The results of decades of amateur landlordism and poor governance in New Zealand:
Half of children studied sleeping in bedrooms that are too cold, study says.
The pioneering study was a joint project between the building researchers BRANZ and the University of Auckland longitudinal study, Growing Up in New Zealand.
It got eight-year-olds to spend two days collecting temperature and humidity information at home and school.
The results made for sober reading, with about 1000 children going to sleep in bedrooms that were too cold – at or below 19C – with the temperature in some rooms dropping to under 4C by the morning.
BRANZ scientist Dr Chris Litten, from a research organisation that aims to improve New Zealand's building system, said New Zealand needed to do better with its housing stock standards.
"We need to build better houses, we need to insulate them and on top of that we need to be able to heat them properly and be able to afford to heat them."
Litten said good work was being done by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to look at improving energy efficiency in homes.
But he said housing standards were lagging behind the rest of the world, and it was time to catch up.
I have more than a few worries about this housing heating study.
Firstly how ethical is it to use children? Should children be encouraged to be researching a subject which puts their parents in the difficult situation of either refusing so that the kids are left out or shamed/sidelined at school for being unable to contribute or do they agree to this spying by default on the household? And how reliable is the data. If this was my household I might agree but the thermometer would be regularly "fixed" to give an incorrect result.
And 21 degrees? Who decided that? Most of the houses have been around since at least the 1960's and have produced some very large cohorts who seem to be living a long long time. Personally I'm comfortable without heating down to the mid teens. The industry shilling for commercial companies here?
There is a big problem with housing. We live in timber framed tents. People simply cannot afford to heat houses to the temperatures the Government has set.
The solution is much more complex than is currently recognised and involves house design, energy pricing and appliance selection.
It would be a good start to look at developments in Europe who are way ahead if anything we are doing here.
It probably would be a good idea….but its one that conflicts with 'mum and dad' investors interests and its also one that will take decades to implement.
We had an excellent opportunity to test some of these ideas with the Christchurch rebuild….guess what we did.
People simply cannot afford to heat houses to the temperatures the Government has set.
No doubt that is true but what has been set is the ability for tenants to heat the houses they pay for to be heated to that level.
That the houses aren't up to it is a dreadful indictment on New Zealand's passage so far. The number 8 wire, do it on the cheap, she'll be right mentality.
Well, she will not be right. And it's long past time this changed, painful as it might be.
Wuhan virologists fell sick, possibly from COVID-19 (!), in November 2019
Three researchers from China's Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) sought hospital care in November 2019, a month before China reported the first cases of COVID-19, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a US intelligence report.
A State Department fact sheet released near the end of the Trump administration said "the US government has reason to believe that several researchers inside the WIV became sick in autumn 2019, before the first identified case of the outbreak, with symptoms consistent with both COVID-19 and common seasonal illnesses." It did not say how many researchers.
I guess you could say those who have an interest in climate change denial also have an interest in the lab-leak theory: Western big business.
Muttonbird. You really should not assume that your oblique references are clear to all.
Not sure how "Western big business" should benefit from exploration of the lab leak hypothesis. You do understand that the Wuhan Lab received funding from the US government to continue bat/human coronavirus research that was under a moratorium in the US…because of very real concerns of a potential leak?
To clarify, I think Western big business has an interest in climate change denial because a) that is observably true and b) any action against climate change erodes profits.
I also think Western big business has an interest in the lab-leak theory because they have been at war with China over trade and intellectual property and anything that weakens China boost profits.
If the lab leak hypothesis gains ground…both China and the US will come under equal scrutiny. And censure. Whatever credibility either has on the world stage will be eroded. Is this the rise of Europe?
More about getting the former guy off the hook, I reckon.
Move perceptions from the tRump regimes ineptitude allowed a pandemic to run rampant costing hundreds of thousands of American lives to everything that could've been donewas doneafter the inept Chinese lost control of their engineered a bio weapon.
tRump regimes ineptitude Poor lad. He was busy demanding that 'Chy Na' be held to account and positively foaming at the mouth. Then he went very quiet on the issue. Could it be some underling whispered in his ear that despite the apparent US/Sino sabre -rattling…there were very close ties between the two great nations. Especially in bat/human coronavirus- with- gain -of- function research.
Just a few of very many papers and articles published over the past 18 months that present evidence (or not) that disagrees with what rapidly became the only acceptable explanation of the origin of Te Virus.
Just so you understand….science simply does not (or should not) work like this. Science is not about dogma and belief and the casting of slurs against those who have a differing hypothesis.
Its about research and evidence and open mindedness …and certainly should not be driven by or dictated to by a compromised media.
The most interesting contributor to one of the above publications is a researcher with a long history of bat / human coronavirus research (with a special side order of gain of function) who also happened to work closely with the lead virologist at the Wuhan Lab. He and his mates called for more investigation very shortly after the publication of Wades article.
Because of all known SARS-related beta-coronaviruses, only SARS2 possesses a furin cleavage site. All the other viruses have their S2 unit cleaved at a different site and by a different mechanism. [From the bottom article linked by Rosemary]
Chris Martenson of Peak Prosperity pointed to this furin cleavage many months ago.
