(There is a nagging little voice though that thinks Cloe as leader could awaken the slack youth vote, just should have been dolittle Davidson that went)
Yes, just run Auckland Central like a by-election every time with activists from as far away as Invercargill, and pile on the emotional blackmail to Labour voters in that seat that if they don't vote for the Green candidate they won't be in Government, and you don't have to bother with that pesky 5%.
I can see the Greens being back to 6% – 7% by next election. The faction seems to have been quite a self-destructive element for the party. However, I do feel that the bulk of those lost votes will go Labour's way. I can't really see them going anywhere else.
Delahunty, Bradford and the other fools should fuck off and generate a little splinter party. Join up with Bishop Brian Tamaki and do a decent protest for once. Maybe they could scrape 3% between them.
Agreed. The problem with democracy is it gives the nutters too much of a voice. The Greens have shown this with their 25% vote in no confidence in the leader.
Sounds like you’d rather cancel nutters people with different opinions and who dare to speak up when and where it is not only their right to do so but also their duty. Have you heard of group-think?
No threshold at all; any party that can obtain 1/120th of the total vote has earned the right (aka a seat) to represent that vote in Parliament. Any other (higher) threshold is deliberately manipulative and distortive.
I'm perfectly happy to say that people who vote for anti-science parties (eg, COVID deniers) are nutters. You might call them dissenters, that's your right, but I disagree.
I also don't think it's a good idea to try and form governments with such unstable coalitions. Just look at what happens in Israel. Nor do I think that giving such fringe groups the respectability of the platform afforded by being an MP is the best thing for society as a whole – again just look at the echo chambers on Facebook, general opinion is that these echo chambers are toxic for society at large, and I don’t think giving them more legitimacy is a good thing.
Huh? The Greens are now anti-science and/or Covid-deniers?? I thought we were talking about a dissenting faction within the Green Party, but obviously you have much bigger axe to grind.
You’ll have to explain with the Green Party NZ and Israel and echo chambers on Facebook because other than you arguing that the Greens are nutters I don’t see the connection, but this could be my lack of imagination.
Or are you, in fact, arguing that a lower electoral threshold would result in unstable coalitions and giving fringe groups respectability that they don’t deserve? If so, please provide some real-life examples, thanks, if you can, which I doubt.
It's a lot more than that. I'm not even going to attempt to distill it down any further than this tweet thread does, the concept is too new to me to be able to do that yet: https://twitter.com/RobbSmith/status/1224023377020477440
In a statement, police condemned the "reckless behaviour" and said protest organisers refused to tell police they were planning to march on the motorway.
"I respect our relationship and your leadership and do appreciate the opportunity to talk through issues together," Haumaha wrote to Tamaki on September 23, in the lead-up to their virtual meeting.
After the meeting Haumaha wrote to Tamaki: "Kia Ora Bishop thank you that was a great korero and an opportunity for Andy to get to know you and the context behind what you are doing… Awesome anything you need just let me know."
Tamaki responded: "Yes i will thank you too Wally… i will keep in touch… thank you both…"
At the conclusion of his speech, members of the crowd performed the Ka Mate haka – despite condemnation last week from Ngāti Toa, who insisted protesters stop using their taonga.
“We do not support their position and we do not want our tupuna or our iwi associated with their messages,” Pou Tikanga Dr Taku Parai said in a statement.
Well they got a bunch more media coverage and discussion than the Greens did even though it's the Green Party national conference. That is a deliberate and effective spike.
Well…..its an Alternate World "The Marching Morons" (sadly, our reality right now)…and The Pastor of Muppets and the other (notso) shadowy figures manipulating aforesaid morons…are definitely no dumb fucks. As ever…
Notwithstanding…I dont think (“most” ? ) Green Party members/Supporters would be TOO sad about the distraction effect !
That is a little unfair – the Greens are legitimate political party, which Tamaki's wannabe insurgency is not. Behaving in such a lawless manner that Aucklanders spontaneously subject you to a hail of extemporised missiles isn't how you win power, although Tamaki (who I thought was subject to bail conditions that prevented him reprising his strutting martinet show for the crowd) apparently has some sort of plan to do a "Sri Lanka" next month in Wellington – which I would have thought already has him sailing perilously close to committing treason under sections 73 (e) and 73 (f) of the crimes act:
Treason and other crimes against the Sovereign and the State
73 Treason
Every one owing allegiance to the Sovereign in right of New Zealand commits treason who, within or outside New Zealand,—
(a) kills or wounds or does grievous bodily harm to the Sovereign, or imprisons or restrains her or him; or
(b) levies war against New Zealand; or
(c) assists an enemy at war with New Zealand, or any armed forces against which New Zealand forces are engaged in hostilities, whether or not a state of war exists between New Zealand and any other country; or
(d) incites or assists any person with force to invade New Zealand; or
(e) uses force for the purpose of overthrowing the Government of New Zealand; or
(f) conspires with any person to do anything mentioned in this section.
I dunno, maybe Tamaki thinks he is a sovereogn citizen who doesn't owe allegiance to the sovereign so that'll save him from a life sentence, but as a certain Mr. G. Fawkes found out when he was torn into four pieces after begun half hung and disembowelled that argument hasn’t worked out so well since the 17th century.
No one was injured, no one took anything, no one was abused, no one was kidnapped, no one called for the overthrow of the state.
We don't have to like what they stand for but they are protesting just like the 1975 Land March, the 1981 anti-apartheid marches, the pro-cylists of 2019, the COVID marchers of 2021, and the many more to come. Plenty on there with criminal records. Except nah Tamaki isn't a liberal so he shouldn't.
Just imagine if the Green Party had dome something useful this weekend instead of kill each other, and generated a decent protest across the motorway system. Actually done proper serious activism again. Nah.
In a reasonable world the Minister of Transport would have done something useful and permanently opened up the Harbour Bridge for at least one walking and cycling lane. But nah.
So did I manage to misread: 'GOVERNMENT MUST GO!' flaring forth on last night's news from Wellington's version of impromptu street theatre?
In the second clip:
Around 300 protesters were seen marching through central Wellington chanting for the Government to go.
"We want freedom because our children are suffering, our youth are suffering because of the decisions this Government has made," one protest leader said via loudspeaker.
"We're fighting for freedom from mental health stats, we're fighting for freedom from high cost of living, we're fighting for freedom from everything this Government has put in place that is making us struggle."
Another leader of the Wellington protest compared their movement to that of Indian revolutionary Mahatma Gandhi, whose peaceful protests helped India gain independence from British rule in the 1940s.
"It's amazing what one man could do, to lead peaceful protests right throughout the country and bring about change and that's what we're doing here today," he said.
Agreed, our Government isn't God-King Tamaki's chief beef. His main ‘concern’ is that a woman is in charge – doesn't she know her place?
‘Basically innocent’: Tamaki’s sermon on the police station steps [23 November 2021]
But after ‘National Compassion Day’ on Saturday, where Tamaki made a surprise appearance at the Domain alongside his wife, and accused Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of “criminal acts” in front of an enraptured crowd, police have once more issued a summons for the controversial preacher.
”Chris Patten, Norman Lamont and Malcolm Rifkind all said that the former Tory leader would not have supported the tax-cutting plans. Patten said: “Margaret Thatcher was a fiscal Conservative who did not cut tax until we had reduced inflation. She was honest and did not believe in nonsense.”
Thanks, Tony- indeed a clear exposition of the two approaches and the delineation between Labour and National. The article sets out the economic and social aspects in terms available to the economically illiterate to understand.
There is a difference between National and Labour and that difference would make a hugely adverse change to the lives of many, many New Zealanders should National get into power and go down the path of tax cuts, less government, increased corporate greed and restrictions on wages growth, reliance on foreign capital and imported workers.
Since Foot and Mouth Disease can come in on everything from skin to clothing, maybe it's time for a ban on importing Indonesian Palm Corn Expeller here?
Way past time to ban palm kernel from anywhere. Vile stuff. And if farmers cannot maintain their herds/flocks without it, then they are way overstocked.
A good proportion of salmon feed comes from Indonesia as well. High likelihood the fish base is bulked out with as much land sourced portion as they can get away with.
Was talking to the farm manager the other day about monkey dust, (it's called that because the response to bits of monkey turning up in it was to just grind it really fine), and there's some doubt around National's, especially Luxon's, willingness to take any firm action to prevent FMD arriving here. Banning PKE, or in the case of an outbreak in Australia, closing / restricting the border, not really seen as likely with National, but possible with Labour. Any restrictions would be seen as a kick in the balls to farmers though, and very loudly.
There's serious investment in PKE right now, at $9.75 dairy farmers want every kg they can get this season and those extra kgs come out the back of the palm kernel truck. PKE has become integral to NZ dairy farming, and deer as it has high copper content to promote velvet growth, so a sudden restriction would be very disruptive to stocking rates and cashflow. Big money involved in the trade too, with undoubtedly considerable donations to National Party.
