Just in case your shadenfreude levels are getting low, here is part 1 of 3 parts, Andrea Vance looking at the recent train crash that was the National election campaign.
It's very personality based, and pays little attention policy impacts on the public. It misunderstands Covid too – Labour and the health officials made a credible go of the Covid crisis, which earned them some support – but National's support collapsed when they went full attack on Covid handling without any suggestion of a workable alternative policy. Bridges went full Star Chamber with his committee, and though never impressive before, he went nowhere but down after that. Tova got a bit of the same thing as the daily briefings brought a little sunshine into media behaviour and showed the country what a nasty little rabbit she is.
Yeah, she didn't tell us anything we didn't know before apart from a few tid-bits like the campaign manger working from home in the last week, etc. It was a merely summing up exercise which has become the thing to do these days championed by so called political analyst, Bryce Edwards.
She got nowhere near what people really want to know (including the Nats themselves) which is what role Bridges and his allies had in all this. She only once touched lightly on the core reason for this unravelling which was Bridges' perverse, self-promoting response to the government's handling of Covid.
Anyone looking for enlightenment from Vance will be disappointed. Hope she can do better in parts 2 and 3.
"The roots of this go back three years, when the caucus was shaken by Winston Peters’ decision to eschew the popular vote and support a Labour-led Government over National."
Winston agreed to join a coalition that was backed by a majority of the public vote. He didn't eschew anything.
(If Winston had said nice things in the campaign about the coalition partners, rather than attack them, he might still be in parliament.)
Vance's epic failure to see her own and the msm role in this.
The Covid 19 laid bare for all NZ ders to see that in fact Labour and Jacinda were highly competent governing for all NZ's interests when we really needed it. People in lockdown only had to compare our response to what was happening and any one of most countries, take your pick, UK, Italy, US or would you care for a bit of Brazil (excuse the attempt at humour here). No matter how the msm attempted to spin it with the ratty little questions at the end of the daily press conferences and Nationals absurd "Its a shambles! Open the boarders! No close them, Bubble with Oz response",
NZders could see with their own eyes, could feel it that we had highly competent people doing what govt meant to do…………
So time for the msm to look in the mirror at how they try to influence things (think the Key years, where that slimy ar…hole got a free pass every time.
Winston agreed to join a coalition that was backed by a majority of the public vote. He didn't eschew anything.
Winston/NZF could have gone either way, which is why he/they were called “the Kingmaker”. National never got over it, never mounted an effective Opposition based on agonistic & positive politics, and never put effort into a competitive policy platform that is essential to present a realistic government-in-waiting. ACT, or should I say Seymour, filled the vacuum, with a referendum even, and still National did nothing. When the numbers (polls) didn’t go their way, National lost the plot completely but the seeds were sown in 2017, IMO.
Peters was fully telegraphing what his preference was before the election in 2017. I heard him address Grey Power at its AGM and in an electorate meeting. I am no NZF voter but I was surprised by the visceral dislike of National that he evidenced in both meetings.
It was no surprise to me what he chose to do in 2017 in supporting Labour. I have written of this before in the Standard.
It's a bit revisionist of writers to believe that Peters had not clearly stated his dislike of National's corporate capitalism, and its failed social policies, to mention two areas of concern to him.
Why did he lose in 2020? He was a handbrake on social progress and both he and National wore the consequences of having poor candidates, unpopular policies and for making stupid attacks on a popular and competent government and PM.
While in the quote below, in a meme echoed across the media, is that the voters belong to National, but were voting 'tactically'.
Alternatively they were voting. Collins is reviled within National and has no great or consistent philosophy, but doesn't distance far from Trump. The National rump have had scandals, disloyalty and chaos. On covid they've zig-zagged with the day.
Looking then at Labour who have not done anything unpopular, but also didn't say- what smoke? That could have been anything! on climate change. When you start growing bananas something is happening…
It's not tactical voting to pick the team most likely to preserve your health and job, and also who acknowledge climate change. That's just voting! No one wants Sandra Goudie PM.
Watkin's quote
"RNZ's Tim Watkin wrote: "With the wisdom of the crowd, centre-right voters have seen National's internal problems, looked around for a handbrake on a Labour-Greens transformative government, and landed on a fascinating champion – Labour itself."
Or alternatively just that Labour is a better choice for health and well being. Not all of the country aspires to be NZ First. Why is a handbrake needed? The question is who’s best for the job. Jacinda has lead impressively.
"The roots of this go back three years, when the caucus was shaken by Winston Peters’ decision to eschew the popular vote and support a Labour-led Government over National."
Winston agreed to join a coalition that was backed by a majority of the public vote. He didn't eschew anything.
(If Winston had said nice things in the campaign about the coalition partners, rather than attack them, he might still be in parliament.)
Tim Watkin wrote: "With the wisdom of the crowd, centre-right voters have seen National's internal problems, looked around for a handbrake on a Labour-Greens transformative government, and landed on a fascinating champion – Labour itself
I think Watkin is talking bollocks.
The reason why? Let's reverse the situation and say the polling is Nat 46 Lab 32 Green 8 ACT 8.
How many Standardista's are going to vote National to keep ACT out of government in this situation? Precisely None.
People voted for Labour because they love Jacinda and did not see Labour policies as detrimental to the economy, farmers etc
I think the election was a vote on how j.a./labour handled the covid thing…(it doesn't take much to realise the dire situation we would currently be in..had the establishment/business toadies that are national been in power when the virus arrived…)…the election was a carry-on! message from national voters dismayed at the clown-circus national had become ..this is why they voted for j.a….this hindsight-creation of a mass act of political-nuance on the part of national voters to hobble the greens by voting labour…is a big pile of steaming horseshit I.m.h.o..
Ruining our economy for many years because of … a psychological quirk. Does anyone disagree? Climate Change, a slightly little off disaster that kills everything which is undermined because of the eccentricity of democracy for addressing immediate 'problems' over serious problems.
We need the rich talk of people who believe in their ideas rather than the thin laver of forever dealing with what focus groups tell you.
BG noted: Tim Watkin wrote: "With the wisdom of the crowd, centre-right voters have seen National's internal problems, looked around for a handbrake on a Labour-Greens transformative government, and landed on a fascinating champion – Labour itself
I no longer believe in the wisdom of the masses. I think that Labour was elected on feelings of satisfaction about controlling Covid-19.
And as for National voters making balanced, reasoned judgments about controlling government, they would have been hard-pressed to think of changing to Labour, hence ACT. The votes did go up to Labour though and I suppose someone has done the figures and posited which came from NZF, and which portion from National centrists.
someone has done the figures and posited which came from NZF, and which portion from National centrists.
NZ does not have exit polling on election day, so for that sort of detail we need to wait for the NZ Election Survey polling to be run and analysed – won't be out until next year.
Bridges confirmed their new strategy yesterday on the AM show, which is to frame the huge increase in Labour's vote as 'National voters on loan'. Watkin and others are tasked with re-enforcing this fallacy.