And Fauci (of Donald Trump infamy) has his corporate fingers deeply inserted in the whole sorry business, along with blokes like Daszak.
"The furin cleavage site in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein is required for transmission in ferrets"
Do you even know what 'a furin' is ?
We saw this during the lockdowns, the instant epidemiology experts. People who often dont even know how mail is sorted before delivery can come up with these theories about how infectious viruses spread.
You're quite right, ghost, I don't know what a furin is. But I can read and reason, and I know Martenson pointed out that no other SARS virus has such an addition way back in April or May of last year – and got roundly turned on for showing the obvious evidence of human tampering with the virus.
But now three workplace colleagues got flu-like symptoms in autumn. Smoking gun right there lol
All this origin debate is just geopolitical agenda-puching. Leave it 20 years and someone might actually figure something out with relative impartiality.
The evidence is stacking up McFlock and one day, as you say, we may have the 'answers'. In the meantime. Today, as it was 18 months ago when the Chinese govt 'gave the genome to the world' there are signs aplenty that this was a lab born virus. What might have been really, really useful (other than being able to trust WHO etc) was a few clues from the source on the best way of dealing with this.
"1: "signs aplenty"? No more than for any other possible origin."
Hmm… The virus first emerged in one of only a handful of places in the world that has a laboratory that studies bat coronaviruses. The same lab also has in its possession the closest known relative virus to covid19.
And you give equal weight to other origin theories??
In 2004, deep in the wilderness of China's Yunnan province, a group of scientists from the Wuhan Institute of Virology discovered a cave full of wild bats carrying hundreds of SARS-related viruses.
Their work, published in a draft paper in 2005, unearthed the link between SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and bats for the first time.
Now the virologist who led that study, Shi Zhengli, has revealed one of the strains found in that cave — the exact location of which is a closely guarded secret — is almost identical to the 2019-nCoV coronavirus which has so far killed at least 1,115 people and infected more than 45,000 worldwide, news.com.au reports.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t say what you and mauī think it says and it doesn’t mean what you and mauī think it means.
Since the two of you will just keep beating around the bush, let’s assume you’re thinking of RaTG13. That will help sharpen the mind somewhat.
It seems that both of you believe that the Wuhan lab had this mystical virus “in its possession”. Taking this belief a few steps further, it is entirely plausible, very likely, if you’re so inclined, that they were experimenting with it. You know, that gain-of-function stuff and other scary bio-weaponising Frankensteinish work. And of course, the lab bats were sold on the wet market and the rest is history. Dan Brown would be proud.
A clue is in the link you provided. Another clue is in my comment to McFlock. I’m afraid you’re barking into the wrong cave.
In addition, I think that you believe that “almost identical” means what you think it means. It does not, but if you want fly that balloon, I cannot stop you from flying it as high as a kite.
If only we could find that cave again but the bat may have flown …
Hmmm. How many is a "handful"? Any other source of bats nearby? Is the bat virus transported across the reagion in any other way?
The first workplace heavily affected (2/3 workers+) seems to have been a fresh meat/livestock market.
The lab allegedly had 3 cases in a vaguely appropriate timeline – but really appropriate? Covid19 spreads fast. A week or two here or there dramatically changes the infection rate the following month.
And why do you even care? Will knowledge of the virus' origin change your behaviour or affect your life in any way? Or are you just invested in the lab idea to satisfy some other internal narrative you have playing in your brain?
My internal narrative tends to be along the lines of "nutbars gonna nutbar, fuckit. Next thing some fucking moron will be beating up a Korean because they can't even target their stupidity right and they read about labs on the interwebs". Just in case you were wondering.
Leave it 20 years and someone might actually figure something out with relative impartiality.
I would wager a bet that in 20 years time the response will be:
The first conclusion was the correct conclusion. That is: the source was a Wuhan Wet Market where the virus jumped from an animal to a human. The difference being in 20 years time they will be able to determine beyond reasonable doubt which animal it was… by which time nobody will care.
The simplest and obvious conclusions inevitably turn out to be the correct ones. But there will always be nutbar conspiracy theorists and their assorted followers who want to claim a sinister plot. Look no further than the assassination of President Jack Kennedy in the 1960s.
Yep its just as well anne we live in a world of decency and mutual respect and where noone ever conspires with anyone else to cover up a dirty secret !!So simple really
Oh so you're a follower of conspiracy theorists are you. There's always a few lurking around every corner.
Covering up dirty secrets like heinous crime, genocide or producing fraudulent documents as we have just discovered in respect of the BBC is something else altogether. Maybe you are not equipped to recognise the difference.
Anne. Last year, in late January, there was at least one virologist quoted on Natrad as saying the virus had obvious signs of being lab made. (It must have been RNZ as they are the only station we were listening to and we don't do telly.) Others heard this. Others also remember this being one of the original hypotheses.
Within days this hypothesis was declared a "conspiracy theory" and all further discussion along those lines was mocked, silenced and 'debunked'. This was the very first sign that there was something very, very odd going on.
