Open mike 24/07/2022
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6:00 am, July 24th, 2022 - 79 comments
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- 2022 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #29
Listing of articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, July 17, 2022 through Sat, July 23, 2022. The following articles sparked above average interest during the week (bolded articles are from SkS authors): Cranky Uncle Cartoon 14/20 - Hitting the Ground, Cranky Uncle ...12 hours ago - The Choice
So, now we know for sure. The “protesters” who defiled the grounds of parliament and who (according to their own account) intended to create in three of our major cities “maximum disruption and inconvenience” to other citizens, are not interested in democracy – indeed, quite the contrary. Their objective, quite ...18 hours ago - The last of the Ford car plant series
Don Franks was interviewed by Dr Toby Boraman in December 2013 about his time working in the militant Ford car plant in the 1970s. This is the fifth and final installment of that interview. The first installment is here, the second installment here, the third here and fourth installment here. (The interview has ...18 hours ago - Winston Peters – Arsehole of the Week
2 days ago - Bryce Edwards: Green Party divisions over their future
Imagine being a Green Party activist at the moment. You joined the party because climate change is an existential threat and truly radical change needs to be undertaken immediately. You’re deeply upset by inequality. You think that conventional politicians are part of the problem. However, you begin to realise that ...2 days ago - In Defence of Modern Students: A Reply to Chris Trotter
Chris Trotter has put out a piece, lamenting the myopic focus of modern student activism on, well, students, and the tendency of university-educated policy-makers to take care of their own: https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/2022/07/poverty-is-indivisible-ms-swarbrick.html I think he raises some fair points, at least in the sense that assisting New Zealand’s university ...2 days ago - Trade Deals Are a-Changin'
Are We Keeping Up With the Changing Global Trade Patterns?Much of the response to the recent New Zealand-European Union Free Trade Agreement was disheartening, especially the complaints about the limited gains for our meat and dairy products. Yes, the gains were small, but significant in the circumstances.About a decade ago ...2 days ago - Taking the Temperature: a dispatch from the UKWell, it has happened. Forty degrees Celsius. It was bound to happen eventually, given the lack of determined action to halt our rising temperatures worldwide. Those who insisted such a temperature was impossible here in the UK have been left with egg on their faces. It was not a case ...2 days ago
- Corroboration: The key January 6 moment where Trump is exposed
Today’s January 6 committee hearings from Washington DC captured a series of remarkable, damning moments that make it clear Donald Trump is not fit for any role in public office, let alone the highest in the land. A series of moments, but one above all that leaves us in no ...3 days ago - Bryce Edwards: If the NZ First Foundation accused are not guilty, then who is?It’s shocking that the accused in the NZ First Foundation trial were declared “not guilty” in the High Court today. But it’s not actually surprising. There was always a strong chance that the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) was not going to get a conviction over the machinations used to keep ...3 days ago
- So its worse then
When news about the New Zealand First Foundation broke, electoral law expert Andrew Geddis put it succinctly: [T]he alternative conclusion is, if anything, even more worrying. If it turns out that the foundation and the party somehow are operating lawfully, as we should note Winston Peters maintains, then that ...3 days ago - Poverty Is Indivisible, Ms Swarbrick.
3 days ago - Hard News: 60
Tomorrow, I will be 60 years old. It’s the impossibly distant age at which people used to retire with a pension and a mortgage-free house. It's okay. I've been thinking of myself as basically there for a while now – and the same thing appears to be happening to some ...3 days ago - Understanding wokeness as a make-work strategy for the privileged class
Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay speaks with Swedish Marxist Malcom Kyeyune, who argues that nominally progressive theories of race and gender are actually aimed at securing influence, employment, and prestige for underemployed university graduates. https://quillette.com/2022/07/19/understanding-wokeness-as-a-make-work-strategy-for-privileged-white-collar-workers/ ...3 days ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #29 2022How does the IPCC know? With the passage of time our scientific understanding improves. Thanks to the fundamental purpose and scale of the effort, our arc of progress is especially swift and brightly visible in the shape of our (unfortunately) growing collection of IPCC Assessment Reports. With better vision comes more clarity, ...3 days ago
- Climate Change: A quarter-billion dollar delayBack in 2020, the government realised that the industrial allocations in the ETS - supposed to protect large polluters from unfair competition from countries who didn't pay for their carbon - was overallocated. They were giving away too many free credits, resulting in windfall gains to polluters. Having noticed this, ...4 days ago
- Gordon Campbell on the Covid surge, and re-infection
Hate to sound “fearful” and “inward”in my thinking, but it seems Covid can’t be beaten simply by a dose of positive thinking and a “can do” Kiwi attitude. The virus doesn’t seem to respect our mindset. The Omicron BA. 4 and BA.5 variants also don’t seem to respect the mRNA ...4 days ago - Mainstream media defends poor journalism by smearing good journalism
One of the results of the current partisanship and ideological motivation of the mainstream media is that the old journalistic skills of objective research and basing articles on evidence have largely disappeared. In many cases, journalists have just become stenographers faithfully parroting and quoting think tanks and anonymous political ...4 days ago - Bryce Edwards: Public submissions on political donation reform releasedIs it ironic that the Government is reforming rules around secret political donations in a very secretive way? There has been overwhelming public demand for more openness about how politicians raise their money, but the Government and officials have been less than transparent and very restrictive over the whole submission ...4 days ago
- Ministry of Justice OIA release of information on political donationsThe Ministry of Justice has released a copy of the public submissions on the Government’s proposed political donation law reforms – see here: OIA 96540 – Edwards 1 July 2022. This information was requested in early April under the Official Information Act, and was finally provided this month. Note the ...4 days ago
- A conspiracy against the publicEarlier this year the government held a public consultation on proposed changes to the election donations regime. Naturally, political parties - who have a strong interest in the rules around donations and what they have to disclose - submitted to it. But the Ministry of Justice cooked up a crooked ...5 days ago
- Playing the World’s Smallest Violin: A Rant About New Zealand’s Supposed Labour Shortage
Inflation is Back, in New Zealand as much as in anywhere else. Fuel costs and supply-chain issues and all that – and, yes, the loose monetary policy in 2020 has had an impact too, though it was the right thing to do at the time. 7% inflation in ...5 days ago - People, protests and politics at the Ford car plant in the 1970sDon Franks was interviewed by Dr Toby Boraman in December 2013 about his time working in the militant Ford car plant in the 1970s. In this installment Don talks about speedup, antiapartheid protests, the Maori land march and different views on Norm Kirk (The interview has been lightly edited. For ...5 days ago
- Bryce Edwards: How much of our cost-of-living crisis is due to incompetence?It’s ordinary people who are suffering the most from the current cost of living crisis. In other words, working people and the poor are paying the price of higher prices. Rising living costs have greater consequences for those in the bottom half of the wealth hierarchy, who are pushed into ...5 days ago
- Climate Change: A case to watchBack in 2019 our parliament passed the Zero Carbon Act. The Act was modelled on the UK's Climate Change Act, and has a similar scheme of five-yearly budgets, with detailed government plans to meet them. But after initial success, its no longer working out so well in the UK - ...6 days ago