Farming’s likely response is going to be to try and manage the risk with testing and surveillance. But everything would change if FMD got into Australia. If it got into NZ first then we can just sit down and watch the NZ economy implode as Australia closes it's border to us.
Yours is a very interesting take on the situation, Graeme – thanks for making that. I've shared it with my fellow ES councillors, many of whom are users (I suspect 🙂
One of those 'here and disappeared' headlines in the Herald that I missed yesterday, and had to go searching for this morning after I couldn't access it on my tablet. Login to Herald account only on the laptop.
[Unlinked copy & pasta deleted]
Two issues here that need highlighting.
Her husband refusing to be her carer because they are "entitled" to funded care through ACC.
I was speaking with a chap yesterday whose 20 year old moko has a significant disability and is covered by ACC. As hard as I tried, he simply could not get his head around the fact that Peter is not under ACC and has no entitlement to care. At all.
I just want to draw attention to the fact that there are two very distinct classes of disabled people in New Zealand. Still. After nearly fifty years of empty promises by successive governments to address the disparity.
Labour…pretending to be the Party for the Common Folk…has had ample opportunity over the past five fucking decades to fix this. They haven't. Why?
Kathryn Harland has lost three…three…"highly qualified" carers due to the vaccine mandates who would "come back tomorrow if they could."
She does not say…and I'm damned sure the Herald would have quoted her if she had… "If only these carers would get the shot and come back to work all would be fine…"
Just drop the mandates.
The system cannot afford to be short three highly qualified carers (and believe me those with high spinal injuries need carers who know which end is up) . Just like the system cannot afford to be short of nurses and midwives and other trained health professionals that chose not to take the Pfizer product.
Most of us have had Covid in the past six months…Pfizered or not. And unless we were already knocking on the Door…the vast majority of us have survived. And only a small number have ongoing issues.
[now we have a link, here’s the restored copy & pasta – Incognito]
Tauranga paraplegic left without care due to ‘severe’ support worker shortage
A healthcare provider has apologised after a 71-year-old paraplegic was left alone “in a wet bed with blood in it” because her support worker did not show up.
Tauranga woman Kathryn Harland is paralysed from the sternum and requires 24/7 care.
But a HealthCare New Zealand support worker has failed to turn up “multiple” times because, in Harland’s view, there is a “severe” staffing shortage.
Harland lives with her husband, but says, however, “I need to have someone that is trained to look after me 24 hours”.
She was also concerned for her support workers – one of whom she believed worked 130 hours in one week.
“She came to work here … absolutely shattered and in tears because she was so exhausted.”
Harland became a paraplegic in 2017 after surgery.
“In the prime of our retirement years, looking forward to doing things, and now there’s nothing except bed and a wheelchair,” she told the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend.
A few weeks ago, Harland’s husband was out, and she was home alone from 3pm to 6pm because her support worker called in sick and there was no one to cover them.
“This particular time … I was left in a wet bed with blood in it.”
On morning shifts, Harland has two support workers due to it being the “heaviest time” with “transferring, toileting, bathing, showering,” but sometimes only has one.
“It’s making me very irritable and angry and frustrated, and sad for my carers whom I love dearly – they’re pushed to the limit and they can only do so much.”
Harland said her husband was the “unpaid helper” but did not want to be a caregiver.
“He refuses because we’re entitled to care through ACC, and it’s very hard in your marriage, somebody having to do their care.”
Harland had lost three “highly qualified” support workers due to the vaccine mandate who would “come back tomorrow if they could”.
Originally, HealthCare New Zealand was “very good”. Harland’s family has laid a complaint with HealthCare New Zealand, the country’s largest healthcare provider.
These highly skilled workers can come back – tomorrow if they really want to.
All they have to do is get the jab!
This is not the fault of mandates. It is entirely on the workers themselves. Unless of course they have exemptions, and I bow to that possibility. Many more times these people are simply over cautious or just bloody-mindedly anti.
LOL! The irony of you linking to something written by Dr Siouxsie Wiles to support your comment.
I trust you to find any non-peer reviewed article to suit your narrative and confirmation bias that the Covid-19 vaccine is ineffective (and unsafe). A number of concerns have already been raised with the study (see the comments), but even if the paper had been accepted your conclusion is incorrect and an over-reach; one cannot draw such far-reaching categorical conclusions from just one limited study and extrapolate these to each and all and state that vaccines do “sweet f/a”. Your thinking is way too B&W.
If you had read the article I linked to you’d have seen the same study being mentioned:
Another (very controversial) US study looked at a much older group, with a median age of 60, a lot of whom were quite unhealthy. Now this study did not seek to determine if the second infection was worse, but only if those who suffered a second infection had worse health outcomes than those who did not.
So, in this case at least, re-infections were not ‘mild,” Australian based professor Michael Fuhrer tells me, “but again, this was a group in which initial infections were also not ‘mild’; 20% were hospitalised.”
When I saw your link to one of Master Lynch's efforts I too guffawed with unrestrained derision. I dubbed him 'Lynch the Self Linker' some time ago now as pretty much all the references in his writings (if that's not too kind a description) had links to either his other writings or other Stuff Whole Truth writings.
I wrote to him and had him on about it…haven't taken much notice of what he has written since. If he has started to link to actual research papers…well done him.
Why wouldn't I link to something that Wiles wrote?
one cannot draw such far-reaching categorical conclusions from just one limited study and extrapolate these to each and all and state that vaccines do “sweet f/a”.
That was said in relation to the study into sequelae of reinfections.
They also found that the more infections a veteran had, the more the risk increased. In other words, the risks are cumulative. Having two infections was riskier than one, and three were riskier than two. Interestingly, the risks were the same regardless of whether the veterans had been vaccinated or not.
In other words…being vaccinated made sweet f/a difference.
But the mandates were not about the severity of illness Anne…and I understand you don't want to admit this.
No one is saying you have to have your personal cares done by an unvaccinated carer. Surely it should be the choice of the person needing the care?
Or do you not think disabled people have the right to choose?
I bet Kathryn would love her three carers back../vaxxed or unvaxxed. Especially since she has already had to have obviously ill carers come to her home to do the necessary.
I'm not sure if you're aware, but the health and disability sector are under enormous strain with high levels of staff absenteeism due to illness. Despite the entire workforce being 'fully' vaxxed.
Actually Rosemary conceded this point the other day. She was explaining how symptoms were reduced by the vaccine and (incorrectly) inferring that this had exacerbated the pandemic.
"There, the ‘teal candidates’ were independents who ran on a strong climate platform in formerly safe Liberal seats. They represented a voting base with conservative fiscal politics combined with green views on climate. (Teal comes from the blend of Liberal blue and green.)"
"
“But the ones that made the difference were in these new Teal Seats. You have to be in particular social strata – you can't necessarily be feeling the pinch of groceries going three times the original price – for integrity in Canberra to be your number one issue.
“A lot of these people don't necessarily care if they're taxed a little bit more to pay for the things they are concerned about. They are happy to pay for more welfare or healthcare because they believe it's a good thing for society.”
This is the ‘luxury belief class’. Once physical needs are met people become more preoccupied with social status. We used to display our social status with luxury goods. Today, there is an emerging trend towards flaunting ‘luxury beliefs’."
"Affluent and well-educated, this class can prioritise issues like the environment, equality or a decline in faith and trust in democracy over their wallets.
Currently, voters must enter a big political tent with other clans in order to achieve some form of representation. But that leads to tensions over competing priorities. The research suggests political parties must work harder to identify and accommodate these clans, to build better coalitions within their support."
Funny that the only way Vance has to describe altruistic political beliefs is to rationalise them as ultimately self serving social ladder climbing.
Was there ever a time, to which Vance is harking back to when the only really important thing was how politics effected ones wallet? Was this a high point in politics?
It's a categorisation that helps explain the strength of support for the Greens in the richest city seats like Auckland Central and Wellington Central.
Not expecting anything but a Labour result in such a stronghold seat (usually around an 18K majority). But, if there was significant appeal from the Green policy platform, I'd expect to see a higher Green Party vote total (it's usually lower than the individual vote for the Green candidate).
I think that many people living a hand-to-mouth existence, simply feel that the GP policies are not affordable.
And, 'it's the economy, stupid' is a pretty safe mantra to predict electoral outcomes most of the time (2020 was an outlier of an exception). Many, many people do vote for policies and/or parties which they feel will make them and/or their families better off.
Also a factor is that the Green policies are complex and interlocking. Even some people interested enough in politics, like TS commenters, often don't read the GP policies or understand them before writing them off. People not following that closely are left with the MSM interpretation.
Not disagreeing with you. But a real challenge for the GP to effectively communicate the policy impacts.
How will you (voter on minimum wage in Mangere) benefit? What does it mean in increased taxes? What does it mean in terms of increased prices or charges? Will you be better or worse off?
I think that many of the GP voters in the wealthy suburbs don't necessarily understand the GP policies either – but are voting with their hearts (and can afford to do so).
I think that many people living a hand-to-mouth existence, simply feel that the GP policies are not affordable.