And what on earth do you mean when you say "conclusion"? As far as I am aware no one has conclusively proved any of the hypotheses.
The jury is still out.
The simplest and obvious conclusions inevitably turn out to be the correct ones
Just for shits and giggles, why don't you provide us with a bit of proof to back up that rather sweeping statement?
Damned if I know how to argue facts with someone who can't remember their sources and then reckons that people calling BS on an unsupported claim is somehow suspicious.
I can see a pattern and it contains the prime number3
In spring 2012, three miners cleaning bat feces in an abandoned copper mine near the town of Tongguan in Mojiang Hani Autonomous County developed fatal pneumonia.
I'd like to give a shoutout to the Prime Minister for recommending Dame Cindy Kiro to be Governor General. Dame Patsy Reddy was of course a corporate lawyer versed in high capitalism's deals within networks within deals: the quintessential National appointment.
Dame Kiro is all about the poor and disenfranchised.
This is a pure Labour move. And a good, human one.
Is it too early to draw a parallel between the first names of the GG and the PM? This could get confusing for those who like to talk down on the PM. Still, there’s always the relatively young age of the PM that can be used, as Peter Dunne CNZM demonstrated recently.
Few rise to the top by merit alone and the top is for few only. Hierarchical systems have processes in place to maintain order, structure & stability, and preservation of traditions & rules through loyalty and rules & recognition for promotion and award/reward. Without wanting to piss on individuals, their accomplishments & achievements, and their awards & appointments, I personally am strongly against hierarchies and the legalised and/or sanctioned authority that flows from them. It goes against my core principle that all people are equal of being and inequality of position runs counter to that. I could dedicate a whole post or two to centralisation of political and economic power, which some seem to consider the bee’s knees and the best thing since sliced bread, but I always cringe internally when I hear about this.
Farrar's argument falls to bits when you point out that Kiro was born in 1958, so she would have still picked up all the welfare state goodies, award wages and free education that was on offer.
Perhaps they realise that a bedrock of surety of money to people enables people to grow, not inflation the big supposed bugbear of the irrational wealthy classes.
I find this weird from Labour too – right up there with public sector wage freezes and a gift to any future right wing administration who would use this to ditch universal welfare payments. A great big vote loser.
And who can afford it anyway as it would effectively be another large tax. The younger cohort already pay about 20 cents income tax, 15 cents GST, 12 cents student loans, Kiwisaver 3 cents, ACC say 2 cents which leaves about 48 cents in the dollar for the rest.. Highly regressive of course.
The only people who could afford it would be the ones who could save a nest egg to tide them over anyway
What an idiot suggestion to waste political capital on. I'm over labour big time.
If they can't afford it, can they afford not to have it? Maybe the design is to agree that the insurance only insures above the dole, so at least some of it is automatically covered. Currently some people can and do afford income protection (me included) while others can't or aren't eligible (my wife), so this would fantastic for us.
Universal coverage is how we get the Nats and others on board and avoiding it getting discarded after a few years.
The important principal to remember about Labour parties is they really believe all their deficit crap.
So National are not going to let a deficit get in the way of a tax cut policy they want implemented, though they will cut or argue against public spending on that same basis.
But this is the reason Labour attempted the wage freeze. Also the basis for the super fund (e.g the govt pre-funding its later super based deficit), and this will function similarly to that. Labour wants the govt books to be in surplus and to be telling us how great they are at running the govt profitably (while disregarding the necessary expanding housing bubble which supports this).
Another BIG idea requiring time. About time that Labour deliver and fix up the important issues housing, health, child welfare instead of day dreaming.
There are already that many insurances.
What difference would another insurance against loss of job make?
edit
I have been with AA – auto insurance – for years and have happily paid up for the use of reliable services when there is a breakdown, whether it is my silly fault or whatever. Some years I have none and I keep paying because it is not too dear, and I get pleasant helpful reliable service if and when in need. People with insurance from the private sector, don't always get a fair deal like I do with the AA which is dedicated to vehicle help.
If we had unemployment insurance from the government, and not a PPP either, then we could achieve the same satisfactory outcome. Other assistance would be available, but insurance holders wouldn't have to go down on their knees to the Department of Miserable Gits to be able to carry on their lives.
The unemployment insurance that is being examined is modelled on ACC but with a time limitation ….it is estimated to cost up to 5 billion p.a. for 6 months cover ….a 2 tier welfare system ….and the way ACC has been operated in recent times is no recommendation and I'd suggest the courts are over extended already without adding yet more potential disputes. The Gov have the ability when needed to extend support as and when needed as has been amply demonstrated with covid without burdening society with an additional slush fund to the benefit of the financial markets and over exposed banks.
I agree Greywarshark, there are too many ready to decry any moves to improve things.
Motives are attached to the moves, sometimes on the flimsiest of reasons and mostly negative. Past experience has shaken our belief in the intent of policies.