Voters don't belong to anyone and any politician who thinks otherwise will be punished.
Yes and the core Nats voters still voted for them – that's why they got 26%. Given their shambolic effort it shows how loyal some voters are. Just as Labour's core delivered them 25% in 2014. The soft centrist voters who backed Helen Clark then John Key clearly did not – the great majority of them did not do any tactical voting but weighed up the options, the world around them, and voted for the the most competent, safest, trustworthy, decent and forward-looking option on offer. Those voters (plus avoiding complacency amongst your own core constituencies) are the key to achieving percentages in the mid-40s plus.
If we are to believe some commentators then NZ has just seen the most massive exercise in tactical voting in any democracy in decades. That wasn’t what happened.
At this stage it is it wishful thinking and idle speculation, but the meme has to be cultivated before the facts come in. And after a while, some ex-National voters might start to believe the meme too and change their reasoning for their swing vote to something more ‘interesting’. Even more so, when they think they were not alone in this.
Tim Watkin has often been an intelligent and incisive commentator. Sadly, however, his penchant for being "nice" and "jolly" at all times means that he has sometimes allowed himself to be manipulated by very unsavoury people. Here he is back in 2011, eager to agree with the hostile and implacable right winger Michael Bassett….
MORA: Uhhhhhh. We don’t know what to believe. The Japanese government says that Greenpeace readings can’t be believed, and from this distance, uhhhhh, you don’t know who to believe.
SOPHIE WRIGHT: The authorities are being transparent.
BASSETT: People accuse the Japanese government of playing politics when in fact it is GREENPEACE that is playing politics! Greenpeace is jumping ALL OVER this. You have to weave your way between competing agendas.
WATKIN: Mmmmmm, mmmmmm.
MORA: Yes. Ahhhhh, Ten microcivets per hour. There are nearly seven THOUSAND microcivets from a chest X-ray.
BASSETT: Precisely.
MORA: Sophie Wright. She’s in Tokyo. Thank you very much for coming on The Panel! It’s 28 minutes past four. Let’s talk briefly about LIBYA! The humanitarian intervention by the United Nations—uhhhh, don’t we also have to intervene in Syria, the Ivory Coast, Zimbabwe?
WATKIN: And Rwanda. They did nothing there.
BASSETT: Zimbabwe. The international community hasn’t exactly covered itself in glory, has it?
WATKIN: There’s blood on our hands!
BASSETT: We need to remember, though, that Rwanda and Burundi were TRIBAL wars. But when there is mass slaughter, like in Libya, it’s hard to stomach from the other side of the world.
WATKIN: Mmmmmm, mmmmmm.
Note:Watkin did not have the nerve to bring it up, but during another mass slaughter of civilians, in Gaza in 2008-9, Bassett found it exceedingly EASY to stomach. In fact, he applauded and vociferously justified the slaughter. Mora, like Watkin, forbears from mentioning that. ….
The topic was Tim Watkin's credibility, or lack thereof. I pointed out that he is an intelligent journalist who has allowed himself to be misused by the likes of cynical actors such as Sophie Wright and Michael Bassett, and provided evidence that that has been happening for a considerable time.
Of course Watkin is credible. He's a serious and intelligent commentator who has unfortunately allowed himself at times to be bullied by less intelligent people on radio, such as Cameron Slater and Larry Williams.
And often that writer, i.e. toi, is the messenger who is criticised, and feels he has to fend off the intellectual headens who are attacking him personally as if they are doubting his personal integrity.
Should be someone out there countering this view. The leadership's emphasis on Key's legacy, fiscal responsibility, and governing for first time voters plays into this. It allows another version of centre to come along, flank on the left with a PR policy and then the campaign is they're all the same, get the original.
Well this does raise the question . What percentage of the never greens vote normally see national as the best way to achieve a no greens outcome.
It is very likely that the combination of the Greens campaign of calling labour "national lite" and collins campaign of "the greens will steer labour" together with the collapse of the national vote drove these people towards labour.
It is also possible that Ardern can hold these votes thru 2023
no actually i dont believe the green framing of labour. rather I accept Jacindas position that for real change we need to take the people with us. …… but dont for one minute think i forgive rogernomics or the failure of labour to reverse. I just dont believe the Greens have a fricking clue how to move forward!
Right now Masha Gesson is pointing out that the Russian interference in the election was unsophisticated, and she's impatient with the ridiculous obsession with it by the Democratic leadership and media—including the likes of True Believer Hill.
Hill is clearly uncomfortable. Right now Masha Gesson is pointing out how incompetent Robert Mueller was. How she must wish she had on someone amenable to her cosy conspiracy theories instead of an intelligent journalist like Gesson, who has just corrected Hill in the most embarrassing manner: "You know, I wouldn't call Trump benign."
Could you explain what you mean, please, Shark? Are you offended by my failure to endorse the Russiagate conspiracy theory peddled by the DNC? Then you must also have been offended by Masha Gessen this morning as she pointed out to Kim Hill how exaggerated and foolish the whole campaign was.
Kinda hard to look past the factors of russian intelligence honey-trapping trump when he was in moscow.. and that he was bailed out by russia(ns) when he was going down the financial gurgler in the 80's…plus his laundering of russian oligarch/mob money by flogging them his properties since then…would have to make him the nearest to a manchurian candidate america has seen…you'd think..?
You were doing well until you got to the batshit "Manchurian candidate" nonsense. Unless you’ve smoked too much of that Hokianga Hydroponic, you don't actually believe that hogwash, so why make out like you're some hapless staffer in Nancy Pelosi's office?
Staffers in Nancy Pelosi's office at least have the excuse of having to do it as a condition of their employment; they fall in line or they don't have a job. You have no such excuse for indulging in such foolishness.
Is Hokianga Hydroponic the sort of stuff which would have me listening to someone say hundreds of thousands of words, find a couple from the flow of a busy morning like 'their book' and subject it to forensic analysis?
Ms. Hill's foolish exercise in language abuse occurred in a brief (five seconds max) promo for her show. Where do you get the idea I listened to "hundreds of thousands of words" to find that example of foolishness?
Ms. Hill's ridiculous exercise in language abuse occurred in a brief (five seconds max) promo for her show. Where do you get the idea I listened to "hundreds of thousands of words" to find that example of foolishness?
Getting one word wrong hardly is an “exercise in language abuse” and your ‘suffering’ cannot have been longer than the five seconds the promo lasted although it may felt like eternity to you. I’m quite sure that Kim Hill did not embark on her ‘abusive tirade’ to hurt you personally. You could send her another e-mail to confirm. Please get over this and move on.
Trump has long held ambitions to be president…back in the 1980's he was a regular on the late-nite talks show's .(letterman et.al…). .and back then he often beat the presidential-ambitions drum..he was laughed at/humoured…but that is also what 'the apprentice' was all about ..him showing the american people/his future base that he was a strong leader ..and him becoming a household name..it was all part of the plan..