Which is ironic given that arguably, the Green Party is the strongest most genuine advocate for those people, who have nothing to lose and much (everything?) to gain from more progressive policies such as from the Green Party.
But it's an irony that's been around for a long time. And doesn't seem to be diminishing.
Practically, the hypothetical Mangere voter sees the GP electric vehicle subsidy as assistance for the rich (or at least the upper middle class) – who can afford an EV. And zero benefit to them – who are likely to be driving a clunker – 20 years old, and in poor repair, with relatively low fuel economy.
The half-price PT subsidy has very effectively been marketed as a Labour policy rather than a GP one. [Yes, the GP were calling for 100% subsidy, but Labour delivered on a 50% one. Bird in the hand…. And, I know it isn't 'fair' – the government are in a position to enact policy, while the GP are not – but perception….]
Policy announcements tend to be heavy on the benefits, and light on the funding mechanisms. TANSTAAFL – 'free' means 'paid for by another method'. The assumption by the public is that taxes go up to fund 'free' services.
I’m sorry but your comments are full of contradictions and misunderstandings.
If voters, particularly lower class voters, don’t understand GP policies why would they conclude that these policies are not affordable? Based on what they read in the MSM, SM, or hear on talk-back?
If an EV policy, for example, has no direct benefit to a particular group of voters why would they conclude that the policy is not affordable?
I’d think that people living a hand-to-mouth existence would be rather agnostic if not ignorant of many if not most GP policies or of any other party for that matter.
Not reaching the hypothetical Mangere voter doesn’t mean this voter would be against GP policies per se; I think you’re projecting.
The Government PT subsidy was a temporary measure, which has now been extended. It was and is not Labour policy AFAIK from this: https://www.labour.org.nz/transport. By implementing this subsidy they have given the GP policy a lot more weight & traction.
The Government PT subsidy was a temporary measure, which has now been extended. It was and is not Labour policy AFAIK from this: https://www.labour.org.nz/transport. By implementing this subsidy they have given the GP policy a lot more weight & traction.
All of the conversations I've had around this policy – and all of the media commentary I've read has been in the context of a Govt roll out (regardless of whether it's in the Labour manifesto or no – which most people TBH would have no idea over). It's not been in the context of a GP policy. And the GP haven't explicitly made this point (which ACT are really good at – regardless of your opinion of their policies, they're pretty effective media operators).
Something along the lines of: "The GP welcomes Labour's belated move towards implementing the GP policy on free PT, and encourages them to continue towards the GP policy 100% free PT. This gives an immediate cash-in-hand benefit to lower income and marginalized groups – as well as being an environmental win – especially in the current cost of living crisis. Check out how to make it work, here…."
Instead of :
The Prime Minister's cost of living announcement this week showed us just how easy it is to make public transport more affordable.
I'm no PR expert (clearly), but the emphasis needs to be on differentiating themselves from Labour – otherwise why would people vote for them? And part of that has to be attacking Labour for tardy implementation of GP policy – not giving them the kudos for stealing GP policy.
If voters, particularly lower class voters, don’t understand GP policies why would they conclude that these policies are not affordable? Based on what they read in the MSM, SM, or hear on talk-back?
Yep. More talk-back than newspapers – but even more the smoko conversations.
Most people don't read policy. Most people don't understand policy (even if they've read it). It needs to be interpreted – and part of doing that is provocative press-releases – outlining exactly what the voter-in-Mangere (or any other suburb) will gain from voting Green (and how those policies will be paid for). Getting the discussion on talk-back and through the unions into the workplace. Getting people talking about what's in it for them.
i hardly think regressive policies from the Greens,are the foremost issue on most minds at present,where the economy,inflation,and poor government leadership seem to be at the front of polling.
All the issues you mention are primarily economic issues that exhibit ups & downs all the time. Not all policies have reflexive aims & objectives. Your poor government leadership is a secondary outcome of and correlate with the aforementioned short-term issues; it’s no better or worse than in other times except in the public perception and media representation (which is neither able to look through short-term events nor impartial). This misconception of what Government can and does control is at the basis of much misinformed media commentary.
Progressive and transformative vision and policies take necessarily a longer-term view than most people and media are willing to consider and contemplate. That’s the Green Party problem in a nutshell, at least one of them.
Here let me put it another way.(remember Robs mob)
.@LHSummers: "Progressives should consider not just recent public opinion polls but the reality that inflation, and a related sense that things were out of control, did much to elect Richard M. Nixon, Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher." https://t.co/FUYVg6AjEg
Progressive and transformative vision and policies take necessarily a longer-term view than most people and media are willing to consider and contemplate.
In 2000 Schroder done a deal with the The Greens to remove baseline nuclear power for Gas and intermittent energy such as solar and wind to remove coal generation,and here we are 22 years later.
At no point in the cumulative statements from progressives,have we seen alternative economic initiatives that will over time substitute for our present export mix.
We cannot pay our way now (512b$ gross debt) and the interest bill is rising,the alternative in the opposition benches is very ugly,but a very real risk ( sell everything to the receivers)
Importantly the Teal candidates also ran on an anti-corruption ticket as well as CC, and given that they were all women, they also ran on the gender issue.
These two factors may well have gained them as many votes as CC
Someone the other day was tweeting about MPx being worse than covid but over a longer period of time. It was too much at the time to take in and follow up.
I'm now wanting to remember what the scale is that the WHO uses for increasing seriousness of transmittable disease.
The monkeypox outbreak represents a global health emergency, the World Health Organization's highest level of alert, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said https://t.co/knjO2BySOdpic.twitter.com/vYCLstHhTP
Lots of spin in the Great turbine debate,which if unresolved will see Germany cold,hungry and in the dark,or with a little excess rhetoric (quickly pulled back) the German (green) FM said.
“And we said, ‘we can understand that, but if we don’t get the gas turbine, then we won’t get any more gas, and then we won’t be able to provide any support for Ukraine at all, because we’ll be busy with popular uprisings,’” Baerbock said, before immediately backtracking to say this version of events was "perhaps a bit exaggerated."
It's sad that the Chiefs of Maskwacis had to release a statement to prevent the selfish #FreeDumbConvoy idiots from trying to steal attention away from residential school survivors to complain about having to wear a mask in Home Depot for awhile.#cdnpolipic.twitter.com/W5mP8aPyik
— Meanwhile in Canada (@MeanwhileinCana) July 23, 2022
Stay away, you are not welcome.
That’s the message leaders from Maskwacis have for members of the Freedom Convoy who may plan to protest during Pope Francis’ apology at the central Alberta First Nation community next week.
Pope Francis is set to travel to Alberta, Quebec and Nunavut from July 24 to 29. The papal visit is to include public and private events with an emphasis on Indigenous participation.
So the virus makes it's way along microscopic pathways to infect brain cells. But hey, let's continue allowing ourselves and our kids to be infected time and time again.
/
There’s a new paper that’s really shaken me up and made me grateful to never have been infected by this little menace. I’m truly sorry for those of you who were careful and still did. This thread may be upsetting and you might want to skip it.
Anna Pepe, Stefano Pietropaoli, Matthijn Vos, Giovanna Barba-Spaeth, & Chiara Zurzolo did. They employed cutting-edge microscopic imaging to actually SEE the virus moving along these incredibly tiny tubes (“TNT”) that connect between neurons. Just look at that bottom image! 10/ pic.twitter.com/YlJyfK4n4C
Thanks Joe90, the medical response will be interesting – time to up our vaccine game.
SARS-CoV-2: A Master of Immune Evasion [June 2022]
SARS-CoV-2, the pathogen that is causing the current COVID-19 pandemic, has shown a remarkable ability to escape antibody neutralization, putting vaccine efficacy at risk.
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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 ...
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 → ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 – ...
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 ...
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 ...
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, ...
* 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 ...
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 MayorWayne Brown has become our version of Donald Trump and Boris Johnson, except without any of the insatiable appetite for media appearances. He ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
* 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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 weshortchanged democratically by the way ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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, ...
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). ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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. ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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, ...
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 ...
In response to Newshub and Amelia Wade’s obvious and ham-fisted attempt at a typical and predicted political hit job. As any politically aware reporter would know, any Cabinet subcommittee has a duty and obligation as a part of any government to respond to any UN declaration, in this case ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for the invitation to speak with you today and in your busy lives turning up to this meeting. Forty five years ago, in Howick, often described as racist, and where few Maori lived because it had been a ‘Fencible’ settlement at the time of the Anglo-Maori ...
The Green Party has marked the National Party’s new education policy and given it a fail, especially for its failure to address the underlying drivers of school performance. ...
Political parties that want to negotiate with the Green Party must come to the table with much faster, bolder climate action, co-leaders James Shaw and Marama Davidson emphasised in their State of the Planet speech today. ...
Political parties that want to negotiate with the Green Party after the election must come to the table with much faster, bolder climate action, co-leaders James Shaw and Marama Davidson emphasised today. ...
You will never truly understand, from the pictures you’ve seen in the newspapers or on the six o-clock news, the sheer scale of the devastation wrought by Cyclone Gabrielle. ...