This Government is looking at the state of things that undermine wellbeing of people and the moves to have a period of insurance for loss of income, like the protection of the first fifty thousand in the bank, help ordinary people to have time to reorganise and to protect their hard earned small asset base while sorting their future.
There will always be welfare in NZ, how it is provided and the strings attached are the important issues. Those worried about failures of some models should present those ideas to working groups.
Personally, I have been surprised how negative some posters are. For them, no change is good enough great enough left enough or just enough.
The Government represents all of us as well as they can, often in a period of constant threats.
My biggest sorrow is the failure to improve things more for those with permanent or worsening disabilities. Far more needs to be done in that space imo.
Id be very interested to know what possible justification any Labour supporter can offer for an additional unemployment insurance scheme over and above a universal welfare benefit?
It seems to me that Patricia and Pat are both right.
Patricia with a long explanation of what might have to be done to achieve anything, pragmatic. And Pat with a terse query as to why this would be necessary when we have the systems in place already, rational.
Unfortunately it seems to Patricia and me that rational no longer has an assured place in NZ, and so pragmatic is the way of necessity. Grasping the nettle may be required.
The first I read of this story turned out to be incorrect information that suggested a terrorist bomb scare forcing the sudden diversion of a RyanAir flight resulting in the terrorist being detained, when it fact it was someone who spoke out against the current leadership of Belarius and the bomb scare was a ploy to get the passenger jet to land in Minsk – quite different. Here is the scoop from Glen Grenwald.
Protasevich, even while in exile, was a leading oppositional voice, using an anti-Lukashenko channel on Telegram — one of the few remaining outlets dissidents have — to voice criticisms of the regime. For those activities, he was formally charged with various national security crimes, and then, last November, was placed on the official “terrorist list” by Belarus’ intelligence service (still called the "KGB” from its days as a Soviet republic).
Lukashenko's own press service said the fighter jet was deployed on orders of the leader himself, telling the Ryanair pilot that they believed there was a bomb or other threat to the plane on board. When the plane landed in Minsk, an hours-long search was conducted and found no bomb or any other instrument that could endanger the plane's safety, and the plane was then permitted to take off and land thirty minutes later at its intended destination in Lithuania. But two passengers were missing. Protasevich was quickly detained after the plane was forced to land in Minsk and is now in a Belarusian jail, where he faces a possible death sentence as a "terrorist” and/or a lengthy prison term for his alleged national security crimes. His girlfriend, traveling with him, was also detained despite facing no charges. Passengers on the flight say Protasevich began panicking when the pilot announced that the plane would land in Minsk, knowing that his fate was sealed and telling other passengers that he faces a death sentence.
I saw the heading in a travel advertisement – Experience Australia Like Never Before! And I wondered if they were offering tours to see the rellies and conditions in Manus Island? Now that would be very different.
Chris Lynch is one of several right wing broadcast personalities having trouble with their identity and reach lately.
Looks like he's joining the recent exodus of outdated, disenfranchised, white, conservative shock jocks, Leighton Smith, Mike Hoskings, Sean Plunkett, John Banks, Larry Williams, Paul Henry, etc, etc.
There's always podcasts. May the door hit their collective arses on the way out.
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Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Pacific Media Watch Earthwise hosts Lois and Martin Griffiths. Earthwise presenters Lois and Martin Griffiths on Plains FM 96.9 community radio talk to Dr David Robie, a New Zealand author, independent journalist and media educator with a passion for the Asia-Pacific region. David talks about the struggle to raise awareness ...
Pacific Media Watch Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who was held for 12 hours at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital, says Israeli forces rounded up Palestinian journalists at the facility and made them kneel on the ground for hours, while naked and blindfolded. “The occupation forces handcuffed and blindfolded us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute chinasong, Shutterstock Electricity customers in four Australian states can breathe a sigh of relief. After two years in a row of 20% price increases, power prices have finally stabilised. In many places they’re ...
Chumbawamba have reportedly issued the deputy PM a cease-and-desist notice after he used their song 'Tubthumping' before his state of the nation speech. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
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The results of decades of amateur landlordism and poor governance in New Zealand:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/443288/half-of-children-studied-sleeping-in-bedrooms-that-are-too-cold-study-says
I have more than a few worries about this housing heating study.
Firstly how ethical is it to use children? Should children be encouraged to be researching a subject which puts their parents in the difficult situation of either refusing so that the kids are left out or shamed/sidelined at school for being unable to contribute or do they agree to this spying by default on the household? And how reliable is the data. If this was my household I might agree but the thermometer would be regularly "fixed" to give an incorrect result.
And 21 degrees? Who decided that? Most of the houses have been around since at least the 1960's and have produced some very large cohorts who seem to be living a long long time. Personally I'm comfortable without heating down to the mid teens. The industry shilling for commercial companies here?
There is a big problem with housing. We live in timber framed tents. People simply cannot afford to heat houses to the temperatures the Government has set.
The solution is much more complex than is currently recognised and involves house design, energy pricing and appliance selection.
It would be a good start to look at developments in Europe who are way ahead if anything we are doing here.
It probably would be a good idea….but its one that conflicts with 'mum and dad' investors interests and its also one that will take decades to implement.