The other thread to trump is his connections to/long record of working with the mafia/mob..back in the 80's again he built skyscrapers in Manhatten…using undocumented/illegal workers..now you don't get to do such things in Manhatten unless you are in tight with the teamsters union..who control the building and garbage collection industries in Manhatten..and the teamsters are the union wing of the mob..and of course casinos in Atlantic City were a major means of money-laundering…trump is so bent ..he is like a human paperclip…
Just to pour some oil of pedantry upon the fires of controversy, 'their' is not a pronoun. It is a possessive adjective. The pronoun is 'theirs', as in, "Our book is better than theirs," 'Theirs' can stand by itself, as a pronoun should be able to.
'Their' is only a possessive adjective, and needs the noun 'book' with it.
I think I have figured out what biden is good at…gape-mouthed goldfish impersonations..he has it nailed..I’d also like to see his take on kermit the frog .
Anxiety outside the USA. I have wondered whether music might offer us a road out of our mind-prison under fascist neoliberal rule. Maybe this guy can advise us.
Anxiety inside the USA – the flow of money to rich men's pockets is being strangled. This from Gordon Campbell on Scoop featuring the famous Koch Brothers. Dah dah. They recently featured in something else being done along with some other rich person. Funny how some names keep coming up, like yesterday's dinner.
Herd immunity has recently bounced back into the headlines as a tool for managing Covid-19, and as a supposed alternative to lockdowns. In the US, a group of scientists was recently brought together in the town of Great Barrington, Massachusetts by a think tank funded by the Koch brothers. The assembled scientists signed the so called Barrington Declaration, which promotes herd immunity as a rational means of re-opening US public schools and the economy at large..
…The Declaration has found a receptive ear at the White House where Dr Scott Atlas has become Donald Trump’s most trusted health advisor on the pandemic, and Trump’s main scientific advocate against lockdowns.
Atlas is a neurologist, and has no expertise in infectious diseases.
(If he is a neurologist, then he might be able to keep an eye on Mr T-rump's condition, and prevent his prime excesses.)
In the US the death toll has reached 224,000. By the end of the year this figure could double. Daily infections are nearly at the same rate as in March with the first wave. Aljazeera reported this today. It would be hard to be a health worker in the heavily infected countries. The pace would be exhausting and time out is required to recharge. With the flu season approaching there is going to be a shortage of beds and staff.
The waiting list is growing for other health related matters.
Is herd immunity the answer in the US and how would the care of those infected be managed?
I think the President adopts the 'don't look at it and it might go away' response. As for herd immunity I have read professionals that sound informed saying that there isn't going to be any such thing with this virus. We will have to try and preserve our system as long as we can and try and become a fairer society, and look after our front line staff in particular. I don't know if we can get fixes for things now, new problems will keep rolling along and people switch off or get stuck on one point and get obsessed; just do our best and be resigned to change.
As suspected, right wing white supremacists exploited legitimate protest. But BLM bad.
/
In the wake of protests following the May 25 killing of George Floyd, a member of the “Boogaloo Bois” opened fire on Minneapolis Police Third Precinct with an AK-47-style gun and screamed “Justice for Floyd” as he ran away, according to a federal complaint made public Friday.
A sworn affidavit by the FBI underlying the complaint reveals new details about a far-right anti-government group’s coordinated role in the violence that roiled through civil unrest over Floyd’s death while in police custody.
Ivan Harrison Hunter, a 26-year-old from Boerne, Texas, is charged with one count of interstate travel to incite a riot for his alleged role in ramping up violence during the protests in Minneapolis on May 27 and 28. According to charges, Hunter, wearing a skull mask and tactical gear, shot 13 rounds at the south Minneapolis police headquarters while people were inside. He also looted and helped set the building ablaze, according to the complaint, which was filed Monday under seal.
[…]
Two hours after the police precinct was set on fire, Hunter texted with another Boogaloo member in California, a man named Steven Carrillo.
“Go for police buildings,” Hunter told Carrillo, according to charging documents.
“I did better lol,” he replied. A few hours earlier, Carrillo had killed a Federal Protective Services Officer in Oakland, Calif., according to criminal charges filed against him in California.
Off topic here. Have just come in from a 2 hour trip- – out with a friend op shopping and generally looking in different shops and timeout for lunch. This is Auckland North Shore and I can tell you the attitude of our residents here is total apathy towards masks, using tracer apps and using the hand sanitiser left out by shop owners. Young and old just ignoring common sense. It was so mind boggling we ended up quite pissed off excuse the language.
I even asked one retailer if he could move his stand with the hand sanitiser, app icon and board for entering your name etc with a pen further out into the doorway so patrons couldn't miss the darned thing. We are such an ungrateful ignorant lot we don't deserve to be virus almost-free as we are right now.
We both have loved ones overseas in hot spots – South America and US and both are trapped in their homes and have people dying everywhere around them and its heartbreaking that we are using and abusing our privileged status here with so many pig-ignorant people ignoring what they need to do. Sorry folks but this incoming Government and poor St. Ashley have their jobs cut out. Enough kindness. We outlawed non-belt wearing in cars and we now need emergency powers brought in for the duration of this virus outbreak and have it mandated that mask wearing, hand sanitising and app using is to be applied. We obviously are simple minded and need to be trained like children.
… its heartbreaking that we are using and abusing our privileged status here with so many pig-ignorant people ignoring what they need to do.
I don't know where on the Shore you live but in the Devonport/Belmont area the wearing of masks and hand sanitising has been excellent. Yes, people are not wearing masks to the same extent since we dropped to level 1, but I think most people wash their hands and sanitise before leaving home and then do it again when they return. I also carry antiseptic wet cloths in my car as I suspect many other people do. In our local supermarket people are using the apps all the time or signing in, but I have noticed some retailers are no longer leaving forms for people to sign.
I think you are being a bit unfair to many "simple minded" adults. When we dropped to level 1 we were no longer expected to wear masks all the time when away from home. I've stopped wearing them because I don't go anywhere that might be considered unsafe and the same probably goes for most older people anyway.
What community outbreaks we have experienced were confined to specific circumstances and small groups which did not affect the vast majority of the population. If another community outbreak does occur, mask wearing will immediately become mandatory at all times again – at least in the region or regions that are affected.
Whispering Kate I agree that people will have to be forced by regulation, we just aren't a concerned society, except for a short time, or on special occasions. I have to force myself to comply, forget so often. But I keep trying to get into the habit – I see the numbers overseas shooting up. And the effect on the people, the strain on the funeral/burial system, and on the culture generally is not reported much here.
The point I'm making greywarshark : it is unfair to claim the attitude in my part of the country (the North Shore) is one of total apathy. And the NS would be typical of any other place.
It is precisely because the vast majority of NZers complied with the rules at each level that we are in a superior position now than most of the rest of the world.
We're at level 1 now. To assume people are not taking precautions by washing their hands and using sanitiser etc. is a step too far imo. If you're going direct to a store or supermarket and you have already 'washed and sanitised' then you don't have to do it again. Sure, some people need to be reminded every now and then but the government and MoH have already got that well in hand.
