57 am

    Muller on Morning Farce this morning claimed that no evidence that anything actually happened did not mean that there was no evidence that something did happen. On that logic we should just bin the entire Justice system because Everything Did Happen. Or as the greatest philosopher of our time Walter Sobchak in The big Lebowski opines " Say what you like about National (ist ) Socialism Dude, at least it was an ethos ", meaning Todd is obliquely advocating that we should go straight to the firing squad anytime anybody says anything about anybody else.

    And of course Universities should bring in overseas students immediately because they have plenty of Houses of Residence where they can isolate them. I'm 71 but I would be joining the thousands of students in the streets protesting that one, should be more fun than the 60s.

  10. observer 10
    24 June 2020 at 10:04 am

    Remember those stories a while back about how Ardern was damaging NZ's relationship with Australia? That our reputation would suffer, across the Tasman?

    Let's ask the Australians how that panned out …

    https://poll.lowyinstitute.org/charts/confidence-in-political-leaders

  11. Robert Guyton 11
    24 June 2020 at 10:51 am

    "So-called flying rivers are prevailing winds that pick up water vapor exhaled by forests and deliver rains to distant water basins."

    https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/06/controversial-russian-theory-claims-forests-don-t-just-make-rain-they-make-wind?

    • Dennis Frank 11.1
      24 June 2020 at 12:32 pm

      Good to see this. Science is ruled more by convention than discovery – resistance to Gaia remains entrenched in the establishment.

      Many meteorology textbooks still teach a caricature of the water cycle, with ocean evaporation responsible for most of the atmospheric moisture that condenses in clouds and falls as rain. The picture ignores the role of vegetation and, in particular, trees, which act like giant water fountains. Their roots capture water from the soil for photosynthesis, and microscopic pores in leaves release unused water as vapor into the air. The process, the arboreal equivalent of sweating, is known as transpiration. In this way, a single mature tree can release hundreds of liters of water a day. With its foliage offering abundant surface area for the exchange, a forest can often deliver more moisture to the air than evaporation from a water body of the same size.

      The Amazon flying river is now reckoned to carry as much water as the giant terrestrial river below it, says Antonio Nobre, a climate researcher at Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research.

      This is paradigm-shifting research, so expect resistance from scientists who need proof to shift them. They will await replication.

      China gets 80% of its water from the west, mostly Atlantic moisture recycled by the boreal forests of Scandinavia and Russia. The journey involves several stages—cycles of transpiration followed by downwind rain and subsequent transpiration—and takes 6 months or more. “It contradicted previous knowledge that you learn in high school,” he says. “China is next to an ocean, the Pacific, yet most of its rainfall is moisture recycled from land far to the west.”

      I recall being taught the physics of atmospheric convection cells (but recall no details) so it's easy for me to intuitively accept this new paradigm. It deepens our grasp of how Gaia operates as a global system. Then just factor in all the emerging evidence of airborne bacterial flows in the upper levels and you will find it increasingly difficult to retain the old science view that only parts matter. Rejection of whole systems has become increasingly untenable with the rise of the science of complexity.

      • Robert Guyton 11.1.1
        24 June 2020 at 12:36 pm

        Agreed. Nice response, Dennis. My fellow councillors were somewhat less forthcoming with encouraging words 🙂

        • Dennis Frank 11.1.1.1
          24 June 2020 at 1:08 pm

          Would be a waste of time telling them that even dinosaurs can dance. Would be fun watching them try to process that though! 🤣

      • aj 11.1.2
        24 June 2020 at 7:14 pm

        The Amazon flying river is now reckoned to carry as much water…

        There are 'pineapple expresses' everywhere aloft. This summer's Fiordland flooding event, for example. In fact multiple floods in recent times on the West Coast.

        • Dennis Frank 11.1.2.1
          24 June 2020 at 7:44 pm

          Thanks, very interesting. Just described those deriving from Hawaii & northern hemisphere consequences though. Would be good to read the equivalent backgrounder for the effects in Aotearoa you mentioned eh?

          I learnt about coriolis during my student days (physics grad) & it derives from global symmetry, but there's more to weather production than the spin of the planet. Land imbalance: more in the north than south. So weather becomes regional in consequence. Dunno how hemispherical assymetry affects/produces upper atmosphere flows…

  12. greywarshark 12
    24 June 2020 at 11:50 am

    How interesting. Making rain, making wind. What makes the wind blow?

