What this illustrates is how fucked up the American health system is, how driven by the dollar, how politicised.
I have been lambasted on here for promoting the videos of Chris Martensen, who months ago suggested HCQ + Ivermectin + zinc given early at the onset of covid-19 and before hospitalisation was the prophylactic which would have most beneficial effects.
Time will tell, and I don’t expect apologies, but I do reserve the right to say: I told you so.
You've been criticised for uncritically posting lengthy videos by Martenson, without doing even the simplest courtesy of a basic couple of sentences of why the video might be worth watching. As it turns out, Martenson does not appear to base his recommendations on sound science, but overhypes limited results from poorly designed studies. A brief look at Martenson's past stuff, from gold-bugging to doomie preparation, suggests he's a clickbait artist on the topics-du-jour rather than a credible expert with insight on a complex specialist topic.
How about providing some links to actual studies backing up your implication that HCQ + ivermectin + zinc given early is beneficial?
Your link to the Lyin' King's twitter account doesn't seem to go to anything like what you've described, and frankly, that you would suggest that any information coming through the Drumpf/Fox sewer line might possibly be taken at face value suggests an extreme deficit in the skepticism and information assessment department.
But if it's about the latest miracle cure touted by Donnie Dumpsterfire, convalescent plasma treatment, here's a look at the actual numbers showing how even the relatively small improvements for something touted as article are in fact an overhype of the tiny improvements actually observed. Let alone the difficulties in obtaining useful quantities of the miracle substance.
Andre, did you hold your nose and actually watch the linked video?
I've no time for Drumpf and I'm not suggesting he has any answers (no matter what the question) but there does seem to be a quickness to jump on HCQ as a prophylactic given early in the onset of covid – merely because trump in one of his meanderings promoted it.
The Harvard professor cites case studies which show the effectiveness of HCQ – yet the profit-driven health system slams the drug and goes after other drugs which cost an arm and a leg.
Nor is your say-so reason to waste ten minutes watching a video, particularly given your history of posting lengthy misinformation videos from clickbait artists that don't have substance behind them.
When it comes to HCQ, there is a large weight of evidence from the better-designed studies showing it has negligible beneficial effect, and is actually likely increase the risk of death due to HCQ's well-known side-effects on heart function.
You have attempted to boost the apparent credibility of your post by saying "Harvard professor" but declined to provide a name nor any info about about the case studies to check out whether there's any substance to the study. It could be a Harvard professor of DrumpfDivinity citing case studies at Liberty University for all we know – and the track record of Trump, Fox, and the clickbait artists you post suggest it's really not worth wasting the time to watch the video to find out.
If you want to provide actually useful info rather than likely amplifying misinformation and worsening the misinformation epidemic, post actual names and links to actual studies.
edit: meanwhile a search for actual hydroxychloroquine evidence turns up a veritable cornucopia of articles such as:
Here are the first three hits from googling risch yale hydroxychloroquine study:
First is a defensively toned memo from Yale defending Risch academic right to opine on topics outside his expertise:
Dr. Harvey Risch is a distinguished cancer epidemiologist who has opined on the topic of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and COVID-19 out-patient therapy. He has written a review article in the American Journal of Epidemiology that cites evidence that he believes supports HCQ use for out-patient infection with SARS-CoV-2. Studies that indicate no effect or harmful effects, Dr. Risch believes, enrolled patients too sick to benefit from HCQ.
Yale-affiliated physicians used HCQ early in the response to COVID-19, but it is only used rarely at present due to evidence that it is ineffective and potentially risky…
Yale School of Public Health professor Harvey Risch has been a vocal supporter of the use of hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19, despite a lack of scientific evidence that it works.
In a July 23 opinion piece in Newsweek, Risch argued for the use of hydroxychloroquine, in combination with the antibiotic azithromycin, to treat high-risk COVID-19 patients without waiting for further testing on the effectiveness of the treatment. He published this piece after his May 27paper in the American Journal of Epidemiology was widely criticized due to a lack of evidence from randomized trials. Both articles argued this combination of drugs can effectively prevent hospitalization for most symptomatic high-risk outpatients and that it is safe for short-term use early in the course of infection. This claim is now widely disputed.
Risch points readers to his review — he is the only author — published in late May in the American Journal of Epidemiology that cites five studies in support of HCQ, particularly when used early in the course of COVID-19.