Sorry didn't get back to this. It is easy to generalise but as I sanitise my hands at the supermarket I don't see others, not the men going past. And yet sometimes i think I have just washed mine so don't do it. But I do like the freedom to get out and about and I think too many are taking it for granted. I haven't got an ap but if I did it prob wouldn't work on my phone. What's best to do. .. I must practice wearing my mask though.
I'm in two minds about this. None of those things are compulsory under L1. It doesn't make sense for the whole country to be doing all those things all of the time. Down south people certainly aren't (there was no social distancing and no-one seemed to be using the handsanitiser, and def no masks when I voted on election day).
While I can see the case for being more careful the closer one is to a hot spot (and during public holidays where people travel a lot), there is also the issue of maintaining such behaviour for the long haul and indefinitely (bearing in mind we don't know if/when a vaccine will be available). It's hard to get compliance when people perceive the risk as small, and it's better that we are socialised in to acting when the situation is more urgent so that if we have widespread community transmission again people will do the right thing more quickly and more thoroughly.
Mostly it's an odds game rather than a black and white one.
The govt already has the power to mandate actions during a pandemic. I for one and glad they are not using those unless necessary, all sorts of good reasons for the govt to not over use those powers.
One thing I'd like to see is more limits in travel between areas when there is potential community transmission. But I'm not sure it's warranted yet, and there are the same compliance and fatigue issues. I'm also not sure if it is fair to places like Auckland which will have a higher risk because of population.
Not wearing masks gets us thinking we are on our own planet. Then we start complaining because precautions still have to be taken, then the government becomes a whipping boy. We take so many things for granted in NZ – the complacency towards others with problems is amazing, and particularly to the needy in NZ.
However the government can keep the mask thing in their back pocket and when someone is putting pressure on to open our borders for this or that, they can say well everyone will have to start wearing masks. It is so easy for the transmission to occur – they will have to become mandatory when travelling, in groups etc.
mask wearing seems reasonable with increased population density, and prolonged contact. On a bus that will take 20 mins to get to its destination for instance.
People walking down Queens St at lunch time vs the main street of Gore mid afternoon.
If we don't take things like into account people will get intolerant and less willing.
Right. So we can see the droplet spread there, but the odds game is whether any of those mannequins have covd, what the viral load is, whether they cough into their arm or not and so on. Is it reasonable to expect 5m people to wear a mask when around other humans because there is one case of community transmission in NZ? I don't think so. The public health approach to containment is working with the odds, not the absolutes, and the various strategies are designed to catch and limit spread as quickly as possible without crashing the economy or driving people crazy.
Newton Central School stopped its walking bus three years ago after several near misses and after abuse was hurled at children by some cyclists on the northwestern cycleway.
"We've actually had one or two children being hit. We've had members of our community that have had serious injuries. It's a really dangerous place – children and bicycles don't mix," he said.
"No one wants to have a child get hurt or injured. This is an accident waiting to happen…
A parent at the school, Phoebe Greenbrook-Held, said Auckland Transport tried to educate cyclists about using their bell and giving children a wide berth, but this was not treating the root problem….
“Unfortunately all those fixes are just short term – within a few months cyclist behaviour reverts. We really need the cycleway to be broadened, so children are safe to walk, cycle and scoot while adults do their commute to work.”
She said adult cyclists are the main culprits."
Obvious – the two modes of mobility are incompatible, and it's a 'loss of commons' to put cycles on footpaths, without a fence or something physical separating and providing safety for pedestrians and clear pathway for the others – and not just a line on the path!
That 'lifestyle choice' is the grind the right came out with in the 1980s – haven't they thought of anything since then? They must show the acolytes and newbies a propaganda video, and teach them some phrases to utter like parrots. When certain words come on they’ll have a Pavlovian reaction. Woof woof the tui (see on google) looked bright and beady-eyed and handsome and had a better vocabulary. Use him or her as a mascot for a young left movement!
(The Baillie mentioned is a teacher of sorts in Nelson, by the way.)
I was just doing my job that morning and the interview did not happen in a vacuum. Journalists all over the world have been calling out lies relating to Covid-19, especially when they’re adopted by powerful figures attempting to legitimise falsehoods.
They are the journalists who have inspired me my entire career – journalists who know that sometimes balanced reporting isn’t just about providing both sides of the story. It is simply about the facts – the truth.
Ross came into the studio for the interview, sat down and said to me: “You’re going to be nice to me aren’t you Tova? You have to be nice to losers.” I was familiar with this entitled, cloying tone from Ross.
No, I replied. I largely tore up the prepared questions.
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TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
Te Rangi e tu nei (The sky above us) Te Papa e takoto nei (The land beneath us) Tatou katoa te hunga ora (To us all the living) Tena koutou katoa (Greetings) ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
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Just in case your shadenfreude levels are getting low, here is part 1 of 3 parts, Andrea Vance looking at the recent train crash that was the National election campaign.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300137917/election-2020-the-complete-disarray-of-nationals-campaign-that-led-to-electoral-slaughter
It's very personality based, and pays little attention policy impacts on the public. It misunderstands Covid too – Labour and the health officials made a credible go of the Covid crisis, which earned them some support – but National's support collapsed when they went full attack on Covid handling without any suggestion of a workable alternative policy. Bridges went full Star Chamber with his committee, and though never impressive before, he went nowhere but down after that. Tova got a bit of the same thing as the daily briefings brought a little sunshine into media behaviour and showed the country what a nasty little rabbit she is.
Worth a read but yes, Vance can only focus on people and what they said. Other writers will apply the missing analysis.
Yeah, she didn't tell us anything we didn't know before apart from a few tid-bits like the campaign manger working from home in the last week, etc. It was a merely summing up exercise which has become the thing to do these days championed by so called political analyst, Bryce Edwards.
She got nowhere near what people really want to know (including the Nats themselves) which is what role Bridges and his allies had in all this. She only once touched lightly on the core reason for this unravelling which was Bridges' perverse, self-promoting response to the government's handling of Covid.
Anyone looking for enlightenment from Vance will be disappointed. Hope she can do better in parts 2 and 3.
Vance's epic failure to understand MMP.
"The roots of this go back three years, when the caucus was shaken by Winston Peters’ decision to eschew the popular vote and support a Labour-led Government over National."
Winston agreed to join a coalition that was backed by a majority of the public vote. He didn't eschew anything.
(If Winston had said nice things in the campaign about the coalition partners, rather than attack them, he might still be in parliament.)
Vance's epic failure to see her own and the msm role in this.
The Covid 19 laid bare for all NZ ders to see that in fact Labour and Jacinda were highly competent governing for all NZ's interests when we really needed it. People in lockdown only had to compare our response to what was happening and any one of most countries, take your pick, UK, Italy, US or would you care for a bit of Brazil (excuse the attempt at humour here). No matter how the msm attempted to spin it with the ratty little questions at the end of the daily press conferences and Nationals absurd "Its a shambles! Open the boarders! No close them, Bubble with Oz response",
NZders could see with their own eyes, could feel it that we had highly competent people doing what govt meant to do…………
So time for the msm to look in the mirror at how they try to influence things (think the Key years, where that slimy ar…hole got a free pass every time.