    Hanging washing this morning on a still winter's sunny morning. I played with the idea of making wind so as to get my washing dry and swept the rotary clothes line round and repeated, then change direction. When it stopped the clothes were moving slightly in a small breeze. By creating a small vortex could I affect the weather I wondered. Just a thought.

    Looked up wind related things on google. Some of what I found:

    For idle reading and learning this stack exchange post about USA parts, calling a very cold wind 'the hawk' is a great example of exchanging info about history and culture and knowledge from the past.

    https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/481458/origin-of-the-saying-the-hawk-is-out

    New ideas called for in the green economy – this one, what to do with old wind turbines.
    https://www.politico.eu/article/small-old-wind-towers-make-for-big-new-problems 2018
    and
    https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51325101 What happens to all the old wind turbines? 2020

    This on google was interesting – ebook. "The Botanical Lore of the California Indians: with Side Lights on Historical …By John Bruno Romero"

    On weather – folk lore: https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/22-old-weather-proverbs-that-are-actually-true/

    Interesting on google: ‘The Lore of New Mexico by Marta Weigle and Peter White’
    Apparently there was a Little Ice Age between 1450-1850 and that affected New Mexico and resulted in some extreme weather conditions. Studying those and how they dealt with them could be informative for now – my thought.
    Publisher:Albuquerque : University of New Mexico Press, ©2003.
    At the Victoria University of Wellington, Kelburn Library.

    • OnceWasTim 12.1
      24 June 2020 at 1:25 pm

      "I played with the idea of making wind so as to get my washing dry and swept the rotary clothes line round and repeated, then change direction."

      Do I have the solution for you @Grey!

      You just line the current crop of the National Party up adjacent to your clothesline and get them to let loose. Votices and directional changes come naturally

      • greywarshark 12.1.1
        24 June 2020 at 1:59 pm

        OwT That would require a sheep dog of enormous size and skill. And they would prove to have hollow lungs, even without Covid-19 they would run out of puff, useless puffters.

        By the way, in your memory, have you heard of a contraption that can be put on a rotary clothes line to create air movement for faster drying. I think it was based on a spring attached to the line, that stretches and retracts which keeps the line going back and forth. I feel that some nifty craftsman in his shed once came up with that.

  13. Ad 13
    24 June 2020 at 11:52 am

    MoT have just put put a note saying that Cabinet have failed to agree on a light rail decision, so it will be put to the next government.

    Part of me says that sanity has prevailed, the other part says OMG another transport non-delivery.

    • mickysavage 13.1
      24 June 2020 at 12:04 pm

      Bloody Winston …

      • Sabine 13.1.1
        24 June 2020 at 12:13 pm

        what would the Labour Party do without 'bloody winston'? Maybe try harder to get consensus? lol

      • Ad 13.1.2
        24 June 2020 at 12:13 pm

        Among others:

        – The senior NZSuperfund execs who actively sabotaged the NZTA proposal.

        – Twyford for entertaining the alternative in the first place

        – Treasury for not stomping all over this with boots

        – Infrastructure Commission for being conspicuously silent

        – MoT and DPMC for not smacking heads together well before it got to the Cabinet table.

        and of course…

        – The Greens for getting smashed on a key transport issue, again

        It's a big loss for the thousands who would have been employed on the job as well.

      • OnceWasTim 13.1.3
        24 June 2020 at 12:43 pm

        Rome wasn't built in a day @Micky. It might have been quicker to have just given him a knighthood along with his BFF in the last QB Honours list, and an offer of some prestigious pozzy on the Whurl stage representing lil 'ole NuZull that punches above its weight.

        As far as a quick, 'efficient and effective' option in this space going forward, I'm still not sure why we're not looking/haven't looked at alternative options for passenger travel from that bustling international metropolis of Orcas to the Earport.

        Such as maybe getting on with 3rd railing where existing geography allows, and things like Tramtrains – off the heavy rail network at say Papatoetoe, down Wylie Road and then Puhinui Road. Bob's your Auntie. The freight stuff can come later after we've worried ourselves silly considering every other conceivable option.

        Could even work in places like Dunners City and points north to Dunners Mosgiel Earport. Even Lyttleton and/or Rolleston to Christ's Church Earport.

        Might even work work elsewhere – the Puke via Tearanga to points north.

        Patience! These things take time!!