None are randomized controlled trials. One is the heavily publicized and now discredited French study by Didier Raoult, MD, and colleagues in March that sparked initial hopes for HCQ. Two have no corresponding data or publications.
I'm not defensive. I'm disgusted with your promotion of misinformation that you didn't even make a rudimentary attempt to fact-check. Or even have the courtesy to drop a few breadcrumbs as to the actual substantive content. Or even provide a clean link to the video you expect people to waste time watching. (Your twitter link went to the Twittertwat's general twitter cesspit, leaving your reader to try to figure out which turd you expected them to pick out)
I'm not defensive. I'm disgusted with your promotion of misinformation …
Having been on the receiving end of your spew Andre, I am disgusted at your continuing propensity to declare any information or opinion which has not got The Establishment's tick of approval as "misinformation".
You worship at the altar of mainstream and official, and seem blind to the fact that practically nothing we see, hear or read on the internet can be relied on unless supported by personal knowledge or experience…or the personal knowledge or experience of others we personally trust.
Sometimes, Andre, what we are told is 'fact' simply does not add up and we have to do our own research and draw on our own knowledge.
Case in point are the discussions you and I have had over the history of measles in the developed world,and the safety and efficacy of the flu vaccine. I'm not going to provide you with links (again) as you will refuse to read or listen to anything that might challenge the comfortable position you cling to.
Taking second information from Harvey's boss and some colleagues as gospel, all the while ignoring what Harvey is actually saying is pretty piss poor fact checking imo.
Thanks Tony, the proof is in the pudding as they say. Minnesota is the second state to revoke the ban and allow HCQ use as a treatment. You would think more states to follow…
Before you start gloating, claim bragging rights, and elevate your YouTube hero to superhero status you may just want to read this balanced piece for a general audience that came out today:
There’s still much we don’t know about this virus and anybody who claims they know (better or best) and they are right are taking a punt, at best, because to the best of knowledge, there is no conclusive evidence for many claims yet. Even a safe and effective vaccine may never eventuate despite enormous efforts (and investments). I think people will have to accept the limits of what is possible but many seem to have huge faith in science and technology to deal with if not solve all issues that are plaguing humankind, sooner or later. That includes CC, by the way.
That truly was an excellent episode of Sunday and word around the staffroom is we need more shows like that, because we here in NZ have no idea what it's really like during a pandemic.
So there seems to be a concerted attempt building, whether by design or by accident, to present Jacinda Ardern as a bit lame and patronising. I agree to a reasonable extent; in manner, she's like John Key with slightly less mangling of the English language, and mercifully minus the doofus dickhead dimension. Having said that, I find it rather off-putting to see David Seymour homing on on her use of the word 'tricky' to describe COVID-19, followed by Luke Malpass at Stuff parroting the line, saying that she 'insists on calling [it] “tricky” as if it somehow deliberately sneaks in the back window […]'. Mr. Seymour, Mr. Malpass, 'tricky' is usually just a synonym for 'difficult'. Look it up, you pair of nitwits.
Malpass is either an idiot (a distinct possibility) or deliberately manufacturing trivial hits on Ardern. 'Tricky' is used all the time colloquially to describe something that is difficult to achieve, handle, or respond to in an effective way. As in 'a tricky problem', 'a tricky corner', 'a tricky situation', 'a tricky climb' etc. etc. In none of these examples does the use of 'tricky' attribute intent to something that is incapable of having intent.
What's happening here is that Malpass doesn't like being reminded that the whole Covid response is immensely difficult. If everything is mixed, nuanced, problematic, evolving as it goes, etc, then simple-minded gotcha journalism is off the table – making it harder for him to shill for the Nats without appearing like a complete loon.
Thanks AB I didn't have a good feeling about Malpass from what I had read and then found that he had been set up as Political Editor made me wonder. He's a bit tricky I feel.
He is an imported neoliberal writer of financial articles and agenda setting news in Australia. Setting the agenda ?? Moved back here in John Key’s time. Nuff said!!
Oh thanks. I thought he must be getting encouragement from somewhere to counter his unfortunate name Malpass. Mal in French is bad. Some surnames are discouraging.
Yes Matiri isn't he good and I'm glad he pops along to Kim and she feeds him questions, of which there are more than he can answer. But promises to come back. You feel that you have heard a well-balanced informed background to the tricky Covid-19 behaviour.
My new phrase around Covid is if you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem.