Ah, she's still parroting National's lie that the biggest party needs to be in government.
Winston/NZF could have gone either way, which is why he/they were called “the Kingmaker”. National never got over it, never mounted an effective Opposition based on agonistic & positive politics, and never put effort into a competitive policy platform that is essential to present a realistic government-in-waiting. ACT, or should I say Seymour, filled the vacuum, with a referendum even, and still National did nothing. When the numbers (polls) didn’t go their way, National lost the plot completely but the seeds were sown in 2017, IMO.
Peters was fully telegraphing what his preference was before the election in 2017. I heard him address Grey Power at its AGM and in an electorate meeting. I am no NZF voter but I was surprised by the visceral dislike of National that he evidenced in both meetings.
It was no surprise to me what he chose to do in 2017 in supporting Labour. I have written of this before in the Standard.
It's a bit revisionist of writers to believe that Peters had not clearly stated his dislike of National's corporate capitalism, and its failed social policies, to mention two areas of concern to him.
Why did he lose in 2020? He was a handbrake on social progress and both he and National wore the consequences of having poor candidates, unpopular policies and for making stupid attacks on a popular and competent government and PM.
Plus of course..shane jones…
He is included in the category of poor candidates………
Tim Watkin likes baiting us huh?
While in the quote below, in a meme echoed across the media, is that the voters belong to National, but were voting 'tactically'.
Alternatively they were voting. Collins is reviled within National and has no great or consistent philosophy, but doesn't distance far from Trump. The National rump have had scandals, disloyalty and chaos. On covid they've zig-zagged with the day.
Looking then at Labour who have not done anything unpopular, but also didn't say- what smoke? That could have been anything! on climate change. When you start growing bananas something is happening…
It's not tactical voting to pick the team most likely to preserve your health and job, and also who acknowledge climate change. That's just voting! No one wants Sandra Goudie PM.
Watkin's quote
"RNZ's Tim Watkin wrote: "With the wisdom of the crowd, centre-right voters have seen National's internal problems, looked around for a handbrake on a Labour-Greens transformative government, and landed on a fascinating champion – Labour itself."
Or alternatively just that Labour is a better choice for health and well being. Not all of the country aspires to be NZ First. Why is a handbrake needed? The question is who’s best for the job. Jacinda has lead impressively.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/on-the-inside/429050/week-in-politics-tactical-voting-could-have-helped-labour-s-landslide-win
[link added. If you’re going to cut and paste a quote then please cut and post the URL as well, thanks – weka]
Link please.
mod note for you newsense.
Vance's epic failure to understand MMP.
"The roots of this go back three years, when the caucus was shaken by Winston Peters’ decision to eschew the popular vote and support a Labour-led Government over National."
Winston agreed to join a coalition that was backed by a majority of the public vote. He didn't eschew anything.
(If Winston had said nice things in the campaign about the coalition partners, rather than attack them, he might still be in parliament.)
Tim Watkin wrote: "With the wisdom of the crowd, centre-right voters have seen National's internal problems, looked around for a handbrake on a Labour-Greens transformative government, and landed on a fascinating champion – Labour itself
I think Watkin is talking bollocks.
The reason why? Let's reverse the situation and say the polling is Nat 46 Lab 32 Green 8 ACT 8.
How many Standardista's are going to vote National to keep ACT out of government in this situation? Precisely None.
People voted for Labour because they love Jacinda and did not see Labour policies as detrimental to the economy, farmers etc
I think the election was a vote on how j.a./labour handled the covid thing…(it doesn't take much to realise the dire situation we would currently be in..had the establishment/business toadies that are national been in power when the virus arrived…)…the election was a carry-on! message from national voters dismayed at the clown-circus national had become ..this is why they voted for j.a….this hindsight-creation of a mass act of political-nuance on the part of national voters to hobble the greens by voting labour…is a big pile of steaming horseshit I.m.h.o..
100% Phillip
Ruining our economy for many years because of … a psychological quirk. Does anyone disagree? Climate Change, a slightly little off disaster that kills everything which is undermined because of the eccentricity of democracy for addressing immediate 'problems' over serious problems.
We need the rich talk of people who believe in their ideas rather than the thin laver of forever dealing with what focus groups tell you.
BG noted: Tim Watkin wrote: "With the wisdom of the crowd, centre-right voters have seen National's internal problems, looked around for a handbrake on a Labour-Greens transformative government, and landed on a fascinating champion – Labour itself
I no longer believe in the wisdom of the masses. I think that Labour was elected on feelings of satisfaction about controlling Covid-19.
And as for National voters making balanced, reasoned judgments about controlling government, they would have been hard-pressed to think of changing to Labour, hence ACT. The votes did go up to Labour though and I suppose someone has done the figures and posited which came from NZF, and which portion from National centrists.
NZ does not have exit polling on election day, so for that sort of detail we need to wait for the NZ Election Survey polling to be run and analysed – won't be out until next year.
Bridges confirmed their new strategy yesterday on the AM show, which is to frame the huge increase in Labour's vote as 'National voters on loan'. Watkin and others are tasked with re-enforcing this fallacy.
Voters don't belong to anyone and any politician who thinks otherwise will be punished.
Voters don't belong to anyone and any politician who thinks otherwise will be punished. I think we have observed that this is not absolute truth.
Yep.
Some National voters really do belong to National. That's how National gets to tell their Epsom voters to vote ACT and have it work.
Yes and the core Nats voters still voted for them – that's why they got 26%. Given their shambolic effort it shows how loyal some voters are. Just as Labour's core delivered them 25% in 2014. The soft centrist voters who backed Helen Clark then John Key clearly did not – the great majority of them did not do any tactical voting but weighed up the options, the world around them, and voted for the the most competent, safest, trustworthy, decent and forward-looking option on offer. Those voters (plus avoiding complacency amongst your own core constituencies) are the key to achieving percentages in the mid-40s plus.
If we are to believe some commentators then NZ has just seen the most massive exercise in tactical voting in any democracy in decades. That wasn’t what happened.
At this stage it's all opinion
Here's another from a more credible source(in my view anyway)
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300138283/election-2020-there-is-no-evidence-national-voters-backed-labour-to-keep-the-greens-out
At this stage it is it wishful thinking and idle speculation, but the meme has to be cultivated before the facts come in. And after a while, some ex-National voters might start to believe the meme too and change their reasoning for their swing vote to something more ‘interesting’. Even more so, when they think they were not alone in this.
And useful idiots like Mr Watkin are.. useful in that process.
Tim Watkin has often been an intelligent and incisive commentator. Sadly, however, his penchant for being "nice" and "jolly" at all times means that he has sometimes allowed himself to be manipulated by very unsavoury people. Here he is back in 2011, eager to agree with the hostile and implacable right winger Michael Bassett….
Please stay on the present topic, thanks.