We’re boosting incomes and helping ease cost of living pressures on Kiwis through a range of bread and butter support measures that will see pensioners, students, families, and those on main benefits better off from the start of next month. ...
The error Labour Ministers made by stopping work on a beverage container return scheme will be reversed by the Greens at the earliest opportunity as part of the next Government. ...
“Cabinet needs to do better - and today has shown exactly why we need Green Ministers in cabinet, so we can prioritise action to cut climate pollution and support people to make ends meet,” says Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson. ...
Biggest increase in food prices for over three decades shows the need for an excess profit tax on corporations to help people put food on the table. ...
The Green Party has today launched a submission guide to help Aucklanders give crucial input and prevent potentially disastrous Auckland Council budget proposals. ...
With calls growing for inquiries and action on bank profits, the Greens say the Government has all the information it needs to act now and put a levy on banks. ...
As large parts of Aotearoa recover from two of the worst climate disasters we have ever experienced, it would be a huge mistake for the Government to deprioritise climate action from future transport investments, the Green Party says. ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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,” ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
$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 ...
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, ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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. ...
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, ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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, ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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. ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Frank Bongiorno, Professor of History, ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences, Australian National University Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff (right) is now the only non-Labor leader at federal or state level.Mick Tsikas/AAP When Dominic Perrottet gave a gracious concession speech after ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Dean Lewins/AAPThis article was updated March 26. With 36% of enrolled voters counted in today’s New South Wales ...
Coated in two spices and ready in five minutes. Easy as.I first heard of marsala chicken when I moved to New Zealand as a 15-year-old. The dish confused me as it didn’t have any spices in it except for garlic. In my head I had confused it with the ...
Author Marty Smith writes from her home, the flood-damaged region of Hawke’s Bay, excavating the extraordinary facets of life amid a disaster.Wednesday 22 February 22, eight days after the flood.It’s easy to drive down Puketitiri Rd: diggers cleared silt and slips on the second day. Looters slide at ...
My trainer said she was happier than she’d ever been. I wanted that.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.Illustrations by Note: This essay discusses and describes disordered eating. Please take care.Just 10 burpees to go.I threw myself against the carpet. ...
Bard Billot on the bumbling BaronRace for the Polls Baron Luxon speeds across the polar wastes aboard his electric blue jet sled “Titanic.” The sky is cloudless and the way is clear and the Baron is well in the lead. In his toasty warm fine mink cossack hat ...
Māori women are the backbone of the Warriors and always have been, writes Briar Pomana.Since before I can remember, my mum has been a Warriors fan. Her and other wāhine Māori I know are some of the staunchest supporters out and, in my opinion, are the true face of ...
Reports have described the protest held at Albert Park on Saturday as angry, chaotic and ugly. This attendee found it to be joyful, life-affirming and full of love.Climbing the stairs up to Saturday’s counter-rally where anti-trans activist Posie Parker was meant to speak, my husband and I were hit ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Dean Lewins/AAP With 36% of enrolled voters counted in today’s New South Wales state election, the Poll Bludger’s results currently ...
A former entertainment mecca in the middle of Auckland is up for grabs. The problem? It’s been run into the ground. Have you got spare cash sitting around? Do you want to buy something grand, something special? How does a nine-storey complex covering 3,486 square metres in the middle of ...
Posey Parker appeared in Auckland today for a brief few moments, but it was clear that she was going to have a hard time being heard above thousands of people exercising their own right to free speech The streets of Auckland’s city centre were thick today with the noise of tubas, ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson was knocked to the ground by a motorcyclist who appeared to fail to stop at a pedestrian crossing after today's counter-protest against Posie Parker. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson was struck by a passing motorcycle this morning as she protested Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull’s rally event at Albert Park. Davidson was standing on Princes St holding a sign reading “trans solidarity” when a band of motorcyclists, there in support of Brian and Hannah Tamaki’s Vision NZ, ...
By Krishneel Nair in Suva“The most important thing from my perspective is a strategic partnership — a partnership where the media should not be seen as the enemy or a nuisance.” This was the view of the Communications Fiji Ltd news director and Fijian Media Association executive Vijay Narayan ...
The noise began long before Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull (AKA Posie Parker) arrived. Despite an 11am scheduled start time to her planned rally to “speak for women”, the Albert Park rotunda was surrounded by 10.30. But the crowd was not there to see or hear her. A truck parked at the entrance ...
Chris Schulz on the nearly three-hours of joy Keanu Reeves’ latest non-stop orgy of violence brings. This is an excerpt from our pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up to have it delivered to your inbox every Friday here. Keanu Reeves has annihilated the place. In what appears to be ...
Teacher unions have criticised National's curriculum plan, but the party was targeting concerned parents and his political opponent, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins. ...
Don’t underestimate the significance of TVNZ’s new documentary series about Kai Kara-France, a fighter acclaimed on the world stage but still criminally underrated at home, writes Don Rowe. In 2015, when I first profiled Kai Kara-France for the now-defunct Mana magazine, he told me he’d never wanted to sign with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Justin Lloyd/AAP The New South Wales state election is today. Polls close at 6pm AEDT. Votes cast on election day ...
If current trends continue, by 2053 half of retirement-age New Zealanders will be renters. Right now, options for over-65s who don’t own their own home are limited.This story was first published on Stuff. What’s life like when you reach retirement age, but don’t own a home of your own? Most ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Charles Feigin, Postdoctoral Fellow in Genomics and Evolution, The University of Melbourne Anom Harya/ShutterstockShoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land on the next tree. Many groups of mammals seem to have taken this evolutionary advice to ...
When a big corporate is alarmed about possible law changes, it asks its well-connected lobbyist to intervene. A text message exchange between a Cabinet Minister and his lobbyist "mate" follows. ...
"He imagines the rattling windows of his bach": a sad seaside saga by Majella Cullinane Màiri watches him as he walks down the hill next to her house. The man appears gradually – first his head covered in a tweed cap and earphones, then the unkempt hair and beard, ...
"He imagines the rattling windows of his bach": a sad seaside saga by Majella Cullinane Màiri watches him as he walks down the hill next to her house. The man appears gradually – first his head covered in a tweed cap and earphones, then the unkempt hair and beard, ...
Every weekday, The Detail makes sense of the big news stories. This week, we looked at how our top authors make a living writing books, the sky-high fares coming from independent taxi drivers, how the people of Muriwai are putting their lives back together post-Cyclone Gabrielle, why a Levin chocolate maker is ...
Every weekday, The Detail makes sense of the big news stories. This week, we looked at how our top authors make a living writing books, the sky-high fares coming from independent taxi drivers, how the people of Muriwai are putting their lives back together post-Cyclone Gabrielle, why a Levin chocolate maker is ...
The popularity of stories about unhappy rich people says more about our need to view them that way than it does about how they experience their livesOpinion:Succession is returning to Aotearoa’s television screens. It joins other portrayals of the emotional traumas that come from having far, far too ...
The popularity of stories about unhappy rich people says more about our need to view them that way than it does about how they experience their livesOpinion:Succession is returning to Aotearoa’s television screens. It joins other portrayals of the emotional traumas that come from having far, far too ...
This is The Detail's Long Read - one in-depth story read by us every weekend This week, it's What's Up With ADHD?, written by Mirjam Guesgen and published in North & South's April 2023 issue. You can find the full article, with illustrations by Rachel Salazar, in this month’s issue of North & South. Once a condition ...
This is The Detail's Long Read - one in-depth story read by us every weekend This week, it's What's Up With ADHD?, written by Mirjam Guesgen and published in North & South's April 2023 issue. You can find the full article, with illustrations by Rachel Salazar, in this month’s issue of North & South. Once a condition ...
Not content with transforming KiwiSaver, Simplicity is now planning to out-build Kāinga Ora. Duncan Greive meets a pair of of unlikely revolutionaries trying to fix housing – a task which seems impossible, even for the state itself.In September of 2020, a builder named Shane Brealey sat down and typed ...
The Auckland Writers Festival has just launched its 23rd programme, the first since Covid to include its signature line-up of visiting international writers. With 160 events to choose from, here’s books editor Claire Mabey’s top 10 to help you navigate your way through the lit fest universe.Straight Up: Ruby ...
Taking her her young family around the world as she rows is a key factor in Emma Twigg's decision to defend her Olympic single sculls title at next year's Paris Olympics. And, Andy Hay writes, the next Emma Twigg could be waiting in the wings at the Maadi Cup next week. ...
The Fijian Drua will need to start and finish well, while Moana Pasifika’s coach wants to see a full 80-minute performance this weekend as the two regional teams continue their Super Rugby Pacific campaigns. The Drua tackle the Highlanders in Dunedin today and Pasifika face the Hurricanes at Mt Smart ...
By Todagia Kelola in Port Moresby A number of small contractors in Papua New Guinea are still waiting for positive feedback for money owed to them by government agencies after 12 years. A 2015 Post-Courier front page picture showed a man, David Goli, who chained himself at the then headquarters ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Beryl Exley, Professor, Griffith Institute for Educational Research, Griffith University, Griffith University Shutterstock Last August, the federal government set up an expert panel to look at the continuous improvement agenda in teacher education in Australia. The panel, led by ...