We had an excellent opportunity to test some of these ideas with the Christchurch rebuild….guess what we did.
No doubt that is true but what has been set is the ability for tenants to heat the houses they pay for to be heated to that level.
That the houses aren't up to it is a dreadful indictment on New Zealand's passage so far. The number 8 wire, do it on the cheap, she'll be right mentality.
Well, she will not be right. And it's long past time this changed, painful as it might be.
looking back at previous NZ studies on bedroom temperature seem to suggest that 15C was the 'minimum'
Dont know where the 19C number came from. Certainly you would want living areas in evening when not so active to be around 19-21C.
To have a lounge area on a sunny day to be 18C is fine, as warm clothing inside is still required.
Some nourishment for the conspiracy theorists:
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2021/05/coronavirus-china-rejects-report-wuhan-virologists-fell-sick-possibly-from-covid-19-in-november-2019.html
Believers are gonna believe but hey, a couple of threads on the WSJ story.
https://twitter.com/pwnallthethings/status/1396577153232379904
https://twitter.com/MoNscience/status/1396240581651742724
I guess you could say those who have an interest in climate change denial also have an interest in the lab-leak theory: Western big business.
I guess you could say those who have an interest in climate change denial also have an interest in the lab-leak theory: Western big business.
Muttonbird. You really should not assume that your oblique references are clear to all.
Not sure how "Western big business" should benefit from exploration of the lab leak hypothesis. You do understand that the Wuhan Lab received funding from the US government to continue bat/human coronavirus research that was under a moratorium in the US…because of very real concerns of a potential leak?
To clarify, I think Western big business has an interest in climate change denial because a) that is observably true and b) any action against climate change erodes profits.
I also think Western big business has an interest in the lab-leak theory because they have been at war with China over trade and intellectual property and anything that weakens China boost profits.
and anything that weakens China boost profits.
If the lab leak hypothesis gains ground…both China and the US will come under equal scrutiny. And censure. Whatever credibility either has on the world stage will be eroded. Is this the rise of Europe?
or the "very real concerns" were a pretext to enforce a political decision made by a lickspittle of the orange shitgibbon.
More about getting the former guy off the hook, I reckon.
Move perceptions from the tRump regimes ineptitude allowed a pandemic to run rampant costing hundreds of thousands of American lives to everything that could've been done was done after the inept Chinese lost control of their engineered a bio weapon.
tRump regimes ineptitude Poor lad. He was busy demanding that 'Chy Na' be held to account and positively foaming at the mouth. Then he went very quiet on the issue. Could it be some underling whispered in his ear that despite the apparent US/Sino sabre -rattling…there were very close ties between the two great nations. Especially in bat/human coronavirus- with- gain -of- function research.
Whoops.
That too.
One is a meeting of 100s of scientists, who are well known and leaders in their fields
https://www.ipcc.ch/report/climate-change-the-ipcc-1990-and-1992-assessments/
The other is a sort of leak of a suggestion from a US intell agency who have to tailor the intel to Trumps claims.
The author of first twitter thread above notes, someone [is] shopping something that isn't an IC assessment as an IC assessment.
“Belief closes the mind, thought reaches no final conclusion. It looks forward always to new evidence.”
Maurice Gee “The Plumb Trilogy.”
This should be written large in every High School Science Lab.
Ooooh!!! Conspiracy theorists!!! Head for the hills! Lock up your daughters!
You have read this…https://science.thewire.in/the-sciences/origins-of-covid-19-who-opened-pandoras-box-at-wuhan-people-or-nature/ ?
This? https://science.sciencemag.org/content/372/6543/694.1
This? https://zenodo.org/record/4477081#.YKwdON2xX3h
or even this….https://statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2021/02/01/about-that-claim-that-sars-cov-2-is-not-a-natural-zoonosis-but-instead-is-laboratory-derived/ …which disputes the previous report.
Just a few of very many papers and articles published over the past 18 months that present evidence (or not) that disagrees with what rapidly became the only acceptable explanation of the origin of Te Virus.
Just so you understand….science simply does not (or should not) work like this. Science is not about dogma and belief and the casting of slurs against those who have a differing hypothesis.
Its about research and evidence and open mindedness …and certainly should not be driven by or dictated to by a compromised media.
The most interesting contributor to one of the above publications is a researcher with a long history of bat / human coronavirus research (with a special side order of gain of function) who also happened to work closely with the lead virologist at the Wuhan Lab. He and his mates called for more investigation very shortly after the publication of Wades article.
https://science.thewire.in/the-sciences/origins-of-covid-19-who-opened-pandoras-box-at-wuhan-people-or-nature/
This is truly fascinating stuff.
Chris Martenson of Peak Prosperity pointed to this furin cleavage many months ago.
And Fauci (of Donald Trump infamy) has his corporate fingers deeply inserted in the whole sorry business, along with blokes like Daszak.
Furin cleavage is well above your pay grade
"The furin cleavage site in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein is required for transmission in ferrets"
Do you even know what 'a furin' is ?