- The Danish Solution: How Repudiating Co-Governance Could Be the Saving Of Labour.Copenhagen Was Worth A Mass* The Danish Social-Democratic Party leader, Mette Frederiksen, greeted by supporters during her successful 2019 general election campaign.THINK OF DENMARK – go on, think of Denmark. What springs to mind? Lego? The Little Mermaid? Squishy little segments of surprisingly tasty cheese? Bacon? Slaughtered Minks? How many of ...6 days ago
- Ukraine war – a shocking failure of our mainstream mediaThe well-known, and well-respected, international journalist John Pilger describes the war between Ukraine and Russia as “above all, a war of propaganda.” He says that nothing in the western press about this war can be trusted implicitly. That the reader or viewer must ...6 days ago
- 104°F? A Continental heat wave heads for EnglandThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob Henson with contributions from Jeff Masters Relentless heat that’s been plaguing much of Europe this summer is now making a run for the United Kingdom, which appears likely to experience the hottest temperatures in its long history of record keeping on or ...6 days ago
- Corrupt cops should be named, shamed, and firedOn Thursday the Independent Police Conduct Authority found that a senior Northland police officer had improperly involved himself in a prosecution to protect a mate's son from an assault charge. As usual for the IPCA, they refused to name the officer, despite a finding that fundamentally called into question their ...7 days ago
- An Unvarnished, Straight-Talking Working-Class Man?Unrepentant Scrapper: Any normal candidate would have run a mile from Guy Williams – rightly fearing the humiliation the comedian would be straining every muscle to inflict upon his hapless victim. But, Leo Molloy is not a normal candidate. The former jockey, qualified veterinarian, highly successful businessman, restauranteur and philanthropist ...7 days ago
- Gordon Campbell on the US attempt to regain lost groundThe brief fist bump between Joe Biden and Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader Mohammad bin Salman was the most memorable image from the US President’s journey last week to the Middle East. To many, it was a humiliating sign of American impotence. Fist bump the hand of the Crown Prince ...7 days ago
- Geoffrey Miller: Joe Biden’s controversial trip to Saudi Arabia could help New Zealand reset its o...Joe Biden’s controversial fist-bump with Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), the Saudi crown prince, may help New Zealand to forge its own new direction in the Middle East. The US president’s trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia showed that despite real concerns over human rights, the Middle East’s strategic importance in ...1 week ago
- 2022 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #28Listing of articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, July 10, 2022 through Sat, July 16, 2022. The following articles sparked above average interest during the week (bolded articles are from SkS authors): Cranky Uncle Cartoon 5/20 - Dark Night, Cranky Uncle Cartoon 7/20 ...1 week ago
- Enough Is EnoughEnough is enough! Ian Foster must go – and if he doesn’t do so of his own accord (as he should do), he must be pushed. That became apparent in the first minute of the match, when it became clear that neither the coach nor the team had learned any ...1 week ago
- Human rights campaign for solidarity with supporters of banned Tamil groupA human rights groups in Germany is calling for international solidarity for two Tamils who have been on trial for collecting funds for the Tamil Tigers (the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) a decade ago. The defendants Nathan Thambi and Anandarajah position is that the LTTE were not terrorists, rather a legitimate ...1 week ago
- The relevance of Piketty’s 'A Brief History of Equality' to New Zealand.
The ongoing decline in market income inequality stopped in the 1980s. Since then it has been stable, while 1990 public policy actively increased disposable income inequality.Thomas Piketty has a reputation for (literally and figuratively) weighty tomes. His 2013 best seller – 2.5 million copies – Le Capital au XXIe Siècle ...1 week ago - “Well, I’m back”: The July Rings of Power Trailer
It’s July in Dunedin – grey winter skies, plague-carrying pedestrians, and omnipresent, soul-destroying damp. Which means it’s time for my review of the freshly released two-and-a-half minute trailer for The Rings of Power. (Technically released at 12:30 a.m. on 15th July here, but I decided to sleep on it ...1 week ago - Bryce Edwards: Labour wants to be tough on crime – and tough on the causes of crimeThe Labour Government has managed to get one major issue right this week, at least in an electoral sense. The Government has been under pressure to deal with escalating public concerns about crime and gang activity. On Wednesday the newly appointed law and order duo of Chris Hipkins and Kiri ...1 week ago
- Rumours of [Civil] War.1 week ago
- Performative Caring.Political Sledging: On Sky News Australia, conservative columnist and commentator, Rita Panahi, coined the not-so-kind "Performative Caring" alternative to Jacinda Ardern's trade-mark promotion of "Kindness". There will be plenty on this side of the Tasman happy to pick up the Australian Right's all-too-accurate political sledge.SKY NEWS AUSTRALIA has reformulated Jacinda ...1 week ago
- Straight-up police corruptionAnother report from the Independent Police Conduct Authority today, on a senior police officer who improperly involved himself in a prosecution to protect a mate's son from an assault charge. The IPCA finds that this was improper and a conflict of interest (well, duh), but they fail to call it ...2 weeks ago
- Gordon Campbell on Labour’s bunker mentalityIt seems very odd that RNZ thought it was worth breaking into its normal programming yesterday in order to provide Christopher Luxon with a platform from which to try and explain away his latest outbreaks of foot-in-mouth disease. Can we now assume that any time that National wants a media ...2 weeks ago
- The nexus between the climate change and democracy crisesThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Roger Karapin The crises the U.S. is facing regarding global warming and representative democracy are similar in some ways. Both have been serious problems for several decades, but have taken on new urgency in the past five years. In both, the Republican Party ...2 weeks ago
- More British war crimesBack in 2017, the ABC revealed that Australia's SAS committed war crimes in Afghanistan, murdering prisoners and civilians, and taking body-parts as trophies. Now, the BBC has exposed the same behaviour in the British SAS: SAS operatives in Afghanistan repeatedly killed detainees and unarmed men in suspicious circumstances, according ...2 weeks ago
- The Strange Case Of The De-Selected Professor.Insufficiently Woke? It is difficult to read the leaked review which sank Professor Richard Jackson's bid to become a co-director of the Centre for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism as anything other than evidence of the ongoing and destructive conflict between the Professor and the Tiriti-centred, iwi-directed, bi-culturally-driven commissars of ...2 weeks ago
- NZ Rugby’s ProblemYesterday’s match between the Maori All Blacks and Ireland confirmed the sad state of New Zealand rugby. The contrast (and skills gap) between the two teams was at times painfully obvious and reinforced the conclusions which had to be drawn from last week’s test match. In both matches, the locals ...2 weeks ago
- What’s next after Supreme Court’s climate ruling?This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The Supreme Court’s June 30 ruling in the West Virginia v. EPA, as detailed by Lexi Smith on this site, substantially curtailed the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate climate pollutants. Though the language of the decision itself appears to be narrow – limiting the extent of ...2 weeks ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #28 2022Innocent until...? "Loss" in the dollars and cents sense of the insurance industry stemming from our accidental, too-rapid instigation of climate change are already a feature of our present. We can look to multiple attribution studies of hydrometeorological anomalies (aka "destructve floods") to confirm this. Multiple projections conducted by a ...2 weeks ago
- Tour of Duty: Ardern out on the world-stage and gets things done, Luxon goes off the rails. Again.