The New Zealand First leader took to the altar of an East Auckland church today to set out his 2023 election agenda. It was, as Stewart Sowman-Lund found out, pretty much what you’d expect. Winston Peters rolled into Howick today with a state of the nation speech that, he claimed ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jon Wardle, Professor of Public Health, Southern Cross University Shutterstock Earlier this week, Australian retail giant Woolworths announced a move into health-care delivery via development of its subsidiary HealthyLife’s online portal. Through this portal, Australians can book a same-day ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters - eyeing a political comeback - has used a scene-setting speech in Auckland warning against a "conceited, conniving, cultural cabal". ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By William Peterson, Adjunct Associate Professor, Auckland University of Technology The Sheep Song.Tim Standing/Daylight Breaks/Adelaide Festival Few Adelaideans remember a time before the Adelaide Festival. Formed in 1960 as a civic enterprise and financed against loss by prominent Adelaide businessmen, the ...
Analysis - The Greens lay down a challenge as the minor parties approach an election in which both National and Labour are going to need coalition partners to form a government, writes Peter Wilson. ...
By Arieta Vakasukawaqa in Suva Communications Fiji Ltd (CFL) chair William Parkinson has called for a repeal of Fiji’s Media Industry Development Act 2010 and more discussion on the proposed Media Ownership and Registration Bill 2023. He said this during a public consultation on the review of MIDA Act 2010 ...
High Court Justice David Gendall regretfully allows anti-trans activist to enter New Zealand, but warns the expression of her views may be harmful to our vulnerable rainbow community. Jonathan Milne does his best to be civil.Opinion: Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull calls herself Posie Parker. And that's what I'm going to call her. Because she is ...
It’s about time somebody made a wacky TV show about how bonkers spelling is. Enter comedian Guy Montgomery and his Guy Mont Spelling Bee. The three years since Covid-19 began have been pretty rocky, but one of the best things to come out of the chaos was Guy Montgomery’s Guy ...
Te Rōpū Mātai Hinengaro o Aotearoa, The New Zealand Psychological Society (NZPsS) stands beside LGBTQIA+ and Takatāpui communities rallying against anti-trans rhetoric in light of the impending visit of Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull (Posie Parker). We are ...
Earlier this month, everybody’s favourite Monster of the Week series Married at First Sight Australia toppled 1News to become the highest rating television show for New Zealand viewers aged 25-54. The controversial reality series garnered an average audience of 137,000, or 6.7% audience share from March 5 until March 11. ...
It’s the most wonderful time of the year for feijoa lovers – here’s how to make the most of it.Fragrant and sweet, with a delicate jelly centre surrounded by gritty, tangy flesh, all encased in a green sour skin. My parents’ feijoa tree has just dropped its first fruit, ...
A new poem by poet and novelist Maggie Rainey-Smith. Bang a Drum We’ve hit Gentle Annie passed the pub at Okaramio and on the left, at Wakapuaka there’s Sunnybank where parents left their children An oddly named orphanage manned (ha) by Nuns childless women in black habits, scapula, cowls and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cathy Buntting, Director, Wilf Malcolm Institute of Educational Research, University of Waikato Getty Images Less than a fortnight after teachers staged a national strike, education was back in the headlines with the National Party’s release of its curriculum policy – ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38)Number one in both ...
The Free Speech Union welcomes the decision of the High Court to reject the application to overrule the decision of the Minister of Immigration to allow Kellie-Jay entry into New Zealand. This was the only right result for a nation that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Fan Yang, Research Associate at RMIT and Alfred Deakin Institute, Deakin University Baidu’s ERNIE Bot was launched to considerable disappointment.Ng Han Guan / AP On March 16, Baidu unveiled China’s latest rival to OpenAI’s ChatGPT – ERNIE Bot (short for “Enhanced ...
By Meri Radinibaravi in Suva Former attorney-general Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has told The Fiji Times to ask the Republic of Fiji Military Forces about claims that his bodyguards were allowed to take guns on to Fiji Link flights without proper authorisation. “I understand that there’s some enquiries going on regarding that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sasha Grishin, Adjunct Professor of Art History, Australian National University Installation view of Troy Emery’s work Mountain climber 2022 on display as part of the Melbourne Now exhibition at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, Melbourne from 24 March – 20 August ...
National’s education policy reinforces an old-fashioned and hierarchical curriculum that does lasting harm to many students, writes educational specialist Dr Sarah Aiono. Announcing the National Party’s new education policy this week, leader Christopher Luxon cited a recent NCEA pilot in which two-thirds of students were unable to meet the minimum ...
Attempts by rainbow groups to stop an anti-trans campaigner entering the country have failed. The High Court has dismissed a judicial review application from Gender Minorities Aotearoa, InsideOUT Kōara and Auckland Pride, aimed at the immigration minister for allowing Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull into New Zealand. As part of the application, the ...
The High Court is this morning considering an interim order that would prevent an anti-trans campaigner from making it into New Zealand. Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull is expected to arrive on our shores today ahead of two planned rallies in Auckland and Wellington over the weekend. After immigration officials deemed her safe ...
I was disappointed to see yesterday afternoon’s announcement that Auckland has chosen to leave Local Government NZ (LGNZ). Hamilton’s membership of LGNZ is one of collaboration and sharing. Being a member gives us important views from other ...
It’s the most talked about local opera production in years – but does it live up to the chatter?The lowdownYou’ve probably heard of the “unruly tourists”, the British family who created a media firestorm as they toured around the country leaving trash and turmoil in their wake. You’ve ...
As reported by Newsroom’s Marc Daalder this morning, correspondence released under the Official Information Act shows advice about puberty blockers was removed from the Ministry of Health website “in the hopes it creates fewer queries” from anti-trans campaigners. The line that was removed from the site said puberty blockers “are ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards. Political Roundup: 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 ...
Secondary teachers will strike again next week after an agreement on improved pay and working conditions was not reached. The strike will take place on Wednesday, less than two weeks after thousands of educators took to the streets across the country. “PPTA Te Wehengarua members have shown they are serious ...
Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission is encouraging organisations and individuals to share their views on human rights in Aotearoa New Zealand for the government’s upcoming report to the United Nations. The report informs a process ...
Secondary and area school teachers around the country have voted overwhelmingly in favour of more industrial action, including a one day national strike next Wednesday, in support of their collective agreement negotiations. “PPTA Te Wehengarua members ...
At a time when our need for collective action is stronger than ever, Auckland Council has opted out to save each of its residents just 25c a year, writes former Dunedin mayor Aaron Hawkins.I grew up in rural Southland, in the shadows of the Cut The Cable movement. In ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julie Jakoboski, Oceanographic Data Scientist, Moana Project’s Te Tiro Moana Team Lead, MetService — Te Ratonga Tirorangi Moana project, CC BY-ND The world’s oceans are buffering us from the worst climate impacts by taking up more than 90% of the ...
Morning Report - RNZ and Newsroom's political editors consider National's education pitch, and the political responses to lobbying revelations and Posie Parker. ...
The Free Speech Union will be an intervener this morning as the High Court considers whether Immigration New Zealand's decision to allow Posie Parker (Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull) entry into New Zealand was legal, says Jonathan Ayling, Chief Executive of the Free ...
For over a decade, Manurewa Cosmopolitan Club has come under fire for denying entry to people wearing religious headwear. Despite the Human Rights Commission getting involved, it seems the rule remains unchanged.One of the definitions given by the Oxford dictionary for the word cosmopolitan is: “including people from many ...
Chris Hipkins’ dump of Ardern-era policy has potentially jeopardised a major part of the government’s climate change response. In this week’s episode of When the Facts Change, Bernard Hickey talks to climate policy expert Christina Hood from Climate Compass to find out why this month’s Emissions Trading Scheme auction failed and ...
The head of Local Government NZ, the group representing councils across the country, has hit back at claims made by Auckland mayor Wayne Brown. It was his casting vote that saw Auckland Council leave the representative group yesterday evening, with councillors divided on whether or not it was the right ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Al-Tamini Tapu, Geoscientist, The University of Queensland Warrumbungle national park.colinslack/Shutterstock Our new study published in Nature Geoscience on an ancient chain of Australian volcanoes is helping to change our understanding of “hotspot” volcanism. You may be surprised to learn eastern ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Sussex, Fellow, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University There’s been a lot of recent shouting about Australia’s national security policy. It began with the Nine newspapers’ “Red Alert” extravaganza, spread over multiple articles. Featuring a graphic of warplanes ...
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/129364876/if-james-shaw-walks-so-does-the-greens-biggest-political-asset
25% is all it takes to destabilize the party.!!
What damn fool thinks that's a good idea.
(There is a nagging little voice though that thinks Cloe as leader could awaken the slack youth vote, just should have been dolittle Davidson that went)
At least they're not doing it 6 weeks out from an election like last time.