We saw this during the lockdowns, the instant epidemiology experts. People who often dont even know how mail is sorted before delivery can come up with these theories about how infectious viruses spread.
You're quite right, ghost, I don't know what a furin is. But I can read and reason, and I know Martenson pointed out that no other SARS virus has such an addition way back in April or May of last year – and got roundly turned on for showing the obvious evidence of human tampering with the virus.
And another. Those altered rodents with human genes make it plausible.
https://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/view/lab-leak-called-viable-possibility-for-covid-19-pandemic
but I thought the Italians had it in September 2019…
But now three workplace colleagues got flu-like symptoms in autumn. Smoking gun right there lol
All this origin debate is just geopolitical agenda-puching. Leave it 20 years and someone might actually figure something out with relative impartiality.
The evidence is stacking up McFlock and one day, as you say, we may have the 'answers'. In the meantime. Today, as it was 18 months ago when the Chinese govt 'gave the genome to the world' there are signs aplenty that this was a lab born virus. What might have been really, really useful (other than being able to trust WHO etc) was a few clues from the source on the best way of dealing with this.
but hey, we're just an ordinary charity….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdYDL_RK–w&t=17s
(There is no date when this was filmed. Might have been at the Dec 2019 Virus Conference in Singapore. https://www.ncid.sg/News-Events/Events/Pages/Nipah-Virus-International-Conference.aspx )
1: "signs aplenty"? No more than for any other possible origin.
2: They did map the genetis sequence and share it quickly, helping to enable fast case transmission tracking (amongst other things).
3: what relevance does a half hour video from a conference about another virus have to your comment or the issue at hand?
"1: "signs aplenty"? No more than for any other possible origin."
Hmm… The virus first emerged in one of only a handful of places in the world that has a laboratory that studies bat coronaviruses. The same lab also has in its possession the closest known relative virus to covid19.
And you give equal weight to other origin theories??
Really? Which virus might that be? And they have or had this live virus in the lab?
I doubt you can back that up so I won’t even ask you.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/coronavirus-mysterious-bat-cave-in-chinese-wilderness-could-hold-key/NVLWRX2F4L3KLP3ZN6UDJ5IGHA/
In 2004, deep in the wilderness of China's Yunnan province, a group of scientists from the Wuhan Institute of Virology discovered a cave full of wild bats carrying hundreds of SARS-related viruses.
Their work, published in a draft paper in 2005, unearthed the link between SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and bats for the first time.
Now the virologist who led that study, Shi Zhengli, has revealed one of the strains found in that cave — the exact location of which is a closely guarded secret — is almost identical to the 2019-nCoV coronavirus which has so far killed at least 1,115 people and infected more than 45,000 worldwide, news.com.au reports.
That’s just so lovely, thanks heaps
Unfortunately, it doesn’t say what you and mauī think it says and it doesn’t mean what you and mauī think it means.
Since the two of you will just keep beating around the bush, let’s assume you’re thinking of RaTG13. That will help sharpen the mind somewhat.
It seems that both of you believe that the Wuhan lab had this mystical virus “in its possession”. Taking this belief a few steps further, it is entirely plausible, very likely, if you’re so inclined, that they were experimenting with it. You know, that gain-of-function stuff and other scary bio-weaponising Frankensteinish work. And of course, the lab bats were sold on the wet market and the rest is history. Dan Brown would be proud.
A clue is in the link you provided. Another clue is in my comment to McFlock. I’m afraid you’re barking into the wrong cave.
In addition, I think that you believe that “almost identical” means what you think it means. It does not, but if you want fly that balloon, I cannot stop you from flying it as high as a kite.
If only we could find that cave again but the bat may have flown …
Hmmm. How many is a "handful"? Any other source of bats nearby? Is the bat virus transported across the reagion in any other way?
The first workplace heavily affected (2/3 workers+) seems to have been a fresh meat/livestock market.
The lab allegedly had 3 cases in a vaguely appropriate timeline – but really appropriate? Covid19 spreads fast. A week or two here or there dramatically changes the infection rate the following month.
And why do you even care? Will knowledge of the virus' origin change your behaviour or affect your life in any way? Or are you just invested in the lab idea to satisfy some other internal narrative you have playing in your brain?
My internal narrative tends to be along the lines of "nutbars gonna nutbar, fuckit. Next thing some fucking moron will be beating up a Korean because they can't even target their stupidity right and they read about labs on the interwebs". Just in case you were wondering.
I would wager a bet that in 20 years time the response will be:
The first conclusion was the correct conclusion. That is: the source was a Wuhan Wet Market where the virus jumped from an animal to a human. The difference being in 20 years time they will be able to determine beyond reasonable doubt which animal it was… by which time nobody will care.
The simplest and obvious conclusions inevitably turn out to be the correct ones. But there will always be nutbar conspiracy theorists and their assorted followers who want to claim a sinister plot. Look no further than the assassination of President Jack Kennedy in the 1960s.