For a Government and Prime Minister apparently “with no substance apart from a talent for photo ops” it seems as if an awful lot of substance has, in fact, been achieved abroad. Multiple Prime Ministers have failed to get a reasonable deal for New Zealanders on pathways to ...2 weeks ago - Today’s radicals are proud to make a black woman shut her trapBrendon O’Neil on Spiked looks at the poison of cancel culture and the attack on Macy Gray When today’s radicals were fresh-faced youths, reading their Gramsci and putting up their Malcolm X posters, I wonder if they could ever have imagined that their proudest achievement in the year 2022 would ...2 weeks ago
- Bryce Edwards: Are we spending too little – or too much – on the military?New Zealand has once again been ranked the second-most peaceful nation in the world. When it comes to the Asia-Pacific region and the Southern Hemisphere, New Zealand is at the top of the peace rankings. This is according to the Institute for Economics and Peace, which recently released its annual ...2 weeks ago
- Limiting rights needs justificationIf the government wants to violate the Bill of Rights Act, does it need to actually justify it, and what happens if it doesn't? That's basicly the issue in question today in the Supreme Court, where activists of the Make it 16 campaign are challenging the voting age. The ...2 weeks ago
- The sin of cheapnessOn Monday, RNZ reported on the results of testing CO2 levels in various places, which showed that Auckland buses had CO2 levels of 5737ppm, making them effectively covid-filled sewers (CO2 is a proxy for exhaled air, which in the current situation is a proxy for covid). As with school classrooms, ...2 weeks ago
- David Seymour Enlists History In Act’s Struggle For Power.History Man: Does David Seymour have a case? Does history confirm that National campaigns from the right when it’s in opposition, only to govern from the left when it’s in government? The answer to this question is ….. complicated.DAVID SEYMOUR is on to something with History. Shrewd use of the past can ...2 weeks ago
- Supreme Court sharply limits EPA power plant authorityThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Lexi Smith The Supreme Court’s closely watched decision in West Virginia v. EPA held that the EPA exceeded its statutory authority in attempting to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act through the Obama-era Clean Power Plan. The six conservative justices ruled against EPA, the ...2 weeks ago
- Ford car plant in the 1970s: The first strike against sexual harassment in a factory in NZDon Franks was interviewed by Dr Toby Boraman in December 2013 about his time working in the militant Ford car plant in the 1970s. In this third installment Don tells of a fight against sexual harassment of women. (The interview has been lightly edited. For citations please acknowledge the interviewer ...2 weeks ago
- Gordon Campbell on the Pacific Island Forum gatheringIn recent months, China has been widely portrayed as a major strategic threat to the Pacific region, yet the Pacific states themselves beg to differ. Pacific leaders insist that climate change is a far more pressing existential threat. A month ago, Fiji’s defence minister Inia Seruiratu made that point very ...2 weeks ago
- 2022 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #27Listing of articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, July 3, 2022 through Sat, July 9, 2022. The following articles sparked above average interest during the week (bolded articles are from SkS authors): Cranky Uncle Cartoon 2/20 - Boiling Frogs, Ocean Time Lag, ...2 weeks ago
- All Black DebacleWatching the All Black debacle against Ireland yesterday was a painful experience. And Silver Lake must be having second thoughts about their investment. The obvious reaction from All Black supporters is that something has to change. How could such good players perform so badly as a team? But how do ...2 weeks ago
- How is the war going?The war in Ukraine is dragging on and many people have lost interest in it. But those who want to follow the progress of the war, and possibly speculate on how it will finish, must find it hard to find objective information. Like all wars, there is so much fake ...2 weeks ago
- Things We Already Knew – Jonathan Freedland is a Pillock
Jonathan Freedland uses the fall of Boris Johnson to continue to fight two wars that any sane, non-obsessed man would have put behind him. In an article titled Everything Tainted By Johnson's Lies Needs To Be Undone, he first decides 2022 is CLEARLY the most opportune time to have another ...2 weeks ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #27 2022Stuck at 68% The Policy Institute of King's College, London this week provides us a report from our government/NGO section, Public perceptions on climate change (pdf). The authors survey citizens of six European Union countries. A key finding is a bit disturbing: despite the scientific consensus on anthropogenic (human caused) climate ...2 weeks ago
- The Boris StrategyStand by! If I read Boris correctly, we might expect to see the following scenario unfold. Boris will declare that he is himself a candidate for the leadership. He will argue that the fact that he is the incumbent, at least pro tem, is an advantage, not a disqualification. He ...2 weeks ago
- Are We Facing Secular Stagnation?
We cannot be sure, but the answer matters even in the short term.If you think you know what is happening to the economy, you have not been following it closely enough. Clearly the tenor of the economy is changing – I think – but who can be sure following the ...2 weeks ago - Countering coercive politics
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s two week foreign mission to Europe and Australia was by all accounts a success. She met with business and government leaders, signed and co-signed several commercial and diplomatic agreements including a EU-NZ trade pact, conferred with NATO officials as an invited participant of this year’s NATO’s ...2 weeks ago - 13,000There's a lot going on today - the political circus in Westminster, an apparent political assassination in Japan, the ongoing war in Ukraine - but the only story that matters is this one: there were 13,344 new community cases of Covid-19 reported in Aotearoa today, and a further 23 deaths. ...2 weeks ago
- The Void.2 weeks ago
- Defending Dame Lynley.Bone Of Contention: Fantastic classics though they may be, opines Perth’s Edith Cowan University academic, Dr Helen Adam, books such as Harry the Dirty Dog, Where the Wild Things Are, Hairy McClary and Possum Magic no longer “accurately reflect the diversity of the modern world.”DAME LYNLEY DODD’S Hairy Maclary and his ...2 weeks ago
- Gordon Campbell on the trade deal with the EuropeansWe’ve grown so used to thinking the “we punch above our weight” cliché is real that the shortcomings in our free trade deal with the European Union may have come as something of a shock. That ingrained sense of Kiwi exceptionalism dies hard. Surely our produce is so good and ...2 weeks ago
- Karl Marx’s philosophy detailed – how his work continues to influenceThis excellent short summary of Karl Marx’s outlook and lasting influence was published by Newshub 5 July 2022. It was written by Christopher Pollard for The Conversation In 1845, Karl Marx declared: “philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it”. Change it he did. ...2 weeks ago
- An average day and an impetuous strike at the Ford car plant in the 1970sDon Franks was interviewed by Dr Toby Boraman in December 2013 about his time working in the militant Ford car plant in the 1970s. In this second installment Don tells of some of the work, the culture and organising on the job. The first installment is here. (The interview has ...2 weeks ago
- Some light in AustraliaBack in 2013, a former ASIS agent blew the whistle on how the Australian government had illegally bugged the leaders of East Timor in order to listen in on their negotiating position over oil and gas rights in the Timor Sea. When the issue was raised in the International Court ...2 weeks ago
- Farewell to PD2073…
Some five years ago, I said farewell to my 1998 Volkswagen Polo. It “died in battle” as the result of an accident, though in truth it was on its last legs anyway… https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2017/08/02/farewell-to-dmb432/ Now, I must say farewell to my existing car, a 1990 Ford Telstar (really a re-badged ...3 weeks ago - Bryce Edwards: Covid complacency could be a problem again in 2022The school that one of my kids goes to announced today that they have gone back to compulsory mask-wearing. It’s a sign of where things are heading, with a second wave of Omicron surging across the country. Understandably, this is the news that nobody wanted to hear. However, all the ...3 weeks ago
- Hard News: Closing off a complaintYou might recall that on April 19 and 20 this year, RNZ published and broadcast a series of reports – beginning with this one – that claimed the government had not followed Ministry of Health advice to end the MIQ system in November 2021.The coverage was based on a misleading ...3 weeks ago