        • greywarshark 13.1.3.1
          24 June 2020 at 2:03 pm

          Great OwT, you should have been writing the reports for this matter.

          Seeing nothing was ever going to happen about it, at least the participants could have had a laugh and some lively discussion. And it may have actually led to some really practical ideas. I understand the light rail was going to decimate the shopping areas it went through so that would not have been positive, going forward.

        • McFlock 13.1.3.2
          24 June 2020 at 3:30 pm

          DCC councillors have actually been looking at commuter rail over the recent few years. Apparenlty the delay is because schedulling a trial between heavy freight seasons needs to be done precisely, because it will have to use the main trunk line for the initial mosgiel/dunners (possibly not even palmerston) route

      • Bearded Git 13.1.4
        24 June 2020 at 2:14 pm

        It is not only Winston’s fault…the Nats should be backing this too…look at the fantastic light-rail system they have put in in recent years in Sydney

    • roblogic 13.2
      24 June 2020 at 12:48 pm

      OK Winston you classic Boomer. You've had some good moments and some not so good.

      https://twitter.com/kylemacd/status/1275575719838355457?s=21

  14. greywarshark 14
    24 June 2020 at 12:55 pm

    This Australian farmers initiative is raising funds and worth supporting. It's one of the few positive things coming out of Australia at present. As all of we townies know, farmers are all-knowing and custodians of the land and wouldn't do anything that would harm it, wouldn't make sense would it?

    However there may be some farmers who aren't really aware of what they could do better. I think that Australians are getting behind this group with new practices that they have proved work, and so are becoming more effective and more sustainable. Why they may become better at farming than we are, and burst that happy little thought bubble that has been floating above NZ heads for yonks.

    So find out what they are doing, the farming fraternity in both countries may yet be able to turn around and adopt better ways that allow them to last out long droughts and high temperatures – Australians farming inland know about those, and we have had a regional taste in recent years.

    https://themullooninstitute.org/donate

    https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgxwJWXQcJfqjJtSqLfBhdBNMPwJD

    It's drawing people in to tell the story. So why not take the opportunity to listen?

    https://themullooninstitute.org/

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsJjHtfJv1c

    (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1woTLy4m2uw

    (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRPsS_Y36zM

  15. observer 15
    24 June 2020 at 2:41 pm

    Woodhouse gets clobbered in Parliament at Question Time and starts to backtrack. This, only hours after Muller was on TV insisting Woodhouse was telling the truth.

    It is simply not good enough to shrug and "move on", the media have happily spread the lie, now they need to follow it up and spread the facts.

    • ianmac 15.1
      24 June 2020 at 3:47 pm

      They seem to be saying that the info came from inside the Health Department. A good exchange of question and answer on QT today ridiculing Woodhouse included across the whole 3minutes. of Q5

      https://ondemand.parliament.nz/parliament-tv-on-demand/?itemId=213277

    • RedBaronCV 15.2
      24 June 2020 at 4:07 pm

      Maybe Muller has a deep laid plan to basically kneecap Woodhouse. He keeps supporting him until the allegations prove false then he dumps on him hard, moves him down list places, out of shadow roles etc. Does Woodhouse belong to the same Nact faction as Muller or is he on the far right Judith Collins side?

      Popcorn is toasting.

  16. James 16
    24 June 2020 at 8:10 pm

    I look forward on labour campaigning on how they can deliver ….. anything they promise.

    [TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]

  17. greywarshark 17
    24 June 2020 at 9:03 pm

    edit
    Dear me.

    But is Britain’s sensible, silent majority now awakening from its slumber? Could it be that Poole and Oxford are the first signs of a great conservative fightback?…Sensible small-c conservatism is the prevailing view in Britain – the Tories must not forget this

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/06/11/poole-oxford-seeing-first-stirrings-silent-majority/

    There are some statues toppled which I think should be thought about rather than Taliban-like torn down in a flurry. But while Conservatives are rallying themselves for a cause, could they do something about the inroads that neolib is having on the UK lower class? If they have a vestige of pride and care for their fellow citizens in their great country, then employ it on behalf of those suffering very poor conditions and treatment from govt.

    Further from UK.
    First they came for Little Britain and I shrugged and said: “Fair enough, I suppose – although they could have just edited out the dodgy sketches and left the rest.”…

    Yes, a week of Black Lives Matter-inspired purging of British comedies featuring white performers in blackface has reached its nadir with news that “The Germans” episode of Fawlty Towers has been removed from UKTV’s archives.