The topic was Tim Watkin's credibility, or lack thereof. I pointed out that he is an intelligent journalist who has allowed himself to be misused by the likes of cynical actors such as Sophie Wright and Michael Bassett, and provided evidence that that has been happening for a considerable time.
I did not see anyone claiming Watkin was credible. The word 'like' may help you understand what I was saying.
Of course Watkin is credible. He's a serious and intelligent commentator who has unfortunately allowed himself at times to be bullied by less intelligent people on radio, such as Cameron Slater and Larry Williams.
Agreed Morrissey…you are on-topic….and Watkin is a little too Jose Pagani-like for my taste.
Morrissey is either attacking or defending the messenger. It’s so tedious.
And sometimes this writer, i.e. moi, is the messenger who is attacked, or defended.
And often that writer, i.e. toi, is the messenger who is criticised, and feels he has to fend off the intellectual headens who are attacking him personally as if they are doubting his personal integrity.
Can we now go back to the topic, again?
Also applies to Vance: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/eleanor_roosevelt_385439
Excellent rebuttal and now we can go back to the topic at hand, yes?
Fair enough, my friend.
http://gif-free.com/uploads/posts/2018-02/1519648251_kissing-rabbits.gif
He's a good commentator and producer, who does a fair bit of trolling standardists.
Should be someone out there countering this view. The leadership's emphasis on Key's legacy, fiscal responsibility, and governing for first time voters plays into this. It allows another version of centre to come along, flank on the left with a PR policy and then the campaign is they're all the same, get the original.
Yep, can't let the facts get in the way of what National wants.
Well this does raise the question . What percentage of the never greens vote normally see national as the best way to achieve a no greens outcome.
It is very likely that the combination of the Greens campaign of calling labour "national lite" and collins campaign of "the greens will steer labour" together with the collapse of the national vote drove these people towards labour.
It is also possible that Ardern can hold these votes thru 2023
So Xanthe, in the scenario I describe above, if National were being labelled "Labour light" would you vote for National? I think not.
no actually i dont believe the green framing of labour. rather I accept Jacindas position that for real change we need to take the people with us. …… but dont for one minute think i forgive rogernomics or the failure of labour to reverse. I just dont believe the Greens have a fricking clue how to move forward!
Agree, Flower.
James Shaw needs to shine this term and take environmentalism to those red/blue electorates.
and replace marama with a person who has integrity ,charisma and is Green!
Could you give some examples of how Marama lacks integrity and is not Green? No, thought not.
can't see the wood for the trees.
so you are not disputing that she has no charisma?
I think such a judgement is more subjective. To me she does. Now, can you answer my question? No, thought not.
Russiagate True Believer Kim Hill delivers the absurd P.C. moment of the week
RNZ, Friday 23 Oct. 2020, 4:10 p.m. (station promo between news and weather)
KIM HILL: Tomorrow morning I'm talking to Russian author Masha Gesson on their book Surviving Autocracy.
????!!!??? Their book?
Well, we have to allow for the case of Masha being schizophrenic…
Well, we have to allow for the case of Masha being schizophrenic…
Ha ha ha! She has just said, perhaps in jest, that Trump was possibly foisted on the American people by Russia. Poor old Kim Hill didn't even demur.
She lives in Dumbo—Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass. Another nice place name along with Soweto, Tribeca, and SoHo.
Right now Masha Gesson is pointing out that the Russian interference in the election was unsophisticated, and she's impatient with the ridiculous obsession with it by the Democratic leadership and media—including the likes of True Believer Hill.
Hill is clearly uncomfortable. Right now Masha Gesson is pointing out how incompetent Robert Mueller was. How she must wish she had on someone amenable to her cosy conspiracy theories instead of an intelligent journalist like Gesson, who has just corrected Hill in the most embarrassing manner: "You know, I wouldn't call Trump benign."
please fix your name with your next comment.
Thanks weka!![heart heart](https://cdn.ckeditor.com/4.11.3/full-all/plugins/smiley/images/heart.png)
Morrisseye' – take your pills now.
Could you explain what you mean, please, Shark? Are you offended by my failure to endorse the Russiagate conspiracy theory peddled by the DNC? Then you must also have been offended by Masha Gessen this morning as she pointed out to Kim Hill how exaggerated and foolish the whole campaign was.
Kinda hard to look past the factors of russian intelligence honey-trapping trump when he was in moscow.. and that he was bailed out by russia(ns) when he was going down the financial gurgler in the 80's…plus his laundering of russian oligarch/mob money by flogging them his properties since then…would have to make him the nearest to a manchurian candidate america has seen…you'd think..?
You were doing well until you got to the batshit "Manchurian candidate" nonsense. Unless you’ve smoked too much of that Hokianga Hydroponic, you don't actually believe that hogwash, so why make out like you're some hapless staffer in Nancy Pelosi's office?
I can hear an ad homming bee buzzing around![angry angry](https://cdn.ckeditor.com/4.11.3/full-all/plugins/smiley/images/angry_smile.png)
Do I believe that Putin has a firm grip on trumps' gonads..?..yes..I do…(heh..!..if that makes me a 'staffer in Nancy pelosis' office’.?..so be it..)
Staffers in Nancy Pelosi's office at least have the excuse of having to do it as a condition of their employment; they fall in line or they don't have a job. You have no such excuse for indulging in such foolishness.![sad sad](https://cdn.ckeditor.com/4.11.3/full-all/plugins/smiley/images/sad_smile.png)
Sure, he just owes some foreign oligarchs some favours, no harm in that.
Big difference between that, which is no doubt true, and the insane and evidence-free theory that he is a Russian asset.
Well, he's no liability to them. If they got him cheap, bully for them.
As has been said of Mitch McConnell, Trump is not an asset to anyone.
The suggestion that Putin would scruple to exploit a vulnerable person like Trump to further his nefarious ends however, is laughable.
Is Hokianga Hydroponic the sort of stuff which would have me listening to someone say hundreds of thousands of words, find a couple from the flow of a busy morning like 'their book' and subject it to forensic analysis?
P is a terrible thing.
Ms. Hill's foolish exercise in language abuse occurred in a brief (five seconds max) promo for her show. Where do you get the idea I listened to "hundreds of thousands of words" to find that example of foolishness?
Ms. Hill's ridiculous exercise in language abuse occurred in a brief (five seconds max) promo for her show. Where do you get the idea I listened to "hundreds of thousands of words" to find that example of foolishness?
Getting one word wrong hardly is an “exercise in language abuse” and your ‘suffering’ cannot have been longer than the five seconds the promo lasted although it may felt like eternity to you. I’m quite sure that Kim Hill did not embark on her ‘abusive tirade’ to hurt you personally. You could send her another e-mail to confirm. Please get over this and move on.
Kim was a great hero during the many dark years of rich-rule after our social democracy. Why RNZ had to admit Richard whatisname.
Hill did not get the word wrong. Quite deliberate, ruffling some who are set in their ways.
Sinking lid approach does work best when done in subtle ways.