Maybe most Greens prefer to fuck it up again, and just rely on Chloe's seat.
Do the Greens really want to change the country through Parliament?
Yes, just run Auckland Central like a by-election every time with activists from as far away as Invercargill, and pile on the emotional blackmail to Labour voters in that seat that if they don't vote for the Green candidate they won't be in Government, and you don't have to bother with that pesky 5%.
Well unless Greens get a full 10% we're not going to get Labour back in anyway.
2023 is looking such a tactical election I may just have to hold my nose on the Party vote.
I can see the Greens being back to 6% – 7% by next election. The faction seems to have been quite a self-destructive element for the party. However, I do feel that the bulk of those lost votes will go Labour's way. I can't really see them going anywhere else.
Delahunty, Bradford and the other fools should fuck off and generate a little splinter party. Join up with Bishop Brian Tamaki and do a decent protest for once. Maybe they could scrape 3% between them.
Agreed. The problem with democracy is it gives the nutters too much of a voice. The Greens have shown this with their 25% vote in no confidence in the leader.
4% party vote threshold, no lower.
Dissenter ≠ nutter
Sounds like you’d rather cancel
nutterspeople with different opinions and who dare to speak up when and where it is not only their right to do so but also their duty. Have you heard of group-think?No threshold at all; any party that can obtain 1/120th of the total vote has earned the right (aka a seat) to represent that vote in Parliament. Any other (higher) threshold is deliberately manipulative and distortive.
I'm perfectly happy to say that people who vote for anti-science parties (eg, COVID deniers) are nutters. You might call them dissenters, that's your right, but I disagree.
I also don't think it's a good idea to try and form governments with such unstable coalitions. Just look at what happens in Israel. Nor do I think that giving such fringe groups the respectability of the platform afforded by being an MP is the best thing for society as a whole – again just look at the echo chambers on Facebook, general opinion is that these echo chambers are toxic for society at large, and I don’t think giving them more legitimacy is a good thing.
Huh? The Greens are now anti-science and/or Covid-deniers?? I thought we were talking about a dissenting faction within the Green Party, but obviously you have much bigger axe to grind.
You’ll have to explain with the Green Party NZ and Israel and echo chambers on Facebook because other than you arguing that the Greens are nutters I don’t see the connection, but this could be my lack of imagination.
Or are you, in fact, arguing that a lower electoral threshold would result in unstable coalitions and giving fringe groups respectability that they don’t deserve? If so, please provide some real-life examples, thanks, if you can, which I doubt.
Yesterday I linked to an important Twitter thread and said I thought Jacinda was a Teal leader of an Amber party.
James Shaw is a Teal leader of a Green party.
This century needs Teal leadership and thinking.
Maori Party are Green-Teal.
TOP is Teal but need a rebranding if they are to get into parliament.
Less stress just to lower your expectations.
Outside Norway Sweden and Finland, this is the most left-green democratic country in the world.
Thank you for your reply. I need people to challenge my thoughts (I'm being sincere, just to be clear).
Nice to see one of the leading minds back here , (hers looking at you lanthanide)
Hadn't heard of teal till yesterday, so correct me if I'm wrong please
Teal= evidence based consensus leadership.
It's a lot more than that. I'm not even going to attempt to distill it down any further than this tweet thread does, the concept is too new to me to be able to do that yet: https://twitter.com/RobbSmith/status/1224023377020477440
The Marching Morons? Fuck Wits….
Well they got a bunch more media coverage and discussion than the Greens did even though it's the Green Party national conference. That is a deliberate and effective spike.
Not as dumb as they look.
Well…..its an Alternate World "The Marching Morons" (sadly, our reality right now)…and The Pastor of Muppets and the other (notso) shadowy figures manipulating aforesaid morons…are definitely no dumb fucks. As ever…
Notwithstanding…I dont think (“most” ? ) Green Party members/Supporters would be TOO sad about the distraction effect !
Word for word that's how our rightist Twitter talks of the Greens now.
Peters just needs to find a way to accommodate them inside, and it's all on.
That is a little unfair – the Greens are legitimate political party, which Tamaki's wannabe insurgency is not. Behaving in such a lawless manner that Aucklanders spontaneously subject you to a hail of extemporised missiles isn't how you win power, although Tamaki (who I thought was subject to bail conditions that prevented him reprising his strutting martinet show for the crowd) apparently has some sort of plan to do a "Sri Lanka" next month in Wellington – which I would have thought already has him sailing perilously close to committing treason under sections 73 (e) and 73 (f) of the crimes act:
Treason and other crimes against the Sovereign and the State
73 Treason
Every one owing allegiance to the Sovereign in right of New Zealand commits treason who, within or outside New Zealand,—
(a) kills or wounds or does grievous bodily harm to the Sovereign, or imprisons or restrains her or him; or
(b) levies war against New Zealand; or
(c) assists an enemy at war with New Zealand, or any armed forces against which New Zealand forces are engaged in hostilities, whether or not a state of war exists between New Zealand and any other country; or
(d) incites or assists any person with force to invade New Zealand; or
(e) uses force for the purpose of overthrowing the Government of New Zealand; or
(f) conspires with any person to do anything mentioned in this section.
I dunno, maybe Tamaki thinks he is a sovereogn citizen who doesn't owe allegiance to the sovereign so that'll save him from a life sentence, but as a certain Mr. G. Fawkes found out when he was torn into four pieces after begun half hung and disembowelled that argument hasn’t worked out so well since the 17th century.
No one was injured, no one took anything, no one was abused, no one was kidnapped, no one called for the overthrow of the state.
We don't have to like what they stand for but they are protesting just like the 1975 Land March, the 1981 anti-apartheid marches, the pro-cylists of 2019, the COVID marchers of 2021, and the many more to come. Plenty on there with criminal records. Except nah Tamaki isn't a liberal so he shouldn't.
Just imagine if the Green Party had dome something useful this weekend instead of kill each other, and generated a decent protest across the motorway system. Actually done proper serious activism again. Nah.
In a reasonable world the Minister of Transport would have done something useful and permanently opened up the Harbour Bridge for at least one walking and cycling lane. But nah.
no one called for the overthrow of the state.
So did I manage to misread: 'GOVERNMENT MUST GO!' flaring forth on last night's news from Wellington's version of impromptu street theatre?
In the second clip:
https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/07/23/brian-tamaki-led-protesters-stop-traffic-on-auckland-motorway/
Around 300 protesters were seen marching through central Wellington chanting for the Government to go.
"We want freedom because our children are suffering, our youth are suffering because of the decisions this Government has made," one protest leader said via loudspeaker.
"We're fighting for freedom from mental health stats, we're fighting for freedom from high cost of living, we're fighting for freedom from everything this Government has put in place that is making us struggle."
Another leader of the Wellington protest compared their movement to that of Indian revolutionary Mahatma Gandhi, whose peaceful protests helped India gain independence from British rule in the 1940s.
"It's amazing what one man could do, to lead peaceful protests right throughout the country and bring about change and that's what we're doing here today," he said.
You did mange to misread it.
But that's not surprising.
Agreed, our Government isn't God-King Tamaki's chief beef. His main ‘concern’ is that a woman is in charge – doesn't she know her place?
Not even real Tories believe in tax cuts.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jul/23/thatcher-ministers-liz-truss-tax-cut-plans-patten-lamont-rifkind?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
How long before Luxon flip flops again?
”Chris Patten, Norman Lamont and Malcolm Rifkind all said that the former Tory leader would not have supported the tax-cutting plans. Patten said: “Margaret Thatcher was a fiscal Conservative who did not cut tax until we had reduced inflation. She was honest and did not believe in nonsense.”
How Truss has any support amazes me.Seems to lack any real substance and be gaffe prone.
Although in retrospect they are qualities evident in Bojo,Scomo,Biden….and Luxon.
Good, well reasoned refutation of Luxon's tax cuts to the rich to curb inflation in NZ!
SSDD from the Natz
https://www.theguardian.com/world/commentisfree/2022/jul/23/nationals-plan-for-new-zealands-inflation-crisis-is-merely-tax-cuts-for-the-wealthy?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
Thanks, Tony- indeed a clear exposition of the two approaches and the delineation between Labour and National. The article sets out the economic and social aspects in terms available to the economically illiterate to understand.
There is a difference between National and Labour and that difference would make a hugely adverse change to the lives of many, many New Zealanders should National get into power and go down the path of tax cuts, less government, increased corporate greed and restrictions on wages growth, reliance on foreign capital and imported workers.
The divide would widen to chasmic proportions.
Since Foot and Mouth Disease can come in on everything from skin to clothing, maybe it's time for a ban on importing Indonesian Palm Corn Expeller here?
Foot and Mouth Disease strikes Indonesia – Dairy Global
That would be just another supply-chain disruption dairy would need to replace.
Seaweed additive perhaps?
Way past time to ban palm kernel from anywhere. Vile stuff. And if farmers cannot maintain their herds/flocks without it, then they are way overstocked.
Systems thinking.