    It’s a move as misguided as Basil Fawlty mounting a stuffed moose head on the wall or thrashing his Austin Countryman with a tree branch….
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/ze-germans-can-see-joke-fawlty-towers-earth-cant/

  18. Eco Maori 18
    25 June 2020 at 6:30 pm

    Kia Ora

    Newshub.

    Learning more about Aotearoa history.

    Drones spotting Sharks it's cool how new technologies changes the Papatuanuku..

    Ka kite Ano.

  19. Eco Maori 19
    25 June 2020 at 7:28 pm

    Kia Ora

    Te Ao Maori Marama.

    Its good to see more Wahine Shearing the leadership roles.

    Cartoons being made in Te reo is good.

    Ka kite Ano.

  20. Eco Maori 20
    26 June 2020 at 8:48 am

    Kia Ora

    The Am Show.

    That's great.

    Duncan you can't count.

    The Labour lead government has handled the virus issues much better than the previous government could dream of.

    Ka kite Ano.

  21. Eco Maori 21
    26 June 2020 at 6:31 pm

    Kia Ora

    Newshub.

    A tornado wow.

    That's good to hear Tova.

    That's the way welcome home be kind.

    Ka kite Ano.

  22. Eco Maori 22
    26 June 2020 at 7:28 pm

    Kia Ora

    Te Ao Maori Marama.

    I just hope Maori journalists get more putea for their mahi.

    Toi tu toi ora contemporary art looks awesome is is great to see more Maori toi.

    Ka kite Ano.

  23. Eco Maori 23
    27 June 2020 at 6:54 pm

    Kia Ora

    Newshub.

    Yes lawyers can chew through the cash in litigation cases.

    That's is cool the timelaps video of the Sun.

    Ka kite Ano

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  • Tobacco First

    Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Trump’s Adopted Son.

    Waiting In The Wings: For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSA announced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Hoon around the week to July 19

    TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #29 2024

    Open access notables Improving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society: To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Joint statement from the Prime Ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand

    Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue.  We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago
  • AG reminds institutions of legal obligations

    Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • More young people learning about digital safety

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views.  “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • Speech to the Conference for General Practice 2024

    Tēnā tātou katoa,  Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago
  • Employers and payroll providers ready for tax changes

    New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts.  “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Experimental vineyard futureproofs wine industry

    An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Funding confirmed for regions affected by North Island Weather Events

    The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Indonesian Foreign Minister to visit

    Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.   “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Strengthening partnership with Ngāti Maniapoto

    He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Transport Minister thanks outgoing CAA Chair

    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Test for Customary Marine Title being restored

    The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says.  “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Opposition united in bad faith over ECE sector review

    Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet.  “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Kiwis having their say on first regulatory review

    After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks.  “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government upgrading Lower North Island commuter rail

    The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government moves to ensure flood protection for Wairoa

    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • PM speech to Parliament – Royal Commission of Inquiry’s Report into Abuse in Care

    Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.  At the heart of this report are the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges torture at Lake Alice

    For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges courageous abuse survivors

    The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Half a million people use tax calculator

    With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis.  “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Paid Parental Leave improvements pass first reading

    Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Rebuilding the economy through better regulation

    Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • ‘Open banking’ and ‘open electricity’ on the way

    New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Charity lotteries to be permitted to operate online

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Accelerating Northland Expressway

    The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Sir Don to travel to Viet Nam as special envoy

    Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.    “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Grant Illingworth KC appointed as transitional Commissioner to Royal Commission

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024.  “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • NZ to advance relationships with ASEAN partners

    Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane.    “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says.   “This will be our third visit to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Backing mental health services on the West Coast

    Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • NZ support for sustainable Pacific fisheries

    New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Students’ needs at centre of new charter school adjustments

    Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Commissioner replaces Health NZ Board

    In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today.  “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister to speak at Australian Space Forum

    Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum.  While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation.  “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Climate Change Minister to attend climate action meeting in China

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan.  “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Oceans and Fisheries Minister to Solomons

    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Government launches Military Style Academy Pilot

    The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Nine priority bridge replacements to get underway

    The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Update on global IT outage

    Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • New Zealand, Japan renew Pacific partnership

    New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says.    “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • New infrastructure energises BOP forestry towns

    New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • 'Pacific Futures'

    President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests.    Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone.    Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

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