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- Making housing more affordable
Every New Zealander deserves a healthy, affordable place to call home. We have a comprehensive plan to make it happen, and we’re making good progress. Here's the latest on how we're supporting Kiwis into homes: ...4 days ago - Greens call for overhaul of ‘double standards’ in investor category visa
The Government is allowing wealthy individuals to ‘purchase’ residency while entrenching a system that keeps low-waged workers on a precarious and temporary status, the Green Party says. ...5 days ago - Accessible elections a step closer, thanks to the GreensThe Election Access Fund established by a Green Party members’ bill opened for submissions this week, showing positive progress towards more accessible elections. ...5 days ago
- New evidence boosts case for urgent pay transparency reformThe Green Party is calling on the Government to pass legislation to increase pay transparency, saying it is an urgent step that needs to be taken in response to shocking new evidence that most of the pay gap for Pacific, Māori, and other ethnic minorities cannot be explained. ...6 days ago
- Bold solutions needed to ease inflation pressuresAction is needed to address the inequality crisis and support New Zealanders on the lowest incomes, the Green Party says. ...7 days ago
- Inquiry reveals thousands of students living in povertyThe Government must lift student incomes now, says the Green Party, as new evidence shows thousands of students are living in poverty, with many struggling to pay rent and put food on the table. ...7 days ago
- Free public transport better for climate and inequalityThe Green Party is on board with the extension of half-price public transport, but once again calls on the Government to go further and make public transport free - for good. ...1 week ago
- Alcohol action is suicide prevention – MPs must actEvidence published today showing that acute alcohol use is a factor in more than a quarter of suicides in New Zealand is a shocking wakeup call and politicians must respond, the Green Party says. ...1 week ago
- Greens demand answers as Crown agency backs deep sea miningBanning deep-sea mining is more urgent than ever following the news that a New Zealand Crown Research Institute, NIWA is set to support what could easily become a damaging mining project in the Pacific Ocean. ...2 weeks ago
- Free masks a Green winFollowing pressure from the Green Party, the Government has announced that medical masks will be available free for everyone, with N95 masks free for those most at-risk. ...2 weeks ago
- More tools to tackle gangs and keep our communities saferWe’ve announced the next steps in our work to tackle crime and gangs – because all New Zealanders deserve to live in communities that are safe. These new practical tools build on our strong law and order record, which includes delivering New Zealand’s largest ever Police service, targeting illegal firearms, ...2 weeks ago
- Government must focus on the underlying causes of crime to combat gang violenceWe need action to address the underlying causes of crime, not more of the same simplistic solutions that we know do not work and risk harming communities, the Green Party says. ...2 weeks ago
- Greens say fuel tax cut could have saved regional passenger rail, reduce fossil fuel relianceFor the cost of cutting taxes to petrol for three months, the Government could have ensured the future of a transformational increase to passenger rail services between Wellington, the Wairarapa and Manawatū, says the Green Party. ...2 weeks ago
- Easing the pressure on New ZealandersSince taking office in 2017, our Government has worked hard to lift wages and make life more affordable for New Zealanders, as we move forward with our plan to grow a secure economy for all. ...2 weeks ago
- Taxing drug revenue would mean drug reformIf ACT is serious about taxing illicit drug revenue then let’s talk about drug reform, the Green Party says. ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party calls on PM to stop deep sea miningThe Green Party has written to the Prime Minister on the eve of the Pacific Islands Forum calling on the Government to support a moratorium on deep sea mining. ...2 weeks ago
- 106 years of supporting KiwisIt’s our birthday this week! For more than a century, we’ve remained committed to supporting New Zealanders and securing a better future for all. As we mark 106 years of the New Zealand Labour Party, here’s a look at how our work has made a difference for New Zealanders and ...2 weeks ago
- Make N95 masks free for everyoneThe Green Party is once again calling on the Government to supply free masks to everyone. ...2 weeks ago
- Rent controls and income boost essential for kids’ wellbeingThe Green Party is calling on the Government to immediately introduce rent controls and expand the cost of living payment to those most in need. ...2 weeks ago
- Protecting our environment and marine life from plasticsOur Government is taking further action on plastics to turn around New Zealand’s rubbish record on waste, and to restore our environment for future generations. It’s now been more than three years since our Government banned single-use plastic bags, to help clean up our environment and protect marine life. Before ...3 weeks ago
- Pricing must cut agriculture emissionsCutting climate pollution must be the number one priority for Cabinet when considering how it intends to price agricultural emissions, the Green Party says. ...3 weeks ago
- Green Party calls for safer staffing levels in aged careThe Green Party is calling for urgent government action to ensure safe staffing levels in aged residential care facilities, as a new report today shows a strained workforce is under increasing pressure. ...3 weeks ago
- Defence Force to support Pacific on maritime security
The New Zealand Defence Force will support Pacific Island partners through a range of maritime security and other support in the next three months, Minister of Defence Peeni Henare announced today. “The Pacific is who we are as well as where we are. The challenges our region faces are New ...3 days ago - Speech to Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners conferenceTēnā koutou katoa Tenei te mihi ki a koutou Kua tae mai i runga i te kaupapa o te ra Ara ko Te Royal New Zealand College of GPs hui Tēnā tatou katoa Thank you for the opportunity to address you today. I acknowledge Samantha Murton, President of the Royal ...3 days ago
- Congratulations for Niuean COVID-19 vaccination programmeAssociate Health Minister and Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs Aupito William Sio has congratulated the Premier of Niue, Dalton Tagelagi who is visiting Aotearoa New Zealand this week, for the tremendous success of Niue’s COVID-19 vaccination programme. Niue has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, with 99 percent ...3 days ago
- Joint Statement – Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Niue Premier Dalton TagelagiPrime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Premier Dalton Tagelagi signed a new Statement of Partnership between Aotearoa New Zealand and Niue during talks in Wellington, today. The leaders reaffirmed the close friendship, forged through shared people and constitutional ties. The new Statement of Partnership reflects our long-term cooperation on priority areas ...4 days ago
- Benefit numbers continue to fallJune Quarter Benefit statistics released today show the number of people receiving a Main Benefit continues to fall. “There are 3,717 fewer people on a Main Benefit compared to March 2022,” Carmel Sepuloni said. “However, while we are still seeing a good number of people move off benefit and into ...4 days ago
- Infrastructure funding unlocks 8000 new homesSeven centres first to get Government housing infrastructure funding, enabling over 8,000 more new homes to be built New homes to be enabled in Rotorua, Ōmokoroa, Kaikōura, Ōtaki, Napier, Gisborne and New Plymouth 28 further projects undergoing due diligence and negotiations for allocation from $1 billion Infrastructure Acceleration Fund ...4 days ago
- Big emitters will have to do more to cut emissionsThe biggest polluters will have to do more to help meet climate targets because of changes the Government is making to decade-old settings that have allocated far too many free climate pollution credits to New Zealand’s largest emitters, Climate Change Minister James Shaw announced today. “Tackling climate change is a ...4 days ago
- Govt launches first nationwide tsunami evacuation mapThe Government has taken a further important step in improving Kiwis’ preparedness in the event of a tsunami with the launch of Aotearoa’s first nationwide tsunami evacuation map, says Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty. “All of New Zealand’s coastline is at risk of tsunami which means most of us ...4 days ago
- Speech to LGNZ conferenceKia ora koutou katoa and thank you for the invitation to speak to you all today. I would like to acknowledge Local Government New Zealand President Stuart Crosby, and Chief Executive Susan Freeman-Greene, and our host, Mayor Grant Smith of Palmerston North City Council. I also acknowledge all elected members ...4 days ago