A good proportion of salmon feed comes from Indonesia as well. High likelihood the fish base is bulked out with as much land sourced portion as they can get away with.
Was talking to the farm manager the other day about monkey dust, (it's called that because the response to bits of monkey turning up in it was to just grind it really fine), and there's some doubt around National's, especially Luxon's, willingness to take any firm action to prevent FMD arriving here. Banning PKE, or in the case of an outbreak in Australia, closing / restricting the border, not really seen as likely with National, but possible with Labour. Any restrictions would be seen as a kick in the balls to farmers though, and very loudly.
There's serious investment in PKE right now, at $9.75 dairy farmers want every kg they can get this season and those extra kgs come out the back of the palm kernel truck. PKE has become integral to NZ dairy farming, and deer as it has high copper content to promote velvet growth, so a sudden restriction would be very disruptive to stocking rates and cashflow. Big money involved in the trade too, with undoubtedly considerable donations to National Party.
Farming’s likely response is going to be to try and manage the risk with testing and surveillance. But everything would change if FMD got into Australia. If it got into NZ first then we can just sit down and watch the NZ economy implode as Australia closes it's border to us.
"Monkey", or orangutan?
Yours is a very interesting take on the situation, Graeme – thanks for making that. I've shared it with my fellow ES councillors, many of whom are users (I suspect 🙂
One of those 'here and disappeared' headlines in the Herald that I missed yesterday, and had to go searching for this morning after I couldn't access it on my tablet. Login to Herald account only on the laptop.
[Unlinked copy & pasta deleted]
Two issues here that need highlighting.
I was speaking with a chap yesterday whose 20 year old moko has a significant disability and is covered by ACC. As hard as I tried, he simply could not get his head around the fact that Peter is not under ACC and has no entitlement to care. At all.
I just want to draw attention to the fact that there are two very distinct classes of disabled people in New Zealand. Still. After nearly fifty years of empty promises by successive governments to address the disparity.
Labour…pretending to be the Party for the Common Folk…has had ample opportunity over the past five fucking decades to fix this. They haven't. Why?
She does not say…and I'm damned sure the Herald would have quoted her if she had… "If only these carers would get the shot and come back to work all would be fine…"
Just drop the mandates.
The system cannot afford to be short three highly qualified carers (and believe me those with high spinal injuries need carers who know which end is up) . Just like the system cannot afford to be short of nurses and midwives and other trained health professionals that chose not to take the Pfizer product.
Most of us have had Covid in the past six months…Pfizered or not. And unless we were already knocking on the Door…the vast majority of us have survived. And only a small number have ongoing issues.
A significant percentage of two shot 'fully vaccinated' are choosing not to get the first booster and an increasing number of eligible people are not getting the second booster. https://www.health.govt.nz/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-data-and-statistics/covid-19-vaccine-data#total-vaccinations
Because the shots are not preventing infection or symptoms. https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/07/23/white-house-gives-joe-biden-covid-update/
It's way past time. Drop all mandates.
I’ve deleted the unlinked copy & pasta and I may restore it if you provide a link with an indication whether it is behind the f-ing pay-wall or not.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/tauranga-paraplegic-left-without-care-due-to-severe-support-worker-shortage/KW35J6AXB7R6WXTNICPAIR7OEU/ [behind pay-wall]
[now we have a link, here’s the restored copy & pasta – Incognito]
Tauranga paraplegic left without care due to ‘severe’ support worker shortage
A healthcare provider has apologised after a 71-year-old paraplegic was left alone “in a wet bed with blood in it” because her support worker did not show up.
Tauranga woman Kathryn Harland is paralysed from the sternum and requires 24/7 care.
But a HealthCare New Zealand support worker has failed to turn up “multiple” times because, in Harland’s view, there is a “severe” staffing shortage.
Harland lives with her husband, but says, however, “I need to have someone that is trained to look after me 24 hours”.
She was also concerned for her support workers – one of whom she believed worked 130 hours in one week.
“She came to work here … absolutely shattered and in tears because she was so exhausted.”
Harland became a paraplegic in 2017 after surgery.
“In the prime of our retirement years, looking forward to doing things, and now there’s nothing except bed and a wheelchair,” she told the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend.
A few weeks ago, Harland’s husband was out, and she was home alone from 3pm to 6pm because her support worker called in sick and there was no one to cover them.
“This particular time … I was left in a wet bed with blood in it.”
On morning shifts, Harland has two support workers due to it being the “heaviest time” with “transferring, toileting, bathing, showering,” but sometimes only has one.
“It’s making me very irritable and angry and frustrated, and sad for my carers whom I love dearly – they’re pushed to the limit and they can only do so much.”
Harland said her husband was the “unpaid helper” but did not want to be a caregiver.
“He refuses because we’re entitled to care through ACC, and it’s very hard in your marriage, somebody having to do their care.”
Harland had lost three “highly qualified” support workers due to the vaccine mandate who would “come back tomorrow if they could”.
Originally, HealthCare New Zealand was “very good”. Harland’s family has laid a complaint with HealthCare New Zealand, the country’s largest healthcare provider.
These highly skilled workers can come back – tomorrow if they really want to.
All they have to do is get the jab!
This is not the fault of mandates. It is entirely on the workers themselves. Unless of course they have exemptions, and I bow to that possibility. Many more times these people are simply over cautious or just bloody-mindedly anti.
Are you claiming that the Pfizer product prevents infection and transmission of Te Virus?
NO!
But it reduces severity and saves lives. But you know that. You just don’t have the guts to concede it.
And vaccines provide a level of protection against long Covid.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/explained/129326525/covid19-nz-the-coronavirus-pandemic-will-never-really-be-over-but-it-is-changing
And vaccines provide a level of protection against long Covid.
But sweet f/a against nasty outcomes from repeated reinfections.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/300637799/heres-why-you-dont-want-to-get-covid-again
LOL! The irony of you linking to something written by Dr Siouxsie Wiles to support your comment.
I trust you to find any non-peer reviewed article to suit your narrative and confirmation bias that the Covid-19 vaccine is ineffective (and unsafe). A number of concerns have already been raised with the study (see the comments), but even if the paper had been accepted your conclusion is incorrect and an over-reach; one cannot draw such far-reaching categorical conclusions from just one limited study and extrapolate these to each and all and state that vaccines do “sweet f/a”. Your thinking is way too B&W.
If you had read the article I linked to you’d have seen the same study being mentioned:
When I saw your link to one of Master Lynch's efforts I too guffawed with unrestrained derision. I dubbed him 'Lynch the Self Linker' some time ago now as pretty much all the references in his writings (if that's not too kind a description) had links to either his other writings or other Stuff Whole Truth writings.
I wrote to him and had him on about it…haven't taken much notice of what he has written since. If he has started to link to actual research papers…well done him.
Why wouldn't I link to something that Wiles wrote?
one cannot draw such far-reaching categorical conclusions from just one limited study and extrapolate these to each and all and state that vaccines do “sweet f/a”.
That was said in relation to the study into sequelae of reinfections.
They also found that the more infections a veteran had, the more the risk increased. In other words, the risks are cumulative. Having two infections was riskier than one, and three were riskier than two. Interestingly, the risks were the same regardless of whether the veterans had been vaccinated or not.
In other words…being vaccinated made sweet f/a difference.
But the mandates were not about the severity of illness Anne…and I understand you don't want to admit this.
No one is saying you have to have your personal cares done by an unvaccinated carer. Surely it should be the choice of the person needing the care?
Or do you not think disabled people have the right to choose?
I bet Kathryn would love her three carers back../vaxxed or unvaxxed. Especially since she has already had to have obviously ill carers come to her home to do the necessary.
I'm not sure if you're aware, but the health and disability sector are under enormous strain with high levels of staff absenteeism due to illness. Despite the entire workforce being 'fully' vaxxed.
Actually Rosemary conceded this point the other day. She was explaining how symptoms were reduced by the vaccine and (incorrectly) inferring that this had exacerbated the pandemic.
https://thestandard.org.nz/daily-review-19-07-2022/#comment-1901067
I modified your link to direct to the actual comment.
If the vaccine doesn't reduce transmission or prevent infection, why is the mandate necessary?
I'm not playing silly games with you weka.
"People who are active on social media about politics are already wedded to their views, he says."
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/129306045/values-vs-policy-how-a-new-luxury-belief-class-is-changing-politics
Worth the read thankyou Pat.
The Teals (from Andrea Vance's article on Values vs policy: How a new 'luxury belief class' is changing politics
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/129306045/values-vs-policy-how-a-new-luxury-belief-class-is-changing-politics
"There, the ‘teal candidates’ were independents who ran on a strong climate platform in formerly safe Liberal seats. They represented a voting base with conservative fiscal politics combined with green views on climate. (Teal comes from the blend of Liberal blue and green.)"
"
“But the ones that made the difference were in these new Teal Seats. You have to be in particular social strata – you can't necessarily be feeling the pinch of groceries going three times the original price – for integrity in Canberra to be your number one issue.