Trump has long held ambitions to be president…back in the 1980's he was a regular on the late-nite talks show's .(letterman et.al…). .and back then he often beat the presidential-ambitions drum..he was laughed at/humoured…but that is also what 'the apprentice' was all about ..him showing the american people/his future base that he was a strong leader ..and him becoming a household name..it was all part of the plan..
The other thread to trump is his connections to/long record of working with the mafia/mob..back in the 80's again he built skyscrapers in Manhatten…using undocumented/illegal workers..now you don't get to do such things in Manhatten unless you are in tight with the teamsters union..who control the building and garbage collection industries in Manhatten..and the teamsters are the union wing of the mob..and of course casinos in Atlantic City were a major means of money-laundering…trump is so bent ..he is like a human paperclip…
Pronouns, Breen. Not a hard concept.
their comment suggests it might be for them.
Was Kim Hill confused, you think? Did she think Masha Gesson was possibly a male?
There is only one confused person here.
You're quite right there, Sacha. Every one of yous.
Well, there’s Masha Gesson and there’s Masha Gessen so I can see why one would be confused. Perhaps you could ask Professor Longhair.
Thanks for the correction, Mr. Cognito. You're on to as usual.
https://media1.tenor.com/images/2b6138c8abd50d00965e784d948a88df/tenor.gif?itemid=4733491
Just to pour some oil of pedantry upon the fires of controversy, 'their' is not a pronoun. It is a possessive adjective. The pronoun is 'theirs', as in, "Our book is better than theirs," 'Theirs' can stand by itself, as a pronoun should be able to.
'Their' is only a possessive adjective, and needs the noun 'book' with it.
So
theirthere.Careful, In Vino: although of course you are correct, there are some around here who are unhappy with using simple words like his or her.
Things have moved on beyond Northcote's sepia bounds.
You're welcome to slip within Northcote Point's sepia bounds at any time, Sacha.
https://media1.tenor.com/images/aedf0a83eba45622947b6c988131ded1/tenor.gif?itemid=4731328
Lest We Forget: R.I.P. Journalism in the United States and Britain
Ten years since WikiLeaks and Julian Assange published the Iraq War Logs…
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/10/23/pers-o23.html
A dog and a scraped plate…
https://twitter.com/MelissaWrites22/status/1319464593287204864
Did you like the follow-up explanation?
https://twitter.com/jenxliberty/status/1319689356785774592
The better the blow, the greater the urge, apparently.
That is very funny…that clip..
I think I have figured out what biden is good at…gape-mouthed goldfish impersonations..he has it nailed..I’d also like to see his take on kermit the frog .
Anxiety outside the USA. I have wondered whether music might offer us a road out of our mind-prison under fascist neoliberal rule. Maybe this guy can advise us.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/429085/i-am-how-music-helped-a-young-tongan-lawyer-with-anxiety
Anxiety inside the USA – the flow of money to rich men's pockets is being strangled. This from Gordon Campbell on Scoop featuring the famous Koch Brothers. Dah dah. They recently featured in something else being done along with some other rich person. Funny how some names keep coming up, like yesterday's dinner.
Herd immunity has recently bounced back into the headlines as a tool for managing Covid-19, and as a supposed alternative to lockdowns. In the US, a group of scientists was recently brought together in the town of Great Barrington, Massachusetts by a think tank funded by the Koch brothers. The assembled scientists signed the so called Barrington Declaration, which promotes herd immunity as a rational means of re-opening US public schools and the economy at large..
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL2010/S00134/on-why-herd-immunity-isnt-a-valid-option-and-whats-with-our-reluctance-to-wear-masks.htm
…The Declaration has found a receptive ear at the White House where Dr Scott Atlas has become Donald Trump’s most trusted health advisor on the pandemic, and Trump’s main scientific advocate against lockdowns.
Atlas is a neurologist, and has no expertise in infectious diseases.
(If he is a neurologist, then he might be able to keep an eye on Mr T-rump's condition, and prevent his prime excesses.)
In the US the death toll has reached 224,000. By the end of the year this figure could double. Daily infections are nearly at the same rate as in March with the first wave. Aljazeera reported this today. It would be hard to be a health worker in the heavily infected countries. The pace would be exhausting and time out is required to recharge. With the flu season approaching there is going to be a shortage of beds and staff.
The waiting list is growing for other health related matters.
Is herd immunity the answer in the US and how would the care of those infected be managed?
There is no quick fix.
I think the President adopts the 'don't look at it and it might go away' response. As for herd immunity I have read professionals that sound informed saying that there isn't going to be any such thing with this virus. We will have to try and preserve our system as long as we can and try and become a fairer society, and look after our front line staff in particular. I don't know if we can get fixes for things now, new problems will keep rolling along and people switch off or get stuck on one point and get obsessed; just do our best and be resigned to change.
Today just after 7am on RNZ a Professor McClean an expert microbiologist on Covid.
Mc Lean a molecular immunologist.
As suspected, right wing white supremacists exploited legitimate protest. But BLM bad.
/
In the wake of protests following the May 25 killing of George Floyd, a member of the “Boogaloo Bois” opened fire on Minneapolis Police Third Precinct with an AK-47-style gun and screamed “Justice for Floyd” as he ran away, according to a federal complaint made public Friday.
A sworn affidavit by the FBI underlying the complaint reveals new details about a far-right anti-government group’s coordinated role in the violence that roiled through civil unrest over Floyd’s death while in police custody.
Ivan Harrison Hunter, a 26-year-old from Boerne, Texas, is charged with one count of interstate travel to incite a riot for his alleged role in ramping up violence during the protests in Minneapolis on May 27 and 28. According to charges, Hunter, wearing a skull mask and tactical gear, shot 13 rounds at the south Minneapolis police headquarters while people were inside. He also looted and helped set the building ablaze, according to the complaint, which was filed Monday under seal.
[…]
Two hours after the police precinct was set on fire, Hunter texted with another Boogaloo member in California, a man named Steven Carrillo.
“Go for police buildings,” Hunter told Carrillo, according to charging documents.
“I did better lol,” he replied. A few hours earlier, Carrillo had killed a Federal Protective Services Officer in Oakland, Calif., according to criminal charges filed against him in California.
https://www.startribune.com/charges-boogaloo-bois-fired-on-mpls-precinct-shouted-justice-for-floyd/572843802/
Off topic here. Have just come in from a 2 hour trip- – out with a friend op shopping and generally looking in different shops and timeout for lunch. This is Auckland North Shore and I can tell you the attitude of our residents here is total apathy towards masks, using tracer apps and using the hand sanitiser left out by shop owners. Young and old just ignoring common sense. It was so mind boggling we ended up quite pissed off excuse the language.
I even asked one retailer if he could move his stand with the hand sanitiser, app icon and board for entering your name etc with a pen further out into the doorway so patrons couldn't miss the darned thing. We are such an ungrateful ignorant lot we don't deserve to be virus almost-free as we are right now.