- Poroporoaki: Ricky HoughtonE mara a Riki, ko koe tērā i tu mai i mua ra, hei pou matakana mo mātou te hunga noho taone, arā ko Tamaki Makaurau. Nāu ano i mātua mai te haumarutanga o ta tātou whānau, hapori, hapū me ngā iwi, arā ko te mauria mai o ngā whare ...4 days ago
- New investor migrant visa will bring growth opportunities to Kiwi companiesA new Active Investor Plus visa category is created to attract high-value investors. The new visa will replace the existing Investor 1 and Investor 2 visa categories. Eligibility criteria includes a minimum $5 million investment and encourages greater economic benefit to New Zealand companies by capping passive investment in ...5 days ago
- Government steps up protections against foot-and-mouth diseaseMeasures to further protect New Zealand’s economy from foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) continue as the Government focuses on strengthening biosecurity settings, Biosecurity and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor said today. “Biosecurity New Zealand will this week begin using foot mats with disinfecting chemicals for arrivals from Indonesia to step onto in a ...5 days ago
- Niuean Premier visits New ZealandNiuean Premier Hon. Dalton Tagelagi will visit Aotearoa New Zealand this week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. Premier Tagelagi will be officially welcomed to New Zealand on Thursday 21 July. During his visit to Wellington he will undertake a number of official engagements, including meetings with the Prime Minister, ...5 days ago
- Speech to Electricity Networks AssociationGood morning. It’s great to be here again and speak with you. The past few months have been momentous for climate policy in New Zealand. As you know, the Government has now set New Zealand’s emissions budgets for the first three budget periods, and have released our ambitious package of ...5 days ago
- More measures to build more affordable homesFirst home buyers and renters are set to benefit from measures getting underway to support more new affordable homes for people and their whānau, says Housing Minister, Dr Megan Woods. “Since we came into Government, we have been hitting the housing crisis we inherited with initiatives to get new housing ...5 days ago
- Government provides Three Waters support for councilsEvery Council in New Zealand will receive at least $350,000 of additional funding to ensure they have the resourcing necessary to implement the Three Waters reforms, Associate Minister of Local Government Kieran McAnulty announced today. The Government has set aside a $44 million fund to assist Councils with the costs ...6 days ago
- Consumer Advocacy Council members appointedFour appointments have been made to the Consumer Advocacy Council, Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs announced today. The four appointees are: Desiree Mahy (Tūhoe); currently the Manukura (Chair) of Te Hou Ora Whanau Services, a Director of Thankyou Payroll Limited, a Director of Pāmu and a Trustee of the ...6 days ago
- New Porirua Mental Health and disability facility openedHealth Minister Andrew Little has opened a new purpose-built mental health and intellectual disability facility in Porirua today, marking another milestone in the Government’s billion dollar investment in mental health services and facilities. Manawai, the National Individualised Service Unit (ISU), was built to support a small number of people with ...6 days ago
- Trucking toward lower emissions heavy transportThe Energy and Resources Minister Dr Megan Woods is celebrating today’s launch of two firsts for energy decarbonisation in the transport sector in New Zealand; an electric milk tanker and a hydrogen truck, made possible with the help of Government funding. New Zealand’s (and possibly the world’s) first electric milk ...6 days ago
- New Zealand’s 10th Youth Parliament event beginsYoung people from across Aotearoa New Zealand will take centre stage in the capital as Youth members of Parliament (MPs), Youth Press Gallery members, and the Youth Clerk at the two-day Youth Parliament event in Wellington. Youth Parliament is an opportunity for young people from across Aotearoa New Zealand to ...7 days ago
- CPI figures highlight challenges amid volatile global environmentThe latest inflation figures reflects the volatile and uncertain global environment though New Zealand is well positioned to respond and help households and businesses through this difficult time. The Consumer Price Index released by Stats NZ today showed a 1.7 percent increase in prices over the June quarter, taking the ...7 days ago
- Govt provides more cost of living supportPetrol excise duty cut by 25 cents a litre for more than five months until 31 January 2023 Road User Charges reduced by the equivalent until 31 January 2023 Half price public transport fares ...1 week ago
- Local Government commissioners appointedLocal Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta today announced the appointment of three commissioners to Mana Kāwanatanga ā Rohe | Local Government Commission. The appointed commissioners are: Brendan Duffy, Chair Bonita Bigham Sue Bidrose The Local Government Commission was initially established in 1947 to consider proposals for local government reorganisation. Over time, ...1 week ago
- Five lay members of the High Court appointedAttorney-General David Parker announced today the appointment of five lay members of the High Court under the Commerce Act 1986. Lay members assist the Court in cases involving appeals from decisions of the Commerce Commission and in other matters under the Commerce Act, and play a key role in ensuring ...1 week ago
- Fish Passage remediation in Tasman District to boost fish numbers and employmentA joint Government and Tasman District Council project is investing to bring more freshwater fish to the Tasman region, protect local waterways and employ local people. Environment Minister David Parker said the five-year $2 million Tasman Fish Passage project will see more than 4,000 in-stream structures assessed, with around 1,500 ...1 week ago
- New measures to tackle COVID-19 and fluExpanded eligibility for antivirals Making COVID-19 medicines available in pharmacies to help ease pressure on GPs Significantly expanding access to free RATs and masks Schools provided with mask supplies and more support for ventilation and winter heating costs Second COVID-19 booster available to those over 50 Extra measures for ...2 weeks ago
- Empowering Pacific Aotearoa to achieve home ownershipPacific peoples in Aotearoa are now on the road to achieving their ultimate goal of home ownership, one year after the launch of the Pacific Financial Capability Development programme, said the Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio. “We successfully secured funding of up to $41.315 million over four years ...2 weeks ago
- More tools for Police to tackle gangs and intimidating behaviourNew targeted warrant and additional search powers to find and seize weapons from gang members during a gang conflict Expanding the range of offences where police can seize and impound cars, motorbikes and other vehicles Up to five years prison for a new offence of discharging a gun with ...2 weeks ago
- Sustainable manufacturing businesses in Manawatū-Whanganui to receive Govt investmentTwo sustainable manufacturing businesses, Techlam in Levin and Plentyful in Rangitikeī, will receive investment from the Government’s Regional Strategic Partnership Fund (RSPF), Economic and Regional Development Minister Stuart Nash announced today. Techlam, a company that manufactures sustainable timber, will receive up to $1.75 million to procure and install machinery for ...2 weeks ago
- Drought assistance to Kiribati as drinking water supplies dry upThreats to the drinking water supplies of Kiribati from a prolonged drought are being targeted with a joint assistance package from Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia. Foreign Affairs Minister Hon Nanaia Mahuta today announced that New Zealand and Australia are investing a further NZ$1.1 million between them in a new desalination ...2 weeks ago
- Government support for equality and empowerment of Fijian women and girlsPrime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta have announced New Zealand will make a significant contribution to support the implementation of the Fiji Gender Action Programme to advance women’s empowerment and social protection. “Gender equality and women’s empowerment is a priority for Aotearoa New Zealand, and for ...2 weeks ago
- Funds for Manuherekia project will help restore waterway’s healthThe Thompsons Creek projects, part of the wider Manuherekia catchment programme in Central Otago, have been granted Jobs for Nature funding to help improve water quality and restore freshwater habitats. It is expected to generate about eight full time equivalent roles across three years. “The Thompsons Creek projects are based ...2 weeks ago