Yep its just as well anne we live in a world of decency and mutual respect and where noone ever conspires with anyone else to cover up a dirty secret !!So simple really
Oh so you're a follower of conspiracy theorists are you. There's always a few lurking around every corner.
Covering up dirty secrets like heinous crime, genocide or producing fraudulent documents as we have just discovered in respect of the BBC is something else altogether. Maybe you are not equipped to recognise the difference.
The first conclusion was the correct conclusion.
Anne. Last year, in late January, there was at least one virologist quoted on Natrad as saying the virus had obvious signs of being lab made. (It must have been RNZ as they are the only station we were listening to and we don't do telly.) Others heard this. Others also remember this being one of the original hypotheses.
Within days this hypothesis was declared a "conspiracy theory" and all further discussion along those lines was mocked, silenced and 'debunked'. This was the very first sign that there was something very, very odd going on.
And what on earth do you mean when you say "conclusion"? As far as I am aware no one has conclusively proved any of the hypotheses.
The jury is still out.
The simplest and obvious conclusions inevitably turn out to be the correct ones
Just for shits and giggles, why don't you provide us with a bit of proof to back up that rather sweeping statement?
Damned if I know how to argue facts with someone who can't remember their sources and then reckons that people calling BS on an unsupported claim is somehow suspicious.
I can see a pattern and it contains the prime number 3
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RaTG13
I'd like to give a shoutout to the Prime Minister for recommending Dame Cindy Kiro to be Governor General. Dame Patsy Reddy was of course a corporate lawyer versed in high capitalism's deals within networks within deals: the quintessential National appointment.
Dame Kiro is all about the poor and disenfranchised.
This is a pure Labour move. And a good, human one.
"She said she was born to a very poor family so she knows about the hard work and perseverance required to succeed.
Asked what she brings to the role, she said: "Community and service"."
I agree with Ad.
Is it too early to draw a parallel between the first names of the GG and the PM? This could get confusing for those who like to talk down on the PM. Still, there’s always the relatively young age of the PM that can be used, as Peter Dunne CNZM demonstrated recently.
David Farrar has congratulated her on her appointment.
But then he used the post to claim, because she has succeeded having come from a poor Northland background, the system is working well.
The inference being if she can do it, why can’t all poor people do it.
Few rise to the top by merit alone and the top is for few only. Hierarchical systems have processes in place to maintain order, structure & stability, and preservation of traditions & rules through loyalty and rules & recognition for promotion and award/reward. Without wanting to piss on individuals, their accomplishments & achievements, and their awards & appointments, I personally am strongly against hierarchies and the legalised and/or sanctioned authority that flows from them. It goes against my core principle that all people are equal of being and inequality of position runs counter to that. I could dedicate a whole post or two to centralisation of political and economic power, which some seem to consider the bee’s knees and the best thing since sliced bread, but I always cringe internally when I hear about this.
End of first morning rant.
A finely crafted one in pure human-think (which is the best material available on Planet Earth).
Farrar's argument falls to bits when you point out that Kiro was born in 1958, so she would have still picked up all the welfare state goodies, award wages and free education that was on offer.
Yeah – because it's really really smart to design things based on a self-serving assumption that the exception is the actually norm.
Neo-liberalism dead?….I'm afraid not
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018796828/unemployment-insurance-could-cost-5b-a-year
This is one very confused administration.
It's ACT policy. Very strange this government is pursuing it. However, it is a way for them to introduce another tax without it being called a tax.
Perhaps they realise that a bedrock of surety of money to people enables people to grow, not inflation the big supposed bugbear of the irrational wealthy classes.
I find this weird from Labour too – right up there with public sector wage freezes and a gift to any future right wing administration who would use this to ditch universal welfare payments. A great big vote loser.
And who can afford it anyway as it would effectively be another large tax. The younger cohort already pay about 20 cents income tax, 15 cents GST, 12 cents student loans, Kiwisaver 3 cents, ACC say 2 cents which leaves about 48 cents in the dollar for the rest.. Highly regressive of course.
The only people who could afford it would be the ones who could save a nest egg to tide them over anyway
What an idiot suggestion to waste political capital on. I'm over labour big time.
If they can't afford it, can they afford not to have it? Maybe the design is to agree that the insurance only insures above the dole, so at least some of it is automatically covered. Currently some people can and do afford income protection (me included) while others can't or aren't eligible (my wife), so this would fantastic for us.
Universal coverage is how we get the Nats and others on board and avoiding it getting discarded after a few years.
About as attractive as a ponzi scheme.
I can see that income protection works for you.
The important principal to remember about Labour parties is they really believe all their deficit crap.
So National are not going to let a deficit get in the way of a tax cut policy they want implemented, though they will cut or argue against public spending on that same basis.
But this is the reason Labour attempted the wage freeze. Also the basis for the super fund (e.g the govt pre-funding its later super based deficit), and this will function similarly to that. Labour wants the govt books to be in surplus and to be telling us how great they are at running the govt profitably (while disregarding the necessary expanding housing bubble which supports this).
Using ACC as a possible template.
Who is going to make the final decision for the deserving person and how long is it going to take to pay up and how much will it cost?