We both have loved ones overseas in hot spots – South America and US and both are trapped in their homes and have people dying everywhere around them and its heartbreaking that we are using and abusing our privileged status here with so many pig-ignorant people ignoring what they need to do. Sorry folks but this incoming Government and poor St. Ashley have their jobs cut out. Enough kindness. We outlawed non-belt wearing in cars and we now need emergency powers brought in for the duration of this virus outbreak and have it mandated that mask wearing, hand sanitising and app using is to be applied. We obviously are simple minded and need to be trained like children.
Here endeth the lesson.
Not off-topic at all and +1000. Clearly the lesson hasn't sunk in yet 🙁
I don't know where on the Shore you live but in the Devonport/Belmont area the wearing of masks and hand sanitising has been excellent. Yes, people are not wearing masks to the same extent since we dropped to level 1, but I think most people wash their hands and sanitise before leaving home and then do it again when they return. I also carry antiseptic wet cloths in my car as I suspect many other people do. In our local supermarket people are using the apps all the time or signing in, but I have noticed some retailers are no longer leaving forms for people to sign.
I think you are being a bit unfair to many "simple minded" adults. When we dropped to level 1 we were no longer expected to wear masks all the time when away from home. I've stopped wearing them because I don't go anywhere that might be considered unsafe and the same probably goes for most older people anyway.
What community outbreaks we have experienced were confined to specific circumstances and small groups which did not affect the vast majority of the population. If another community outbreak does occur, mask wearing will immediately become mandatory at all times again – at least in the region or regions that are affected.
Whispering Kate I agree that people will have to be forced by regulation, we just aren't a concerned society, except for a short time, or on special occasions. I have to force myself to comply, forget so often. But I keep trying to get into the habit – I see the numbers overseas shooting up. And the effect on the people, the strain on the funeral/burial system, and on the culture generally is not reported much here.
The point I'm making greywarshark : it is unfair to claim the attitude in my part of the country (the North Shore) is one of total apathy. And the NS would be typical of any other place.
It is precisely because the vast majority of NZers complied with the rules at each level that we are in a superior position now than most of the rest of the world.
We're at level 1 now. To assume people are not taking precautions by washing their hands and using sanitiser etc. is a step too far imo. If you're going direct to a store or supermarket and you have already 'washed and sanitised' then you don't have to do it again. Sure, some people need to be reminded every now and then but the government and MoH have already got that well in hand.
Sorry didn't get back to this. It is easy to generalise but as I sanitise my hands at the supermarket I don't see others, not the men going past. And yet sometimes i think I have just washed mine so don't do it. But I do like the freedom to get out and about and I think too many are taking it for granted. I haven't got an ap but if I did it prob wouldn't work on my phone. What's best to do. .. I must practice wearing my mask though.
I'm in two minds about this. None of those things are compulsory under L1. It doesn't make sense for the whole country to be doing all those things all of the time. Down south people certainly aren't (there was no social distancing and no-one seemed to be using the handsanitiser, and def no masks when I voted on election day).
While I can see the case for being more careful the closer one is to a hot spot (and during public holidays where people travel a lot), there is also the issue of maintaining such behaviour for the long haul and indefinitely (bearing in mind we don't know if/when a vaccine will be available). It's hard to get compliance when people perceive the risk as small, and it's better that we are socialised in to acting when the situation is more urgent so that if we have widespread community transmission again people will do the right thing more quickly and more thoroughly.
Mostly it's an odds game rather than a black and white one.
The govt already has the power to mandate actions during a pandemic. I for one and glad they are not using those unless necessary, all sorts of good reasons for the govt to not over use those powers.
One thing I'd like to see is more limits in travel between areas when there is potential community transmission. But I'm not sure it's warranted yet, and there are the same compliance and fatigue issues. I'm also not sure if it is fair to places like Auckland which will have a higher risk because of population.
Not wearing masks gets us thinking we are on our own planet. Then we start complaining because precautions still have to be taken, then the government becomes a whipping boy. We take so many things for granted in NZ – the complacency towards others with problems is amazing, and particularly to the needy in NZ.
However the government can keep the mask thing in their back pocket and when someone is putting pressure on to open our borders for this or that, they can say well everyone will have to start wearing masks. It is so easy for the transmission to occur – they will have to become mandatory when travelling, in groups etc.
mask wearing seems reasonable with increased population density, and prolonged contact. On a bus that will take 20 mins to get to its destination for instance.
People walking down Queens St at lunch time vs the main street of Gore mid afternoon.
If we don't take things like into account people will get intolerant and less willing.
Helluva game.
https://twitter.com/CTVNews/status/1319926610238205957
what are the different colour droplets?
"Helluva game."
Right. So we can see the droplet spread there, but the odds game is whether any of those mannequins have covd, what the viral load is, whether they cough into their arm or not and so on. Is it reasonable to expect 5m people to wear a mask when around other humans because there is one case of community transmission in NZ? I don't think so. The public health approach to containment is working with the odds, not the absolutes, and the various strategies are designed to catch and limit spread as quickly as possible without crashing the economy or driving people crazy.
Excellent response @10.3 and 10.3.2.2. Thank-you weka.
100% Whispering Kate.
Newton Central School stopped its walking bus three years ago after several near misses and after abuse was hurled at children by some cyclists on the northwestern cycleway.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/429096/it-s-a-really-dangerous-place-school-s-plea-for-cycleway-upgrade
"We've actually had one or two children being hit. We've had members of our community that have had serious injuries. It's a really dangerous place – children and bicycles don't mix," he said.
"No one wants to have a child get hurt or injured. This is an accident waiting to happen…
A parent at the school, Phoebe Greenbrook-Held, said Auckland Transport tried to educate cyclists about using their bell and giving children a wide berth, but this was not treating the root problem….
“Unfortunately all those fixes are just short term – within a few months cyclist behaviour reverts. We really need the cycleway to be broadened, so children are safe to walk, cycle and scoot while adults do their commute to work.”
She said adult cyclists are the main culprits."
Obvious – the two modes of mobility are incompatible, and it's a 'loss of commons' to put cycles on footpaths, without a fence or something physical separating and providing safety for pedestrians and clear pathway for the others – and not just a line on the path!
ACT's an arsehole magnet #eleventy seven.
https://twitter.com/lachlandcp/status/1319768605530025987
That 'lifestyle choice' is the grind the right came out with in the 1980s – haven't they thought of anything since then? They must show the acolytes and newbies a propaganda video, and teach them some phrases to utter like parrots. When certain words come on they’ll have a Pavlovian reaction. Woof woof the tui (see on google) looked bright and beady-eyed and handsome and had a better vocabulary. Use him or her as a mascot for a young left movement!
(The Baillie mentioned is a teacher of sorts in Nelson, by the way.)
People can not be trusted with a benefit, but will be trusted with an Education Grant?
Wow!! some disconnect there!!
How Tova sees her famed JLR encounter: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/24/tova-obrien-my-feral-interview-with-covid-19-denier-jami-lee-ross
boom
that was a super interesting read. Perhaps TO and other journos should explain what they do more often.