- Final section of the Waikato Expressway now openThe Hamilton Section of the Waikato Expressway opens today, marking the final chapter of a 30 year roading project that will improve safety, reduce travel times, and boost economic growth, Transport Minister Michael Wood says. “It’s terrific to see the last 22-kilometre piece of the Expressway falling into place. “This ...2 weeks ago
- Final section of the Waikato Expressway completeThe Hamilton Section of the Waikato Expressway will open this week, marking the final chapter of a 30 year roading project that will improve safety, reduce travel times, and boost economic growth, Transport Minister Michael Wood says. “It’s terrific to see the last 22-kilometre piece of the Expressway falling into ...2 weeks ago
- Mountain bike festival gears up with new Govt fundingAn international mountain bike festival will receive Government funding to secure events in Rotorua and across the South Island, offering significant economic, social and cultural benefits to New Zealand, Economic and Regional Development Minister Stuart Nash announced today. Crankworx will receive up to $8.1 million from the Government’s Major Events ...2 weeks ago
- Hundreds of Kiwis awarded scholarships to Asia and Latin AmericaNew Zealand’s connections with Asia and Latin America are set to grow with 30 groups, made up of 387 New Zealanders, awarded Prime Minister’s scholarships, Chris Hipkins said today. “New Zealand is reconnecting with the world, and for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, New Zealanders will embark on ...2 weeks ago
- Pacific crop resilience supported though climate aidPrime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta have announced the first investment from the recently boosted $1.3 billion climate aid fund, a contribution of $10 million to the conservation of Pacific crop seeds impacted by climate change. $10 million will be allocated to the Fiji based Centre ...2 weeks ago
- Government announces refreshed Commemorations Programme 2023-2027The programme of historical anniversaries to be acknowledged by the New Zealand Government over the next five years includes some of our nation’s most important events, Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Carmel Sepuloni said. “We’re continuing to lay the foundations for a better future by ensuring all New Zealanders ...2 weeks ago
- First Peoples International Business Forum – “Looking back to move forward”Before I commence, as I did at the beginning of the day, I would once again like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which we meet, and pay my respects to the original occupants of these ancestral lands, and to the Elders past, present, emerging and yet ...2 weeks ago
- Southland oat milk producer gets Govt boostSouthland-based oat milk producer New Zealand Functional Foods is getting new Government backing, with a $6 million investment from the Regional Strategic Partnership Fund, Economic and Regional Development Minister Stuart Nash announced today. “We set up the Regional Strategic Partnership Fund (RSPF) to help build more productive, resilient, and sustainable ...2 weeks ago
- Government pulls teeth of Australian Building and Construction Commission
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The government this week will take the first step in killing off the controversial Australian Building and Construction Commission by stripping back its powers “to the bare legal minimum”. The government promised before the ...8 hours ago - John Minto: From Raglan to Palestine – let our voice be heard out loudCOMMENTARY: By John Minto During World War I, the New Zealand government took a big area of land at Raglan from the local Tainui Awhiro people to build an airfield and bunker as part of local war preparations. The airfield was never built and, instead of returning the land to ...13 hours ago
- Assassins gun down Philippine broadcaster outside homePacific Media Watch newsdesk Radio broadcaster Federico “Ding” Gempesaw has been shot and killed in broad daylight in front of his home in Carmen, Cagayan de Oro City, Mindanao, reports the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). The IFJ and its affiliate, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), ...13 hours ago
- Disgruntled PNG voters destroy ballot boxes, set fire to voting papersPNG Post-Courier Angry voters in East Sepik and Hela have destroyed ballot boxes and set fire to ballot papers after finding that their names were not on the common roll in Papua New Guinea’s general election. No reports were received of people or election officials being hurt in the violence. ...13 hours ago
- Aupito to attend Pacific Islands Forum in Fiji instead of MahutaRNZ Pacific Pacific Peoples Minister Aupito William Sio will attend the Pacific Islands Forum in Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta’s stead as she recovers from covid-19. In a statement confirming the move this afternoon Aupito, who is also the Associate Foreign Minister, said he looked forward to the opportunity to talanoa ...13 hours ago
- Vanuatu elects new president after eight rounds of votingRNZ Pacific Nikenike Vurobaravu has been voted the 12th President of the Republic of Vanuatu. It took eight rounds of voting by the 58-member Electoral College before he secured the required minimum number of 38 this afternoon. In the end he got a resounding 47 votes, after the Prime Minister, ...13 hours ago
- ‘A bit of a surprise’ – Greens co-leader James Shaw’s job on the lineBy Craig McCulloch, RNZ News deputy political editor A shellshocked Climate Change Minister James Shaw has been ejected from the New Zealand Greens’ leadership by a minority of party delegates and has yet to decide whether he will fight to stay on. Thirty-two out of 107 delegates voted at the ...13 hours ago
- RSF criticises charges against Timor-Leste reporter over revealing minors given virginity testsPacific Media Watch newsdesk Anything concerning the Catholic Church is extremely sensitive in Timor-Leste, as Raimundos Oki, the editor of The Oekusi Post website can confirm, reports the Paris-based global media freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders. Oki is facing a possible six-year jail sentence under article 291 of the penal ...13 hours ago
- Tokelau family under house arrest for nearly a year over vaccine defianceBy Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist A family has been under house arrest in Tokelau for almost a year after they refused to get vaccinated against covid-19. The tunoa — house arrest — was imposed on the family of four by the Taupulega (council) on Nukunonu, one of the three ...13 hours ago
- Second Kanak party, Palika, joins boycott of French statute talksRNZ Pacific New Caledonia’s pro-independence Palika party has joined the Caledonian Union in rejecting talks in Paris announced by the French Interior Ministry. The ministry called a meeting of the signatories to the 1998 Noumea Accord for September as France plans to draw up a new statute for New Caledonia ...13 hours ago
- Three vote defeat in PNG election and Rabaul’s Marat set to retireBy Paul Bungtabu and Poreni Umau in Rabaul It took 20 years and just three votes to unshackle anti-corruption champion Dr Allan Marat’s grip on the Rabaul Open seat in East New Britain Province in Papua New Guinea’s general election. His reign finally came to an end at 5pm yesterday ...13 hours ago
- Kāpiti Coast councillor wants govt to also invest in trains
The government's $29 million investment into infrastructure in Ōtaki should come with a promise of new trains, a Kāpiti Coast councillor says. ...18 hours ago - James Shaw may not have been green enough – DelahuntyIt's not easy being Green: Party co-leader's abrupt ousting may have been for not taking a strong enough stance on climate change, a former party leader says. ...20 hours ago
- Researchers warn of growing potential for mass killings in Papua regionBy Victor Mambor and Alvin Prasetyo in Jayapura The US Holocaust Memorial Museum is warning in a new report that mass killings of civilians could occur in Indonesia’s troubled West Papua region in the next year to 18 months if current conditions deteriorate to a worst-case scenario. Although large-scale violence ...1 day ago
- NZ local government: ‘We’re ready for change – it’s about youth and iwi’By Moana Ellis, Local Democracy Reporter A district mayor says the Aotearoa New Zealand local government sector is ready to launch into a future that embraces more youthful members, Māori and climate change action. Whanganui mayor Hamish McDouall said the Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) annual conference underway in Palmerston ...1 day ago
- Delegates At The Green Party AGM Have Voted To Re-open Nominations For Co-leader
Delegates at the AGM of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand have voted to retain Marama Davidson as Green Party co-leader and to re-open nominations for the other co-leader position. Co-leaders of the Green Party are elected every year at the party’s ...1 day ago - Green Party's James Shaw to face leadership challengeGreen Party members have voted at an online annual general meeting today to re-open nominations for James Shaws's spot as co-leader. ...1 day ago
- Coming up with a new name for this commission was a walkover? Not when it is developing a Treaty par...