National and Act will privatise or rob ACC to fund the insurance scheme for loss of jobs, leave it alone.
All to be worked out….but the fact that Labour think a compulsory unemployment insurance scheme is a good idea should be pause for thought.
Another BIG idea requiring time. About time that Labour deliver and fix up the important issues housing, health, child welfare instead of day dreaming.
There are already that many insurances.
What difference would another insurance against loss of job make?
Act?…Robertson has been pushing this for ages and I doubt it is Act in his ear
It is akin to a mechanic buying mechanical breakdown insurance….possibly the the biggest rort there ever was.
Another sop to the finance industry to help prop up the credit bubble.
edit
I have been with AA – auto insurance – for years and have happily paid up for the use of reliable services when there is a breakdown, whether it is my silly fault or whatever. Some years I have none and I keep paying because it is not too dear, and I get pleasant helpful reliable service if and when in need. People with insurance from the private sector, don't always get a fair deal like I do with the AA which is dedicated to vehicle help.
If we had unemployment insurance from the government, and not a PPP either, then we could achieve the same satisfactory outcome. Other assistance would be available, but insurance holders wouldn't have to go down on their knees to the Department of Miserable Gits to be able to carry on their lives.
Im not comparing it to road side assist…im comparing it to mechanical insurance as per link.
https://www.consumer.org.nz/articles/mechanical-breakdown-insurance
The unemployment insurance that is being examined is modelled on ACC but with a time limitation ….it is estimated to cost up to 5 billion p.a. for 6 months cover ….a 2 tier welfare system ….and the way ACC has been operated in recent times is no recommendation and I'd suggest the courts are over extended already without adding yet more potential disputes. The Gov have the ability when needed to extend support as and when needed as has been amply demonstrated with covid without burdening society with an additional slush fund to the benefit of the financial markets and over exposed banks.
I agree Greywarshark, there are too many ready to decry any moves to improve things.
Motives are attached to the moves, sometimes on the flimsiest of reasons and mostly negative. Past experience has shaken our belief in the intent of policies.
This Government is looking at the state of things that undermine wellbeing of people and the moves to have a period of insurance for loss of income, like the protection of the first fifty thousand in the bank, help ordinary people to have time to reorganise and to protect their hard earned small asset base while sorting their future.
There will always be welfare in NZ, how it is provided and the strings attached are the important issues. Those worried about failures of some models should present those ideas to working groups.
Personally, I have been surprised how negative some posters are. For them, no change is good enough great enough left enough or just enough.
The Government represents all of us as well as they can, often in a period of constant threats.
My biggest sorrow is the failure to improve things more for those with permanent or worsening disabilities. Far more needs to be done in that space imo.
Id be very interested to know what possible justification any Labour supporter can offer for an additional unemployment insurance scheme over and above a universal welfare benefit?
It seems to me that Patricia and Pat are both right.
Patricia with a long explanation of what might have to be done to achieve anything, pragmatic. And Pat with a terse query as to why this would be necessary when we have the systems in place already, rational.
Unfortunately it seems to Patricia and me that rational no longer has an assured place in NZ, and so pragmatic is the way of necessity. Grasping the nettle may be required.
The first I read of this story turned out to be incorrect information that suggested a terrorist bomb scare forcing the sudden diversion of a RyanAir flight resulting in the terrorist being detained, when it fact it was someone who spoke out against the current leadership of Belarius and the bomb scare was a ploy to get the passenger jet to land in Minsk – quite different. Here is the scoop from Glen Grenwald.
https://greenwald.substack.com/p/as-anger-toward-belarus-mounts-recall
Yes that was a puzzling one KSaysHi and required that every word be read and checked twice to assess what actually happened and the apparent cause.
No bath tub accidents?
https://twitter.com/TadeuszGiczan/status/1396875958234320898
I recall the 1945 UK election, I must have been all of eight years old. Us kids had a song which went as follows.
Vote vote for Aneurin Bevan.
Hang old Churchill from the tree.
Aneurin is the one who will give us all the fun
You can chuck old Churchill in the sea.
[please stick to the e-mail address that has been approved previously, thanks]
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Mod note for you.
I saw the heading in a travel advertisement – Experience Australia Like Never Before! And I wondered if they were offering tours to see the rellies and conditions in Manus Island? Now that would be very different.
Bravo Phil Goff!
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/auckland-council-approves-10-year-budget-with-big-increases-in-rates-and-water-bills/RJZHO7FWCT3CS3TS3CPRFK6BTQ/
Chris Lynch is one of several right wing broadcast personalities having trouble with their identity and reach lately.
Looks like he's joining the recent exodus of outdated, disenfranchised, white, conservative shock jocks, Leighton Smith, Mike Hoskings, Sean Plunkett, John Banks, Larry Williams, Paul Henry, etc, etc.
There's always podcasts. May the door hit their collective arses on the way out.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv-radio/125237545/talkback-host-chris-lynch-and-newstalk-zb-parting-ways-over-contract-stoush
Agree. You say that so preciselyand effectively M-bird.