“A lot of these people don't necessarily care if they're taxed a little bit more to pay for the things they are concerned about. They are happy to pay for more welfare or healthcare because they believe it's a good thing for society.”
This is the ‘luxury belief class’. Once physical needs are met people become more preoccupied with social status. We used to display our social status with luxury goods. Today, there is an emerging trend towards flaunting ‘luxury beliefs’."
"Affluent and well-educated, this class can prioritise issues like the environment, equality or a decline in faith and trust in democracy over their wallets.
Currently, voters must enter a big political tent with other clans in order to achieve some form of representation. But that leads to tensions over competing priorities. The research suggests political parties must work harder to identify and accommodate these clans, to build better coalitions within their support."
Funny that the only way Vance has to describe altruistic political beliefs is to rationalise them as ultimately self serving social ladder climbing.
Was there ever a time, to which Vance is harking back to when the only really important thing was how politics effected ones wallet? Was this a high point in politics?
It's a categorisation that helps explain the strength of support for the Greens in the richest city seats like Auckland Central and Wellington Central.
And so poorly in electorates like Mangere – where National get double the vote of the Greens.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C4%81ngere_(New_Zealand_electorate)#2020_election
Not expecting anything but a Labour result in such a stronghold seat (usually around an 18K majority). But, if there was significant appeal from the Green policy platform, I'd expect to see a higher Green Party vote total (it's usually lower than the individual vote for the Green candidate).
I think that many people living a hand-to-mouth existence, simply feel that the GP policies are not affordable.
And, 'it's the economy, stupid' is a pretty safe mantra to predict electoral outcomes most of the time (2020 was an outlier of an exception). Many, many people do vote for policies and/or parties which they feel will make them and/or their families better off.
Also a factor is that the Green policies are complex and interlocking. Even some people interested enough in politics, like TS commenters, often don't read the GP policies or understand them before writing them off. People not following that closely are left with the MSM interpretation.
Not disagreeing with you. But a real challenge for the GP to effectively communicate the policy impacts.
How will you (voter on minimum wage in Mangere) benefit? What does it mean in increased taxes? What does it mean in terms of increased prices or charges? Will you be better or worse off?
I think that many of the GP voters in the wealthy suburbs don't necessarily understand the GP policies either – but are voting with their hearts (and can afford to do so).
agree with that.
The Greens have limited people/hours in the day, so prioritise accordingly and my guess is they have their own sense of where best to put energy.
Marama Davidson was doing a lot of that kind of work in Auckland, don't know which electorates or if she is still doing that.
Sorry for the typo. An 18K majority (not 80!)
Fixed it 👍
Which is ironic given that arguably, the Green Party is the strongest most genuine advocate for those people, who have nothing to lose and much (everything?) to gain from more progressive policies such as from the Green Party.
But it's an irony that's been around for a long time. And doesn't seem to be diminishing.
Practically, the hypothetical Mangere voter sees the GP electric vehicle subsidy as assistance for the rich (or at least the upper middle class) – who can afford an EV. And zero benefit to them – who are likely to be driving a clunker – 20 years old, and in poor repair, with relatively low fuel economy.
The half-price PT subsidy has very effectively been marketed as a Labour policy rather than a GP one. [Yes, the GP were calling for 100% subsidy, but Labour delivered on a 50% one. Bird in the hand…. And, I know it isn't 'fair' – the government are in a position to enact policy, while the GP are not – but perception….]
Policy announcements tend to be heavy on the benefits, and light on the funding mechanisms. TANSTAAFL – 'free' means 'paid for by another method'. The assumption by the public is that taxes go up to fund 'free' services.
https://action.greens.org.nz/free_public_transport
It's a big marketing challenge for the GP.
GP policies are paid for by taking the wealthy and the big polluters. They tend to also give money back to lower income people in that process.
I’m sorry but your comments are full of contradictions and misunderstandings.
If voters, particularly lower class voters, don’t understand GP policies why would they conclude that these policies are not affordable? Based on what they read in the MSM, SM, or hear on talk-back?
If an EV policy, for example, has no direct benefit to a particular group of voters why would they conclude that the policy is not affordable?
I’d think that people living a hand-to-mouth existence would be rather agnostic if not ignorant of many if not most GP policies or of any other party for that matter.
Not reaching the hypothetical Mangere voter doesn’t mean this voter would be against GP policies per se; I think you’re projecting.
The Government PT subsidy was a temporary measure, which has now been extended. It was and is not Labour policy AFAIK from this: https://www.labour.org.nz/transport. By implementing this subsidy they have given the GP policy a lot more weight & traction.
The Green Party has proposed many different novel ways of funding their policies by a progressive and redistributive tax system: https://www.greens.org.nz/progressive_tax_reform.
All of the conversations I've had around this policy – and all of the media commentary I've read has been in the context of a Govt roll out (regardless of whether it's in the Labour manifesto or no – which most people TBH would have no idea over). It's not been in the context of a GP policy. And the GP haven't explicitly made this point (which ACT are really good at – regardless of your opinion of their policies, they're pretty effective media operators).
Something along the lines of: "The GP welcomes Labour's belated move towards implementing the GP policy on free PT, and encourages them to continue towards the GP policy 100% free PT. This gives an immediate cash-in-hand benefit to lower income and marginalized groups – as well as being an environmental win – especially in the current cost of living crisis. Check out how to make it work, here…."
Instead of :
https://www.greens.org.nz/greens_launch_petition_free_public_transport
Which gave away all of the credit!
I'm no PR expert (clearly), but the emphasis needs to be on differentiating themselves from Labour – otherwise why would people vote for them? And part of that has to be attacking Labour for tardy implementation of GP policy – not giving them the kudos for stealing GP policy.
Yep. More talk-back than newspapers – but even more the smoko conversations.
Most people don't read policy. Most people don't understand policy (even if they've read it). It needs to be interpreted – and part of doing that is provocative press-releases – outlining exactly what the voter-in-Mangere (or any other suburb) will gain from voting Green (and how those policies will be paid for). Getting the discussion on talk-back and through the unions into the workplace. Getting people talking about what's in it for them.
i hardly think regressive policies from the Greens,are the foremost issue on most minds at present,where the economy,inflation,and poor government leadership seem to be at the front of polling.
https://news.gallup.com/poll/1675/most-important-problem.aspx
I see what you did there.
Please use relevant data when discussing national politics such as the Green Party of NZ, e.g. https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/07-06-2022/why-national-is-winning.
All the issues you mention are primarily economic issues that exhibit ups & downs all the time. Not all policies have reflexive aims & objectives. Your poor government leadership is a secondary outcome of and correlate with the aforementioned short-term issues; it’s no better or worse than in other times except in the public perception and media representation (which is neither able to look through short-term events nor impartial). This misconception of what Government can and does control is at the basis of much misinformed media commentary.
Progressive and transformative vision and policies take necessarily a longer-term view than most people and media are willing to consider and contemplate. That’s the Green Party problem in a nutshell, at least one of them.
Here let me put it another way.(remember Robs mob)
In 2000 Schroder done a deal with the The Greens to remove baseline nuclear power for Gas and intermittent energy such as solar and wind to remove coal generation,and here we are 22 years later.
At no point in the cumulative statements from progressives,have we seen alternative economic initiatives that will over time substitute for our present export mix.
We cannot pay our way now (512b$ gross debt) and the interest bill is rising,the alternative in the opposition benches is very ugly,but a very real risk ( sell everything to the receivers)
Yep….the birth of neoliberalism can largely be attributed to high inflation.
As Kalecki foresaw…
https://delong.typepad.com/kalecki43.pdf
yep pretty much sizes it up (with the same arguments we hear today)
Importantly the Teal candidates also ran on an anti-corruption ticket as well as CC, and given that they were all women, they also ran on the gender issue.
These two factors may well have gained them as many votes as CC
anyone else keeping an eye on this?
Someone the other day was tweeting about MPx being worse than covid but over a longer period of time. It was too much at the time to take in and follow up.
I'm now wanting to remember what the scale is that the WHO uses for increasing seriousness of transmittable disease.
I did laugh (dark humour)
Lots of spin in the Great turbine debate,which if unresolved will see Germany cold,hungry and in the dark,or with a little excess rhetoric (quickly pulled back) the German (green) FM said.
https://www.politico.eu/article/great-gas-turbine-blame-game/
his version of events is perhaps a bit understated, but i can understand him not wanting to upset the colonisers of germany, the us.
Arseholes.
Stay away, you are not welcome.
That’s the message leaders from Maskwacis have for members of the Freedom Convoy who may plan to protest during Pope Francis’ apology at the central Alberta First Nation community next week.
Pope Francis is set to travel to Alberta, Quebec and Nunavut from July 24 to 29. The papal visit is to include public and private events with an emphasis on Indigenous participation.
https://globalnews.ca/news/9010631/pope-francis-maskwacis-freedom-convoy/
So the virus makes it's way along microscopic pathways to infect brain cells. But hey, let's continue allowing ourselves and our kids to be infected time and time again.
/
Thanks Joe90, the medical response will be interesting – time to up our vaccine game.