The news from an outfit called the Walking Outdoor Access Commission was startlingly summed up in four words in a press statement headline: We’re changing our name. The fundamental change should have be no more than the removal of the word “walking”, because (as the press statement tells us): “Our ...2 days ago - Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Green Party divisions over their futurePolitical Roundup: Green Party divisions over their future Green Party co-leader, James Shaw. Image, Green Party New Zealand. Imagine being a Green Party activist at the moment. You joined the party because climate change is an existential threat and truly radical change needs to be undertaken immediately. You’re deeply upset ...2 days ago
- Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: If the NZ First Foundation accused are not guilty, then who is?Political Roundup: If the NZ First Foundation accused are not guilty, then who is? It’s shocking that the accused in the NZ First Foundation trial were declared “not guilty” in the High Court today. But it’s not actually surprising. Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. There was always a strong chance that ...2 days ago
- Porgera villagers helpless, unsafe in their homes as ‘warlords’ kill freelyBy Melisha Yafoi of the PNG Post-Courier “It’s okay, we’ll just sit here and they can come kill us.” These chilling words are from a defenceless woman (name withheld) who has seen first-hand the continuous killings in Papua New Guinea’s Porgera Valley, Enga province and accepting what could be the ...2 days ago
- Fiji elections chief tells local media to ‘upskill’ overseas reportersBy Wanshika Kumar in Suva Fiji’s Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem has called on local media to upskill their overseas counterparts in the wake of an article by the public broadcaster Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that raised questions on whether Fiji’s upcoming elections would be free and fair. He said ...2 days ago
- ‘Doorstops’ at the Pacific Forum – why no tough questions on West Papua?By Asia Pacific Report editor David Robie A lively 43sec video clip surfaced during last week’s Pacific Islands Forum in the Fiji capital of Suva — the first live leaders’ forum in three years since Tuvalu, due to the covid pandemic. Posted on Twitter by Guardian Australia’s Pacific Project editor ...2 days ago
- Master of their domain? Mayor candidates clash over digital diversionThe race for the Auckland mayoralty is heating up with candidates in a spat over a website domain mystery. ...2 days ago
- Climate change: 'We need both central and local government working together'Local and central government officials are taking a strong line on climate change: wanting to act stronger and more collaboratively to make change. ...2 days ago
- A penguin farm in the Australian desert: a thought experiment that reveals the flaws our in environm...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Lindenmayer, Professor, The Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University Shutterstock Imagine this fictitious scenario. The federal environment minister announces government approval for a large-scale penguin farm near Alice Springs. It will produce 300,000 penguins each year ...2 days ago
- Roger Watkin To Stand For Porirua-Tawa Seat On Regional Council“When I stood for Greater Wellington Regional Council in 2019 I said I was in for the long haul win, lose or draw. I am pleased to announce I am standing again to represent the people from Tawa to Pukerua Bay in the Porirua Electorate,” says ...3 days ago
- Three-month Pacific Islands maritime patrol mission to start next weekDefence Minister Peeni Henare has announced two NZDF ships and Orion aircraft will be taking part in Operation Mahi Tahi in partnership with Fiji, Niue, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. ...3 days ago
- A cosmic tango: this distant planet’s very strange orbit points to a violent and chaotic pastSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adriana Errico, Computer engineer, MSc Bioinformatics, University of Southern Queensland kevinmgill/flickr, CC BY If you close your eyes and imagine a system of planets orbiting a distant star, what do you see? For most people, such thoughts conjure up ...3 days ago
- In a cold July, Adelaide comes to life with art of light, sound and movementSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Catherine Speck, Emerita Professor, Art History and Curatorship, University of Adelaide Tyr Liang/Illuminate Adelaide On cold nights in July, Adelaide audiences are flocking to an extraordinary festival of light and sound. The top bill of the Illuminate festival is ...3 days ago
- Week in Politics: Opposition wants inflation to decide the next electionAnalysis - Opposition parties see inflation as their ticket to victory in the next election, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern finds an unusual ally after the controversial maskless photo and a new book reveals the horror story behind National's lea ...3 days ago
- GPs get a good dose of Little’s rhetoric – and a reassurance that there will be a better tomorro...
Buzz from the Beehive Just as you we failed to find the word “democracy” in the PM’s speech to the Local Government New Zealand this week, so the word “crisis” ... 3 days ago - Boris Johnson says his time as UK PM was ‘mission largely accomplished’. How does that actually ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Wellings, Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, Monash University Boris Johnson has declared his time as United Kingdom prime minister was “mission largely accomplished”. How does that self-diagnosed legacy stack up? Nothing is inevitable in politics, but Johnson’s political demise ...3 days ago
- Christchurch To Host Next Local Government New Zealand ConferenceThe 2023 Local Government New Zealand Conference will be held in Ōtautahi Christchurch from 26-28 July next year. “The LGNZ Conference will be the first time the entire sector will get a chance to get together after the local body elections,” says ...3 days ago
- Innocent AgainHon Winston Peters From the moment these spurious allegations were first raised and then perpetuated by many in the media, day after day, and month after month, I maintained that there had been no wrongdoing. Today the High Court confirmed that ...3 days ago
- Small changes could bridge communication and cultural gaps for people from refugee backgrounds who n...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Angela Dew, Associate Professor, Deakin University Getty/Alia Youssef People with disability and their family members from non-English speaking refugee backgrounds come up against language and communication barriers when they try to access services, including the National Disability Insurance Scheme ...3 days ago
- Government advertising spending out of control – NationalAdvertising spending by government departments has increased at least 121 percent since Labour was elected, and it cannot be explained solely by the pandemic, National says. ...3 days ago
- Even in the political afterlife, Morrison departs from the normSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joshua Black, PhD Candidate, School of History, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University In the past fortnight, former prime minister Scott Morrison has reemerged as a subject of public discussion. First, there was rumour about his interest in securing work with ...3 days ago
- New research in Arnhem Land reveals why institutional fire management is inferior to cultural burnin...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Bowman, Professor of Pyrogeography and Fire Science, University of Tasmania One of the conclusions of this week’s shocking State of the Environment report is that climate change is lengthening Australia’s bushfire seasons and raising the number of days with a fire ...3 days ago
- Keith Rankin Essay – The Economic Cost of War, especially World WarAnalysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. All wars incur economic costs, and not only to the directly belligerent countries. The biggest costs arise when a war becomes a prolonged stalemate. The ...3 days ago
- NZ First Foundation case: Men charged over handling of donations found not guiltyThe two men charged over the handling of donations to the New Zealand First Foundation have been found not guilty. ...3 days ago
- Russia says peace in Ukraine will be ‘on our terms’ – but what can the West accept and at what...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato Getty Images The recent assertion by Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russia’s security council (and former president), that the invasion of Ukraine will “achieve all its goals” and that peace will be ...3 days ago
- Is Australian rhyming slang in a bit of froth and bubble? Let’s take a Captain Cook (spoiler: the ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Howard Manns, Senior Lecturer in Linguistics, Monash University Wes Mountain/The Conversation, CC BY-ND Have you heard? Barry Crocker’s having a … well, Barry Crocker (“shocker”) of a time with those Reg Grundies (“undies”) people. Karens everywhere can relate – ...3 days ago
- Ambulance ramping is a signal the health system is floundering. Solutions need to extend beyond EDsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendan Shannon, Senior Lecturer in Paramedicine, Registered Paramedic, Monash University Health-care systems across Australia are buckling in the wake of COVID waves and the flu season. Pictures of ambulances piling up outside hospitals have become commonplace in the media. Known as “ramping”, ...3 days ago
- Labor won’t overhaul environment laws until next year. Here are 5 easy wins it could aim for nowSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Watson, Professor, The University of Queensland Shutterstock Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek this week acknowledged the grave state of Australia’s environment and pledged new laws to go before parliament next year. But talk is cheap. The long-delayed State of ...3 days ago
- Curious kids: why don’t whales have teeth like we do?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vanessa Pirotta, Postdoctoral Researcher and Wildlife Scientist, Macquarie University Shutterstock/The Conversation Why don’t whales have teeth like we do? asked by Henry, 6 years old. Great question, Henry. Your teeth are an important part of your body. ...3 days ago
- Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chad Morrison, Academic Director of Professional Experience, Murdoch University www.shutterstock.com Every few days there is another report about the teacher shortage across Australia. Last week, we learned one of Melbourne’s biggest schools is considering a return to home learning to ...3 days ago
- Siege warfare, polygamy and sacrilege: meet history’s most outrageous king, Demetrius the BesiegerSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Charlotte Dunn, Lecturer in Classics, University of Tasmania A fresco in Pompeii possibly depicting Demetrius I 50–40 BC. Wikimedia Commons Alexander the Great was a successful conqueror, but a poor planner. He died without an acceptable heir to inherit the empire, just ...3 days ago
- Mayors celebrate government's 'eyewatering' infrastructure contributionSeven mayors around the country are toasting securing government funding, which will take care of crucial infrastructure in their towns or districts, and allow them to build more houses. ...3 days ago
- Grattan on Friday: Climate bill front and centre when parliament starts but it’s the least of Alba...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Mick Tsikas/AAP If you’re outside staring in, you’d probably say the Albanese government is looking good. If you’re inside gazing out, you’d likely think its challenges appear little short of dire. Next ...3 days ago
- 18 people hacked to death in Porgera in under an hour amid PNG electionsBy Miriam Zarriga of the PNG Post-Courier A brutal massacre in Porgera town yesterday afternoon in which 18 innocent people were killed has rocked Enga province and shocked Papua New Guinea. Local police chief acting Superintendent George Kakas was shocked by the act of violence in the wake of the ...3 days ago
- Australia and New Zealand’s ‘deafening silence’ on Pacific democracy and human rightsANALYSIS: By Biman Chand Prasad in Suva The Pacific Islands Forum leaders’ meeting has ended and what is intriguing is the deafening silence on declining standards of democracy, governance, human rights, media freedom and freedom of speech issues, despite the serious and arguably worsening situation in some regional countries. The ...3 days ago
- Climate bill front and centre when parliament starts but it’s the least of Albanese’s problemsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Mick Tsikas/AAP If you’re outside staring in, you’d probably say the Albanese government is looking good. If you’re inside gazing out, you’d likely think its challenges appear little short of dire. Next ...3 days ago
- Niue and New Zealand renew partnershipNiue Premier Dalton Tagelagi met with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in Wellington where they discussed Niue's ocean policies and a joint commitment to renewable energy. ...3 days ago
- Despite what political leaders say, New Zealand’s health workforce is in crisis – but it’s the...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paula Lorgelly, Professor of Health Economics, University of Auckland Mario Tama/Getty Images Earlier this week, New Zealand health minister Andrew Little stated what most who work in health already know. Healthcare is all about people – the people ...3 days ago
- ANZ’s takeover of Suncorp will reduce bank competition – but will that be enough to block it?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Angel Zhong, Associate Professor of Finance, RMIT University Australia has one of the world’s most concentrated banking sectors, with its four biggest banks – Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, Westpac and ANZ – holding more about three-quarters of the market, ...3 days ago
- In Paper City, Japanese survivors recount their experiences of the 1945 firebombing of TokyoSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christine Judith Nicholls, Honorary Senior Lecturer, Australian National University Melbourne Documentary Film Festival Review: Paper City, directed by Adrian Francis In his first feature-length documentary, Adelaide-born director Adrian Francis offers a rigorous understanding of the American firebombing of Tokyo via ...3 days ago
- State of the Environment report shows our growing cities are under pressure – but we’re seeing p...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gabriela Quintana Vigiola, Senior Lecturer in Planning, University of Technology Sydney Shutterstock Urban areas are often thought of as concrete jungles, but they encompass much more than that. Nature, people and built structures are interconnected. Together they comprise the urban ...3 days ago
- Transparency under Ardern – party submissions on donations are kept secret and Taxpayers’ Union ...Yet again we are being reminded that from the moment she took office in 2017, Jacinda Ardern made a promise she would not keep – she promised her government would be the most open and transparent New Zealand has seen. In her first formal speech to Parliament she pledged: “This government will ...3 days ago
- Government to limit free ETS creditsClimate Change Minister James Shaw is moving to limit the allocation of free credits under the Emissions Trading Scheme. ...4 days ago
- Jobseeker benefit numbers down on previous yearAbout 100,000 people who are able to work are receiving the job-seeker benefit, despite major staff shortages around the country. ...4 days ago
- How to deal with hangry kids and reduce the chances of it happening again – 3 tips from nutrition ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alison Spence, Senior Lecturer in Nutrition and Population Health, Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), Deakin University Shutterstock Like adults, children can get “hangry” – a combination of angry and hungry. Hangriness may be caused by blood glucose levels ...4 days ago
- Govt lures migrants with millions to invest – but its “rebalanced” policy is still weighted in...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s immigration policies have come under heavy fire in recent weeks, even though the shortages of key workers — nurses for example — have become acute. One response to the critics – included among the latest Beehive announcements – is something the government is calling ...4 days ago - Māori Perspectives On Public AccountabilityOur previous research on public accountability highlighted that it is important for us to understand more about Māori perspectives on accountability. This may help us understand why Māori have lower levels of trust in the public sector than other ...4 days ago
- Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Public submissions on political donation reform releasedAnalysis by Dr Bryce Edwards. Political Roundup: Public submissions on political donation reform released Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Is it ironic that the Government is reforming rules around secret political donations in a very secretive way? There has been overwhelming public demand for more openness about how politicians raise their ...4 days ago
- 3 types of denial that allow Australians to feel OK about how we treat refugeesSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jamal Barnes, Lecturer, Edith Cowan University As one of its first acts in government, the newly elected Labor government turned back a boat of Sri Lankan asylum seekers trying to enter Australia. Labor has vowed to continue Operation Sovereign Borders, including ...4 days ago
- Māori councillors condemn racism faced in NZ local government roleBy Ashleigh McCaull, RNZ News Te Ao Māori reporter Māori councillors have detailed the torrents of abuse and racism they say they face in their role. It is something Local Government New Zealand says it has to confront as it tries to make councils more diverse. It comes as its ...4 days ago
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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.
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Thanks Joe90, the medical response will be interesting – time to up our vaccine game.