This govt has done an outstanding job and the figures speak for themselves
Let Mof H and Govt mostly get on with it. They are leading a very strong health response which is best for the economy
each individual needs to work out what they can do for the covid response. Wear a mask, socially distance, stay home if your sick if at all possible , support local business, get out and see NZ, donate to a Foodbank, get a test if you are asked to do so. That is the job of each and every one of us, to whatever capacity we have to do it. And those of us that have more capacity need to step up.
For the arm chair critics eg the gotcha journos, the likes of Gorman Shut the fuck up
My new phrase around Covid is if you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem.
This govt has done an outstanding job and the figures speak for themselves
Let Mof H and Govt mostly get on with it. They are leading a very strong health response which is best for the economy
each individual needs to work out what they can do for the covid response. Wear a mask, socially distance, stay home if your sick, support local business, get out and see NZ, donate to a Foodbank, get a test if you are asked to do so. That is the job of each and every one of us, to whatever capacity we have to do it. And those of us that have more capacity need to step up.
For the arm chair critics eg the gotcha journos, the likes of Gorman Shut the fuck up
as with smart comebacks, not all professors of medicine are without fault. a good professor of ANYTHING will say that they dont know enough, they are still learning.
Perhaps Anker might might take some notice of your wisdom. Maybe better to do that rather than insist that anyone who doesn't agree with his/her narrow viewpoint should STFU.
Its really not about who agrees with me Alan. I go by what the scientists say and trust in the MofH and our Govts directives as they have served and continue to serve us well…It is the arm chair critics I was taking aim at. These are mostly the journos who look to have gotcha moments. The journo who asked Ashleigh B if he was going to resign needs to be told how dangerous the idea is. Re Professor Gorman, see my comments below.
I never said I knew more that a Professor in Medicine and certainly I know very little about medicine for divers and brain injury. These are the two areas Professor Gorman has his qualifications in.
Professor Gorman seems to have held a number of positions in health funding, workforce development and health system design. He held these from around 2010 and it appears from his CV he is no longer used so much by the current govt.
Given he had so much time and influence to sort the health system, if his criticisms are to be believed, he clearly failed to do so in when he was in a position to implement the changes.
By his own admission in the Radio NZ interview, the govt are using the right strategies, contract tracing, quarantine, high testing rates…………..
Right now is not the time for the health system to re-structure or to set up new agencies…………..We are in acute crisis mode. And despite any failings or inadequacies Mr Gorman sees, our health system which has been woefully underfunded is coping and adapting spectacularly well as seen by our Covid response and the statistics that don’t lie….. So no I have no time for Mr Gorman
Hee hee cleverer than you Alan. When you feel the urge to write all you can say is yah-boo. Doh! And yet you are upset at the STFU! When you write you don’t say anything of any assistance in the toil and tribulations we are in. You are not using your great powers to help so why worry about it.
Our misinformation crisis – how can we stop ourselves from falling for it and spreading it?
Fact-checkers, they found, didn’t fall prey to the same missteps as other groups. When presented with the American College of Pediatricians task, for example, they almost immediately left the site and started opening new tabs to see what the wider web had to say about the organization. Wineburg has dubbed this lateral reading: if a person never leaves a site–as the professor failed to do–they are essentially wearing blinders. Fact-checkers not only zipped to additional sources, but also laid their references side by side, to better keep their bearings.
In another test, the researchers asked subjects to assess the website MinimumWage.com. In a few minutes’ time, 100% of fact-checkers figured out that the site is backed by a PR firm that also represents the restaurant industry, a sector that generally opposes raising hourly pay. Only 60% of historians and 40% of Stanford students made the same discovery, often requiring a second prompt to find out who was behind the site.
Another tactic fact-checkers used that others didn’t is what Wineburg calls “click restraint.” They would scan a whole page of search results–maybe even two–before choosing a path forward. “It’s the ability to stand back and get a sense of the overall territory in which you’ve landed,” he says, “rather than promiscuously clicking on the first thing.” This is important, because people or organizations with an agenda can game search results by packing their sites with keywords, so that those sites rise to the top and more objective assessments get buried.
Perhaps we should keep coming to The Standard and someone will raise a point about error as a rule, but not always. I have asked for help now and then and no-one replied so the blog is only partially useful at sorting into piles all the words and sentences that roll out endlessly.
The site still isn't right. But I've fixed most of the speed issue which appears to have been something triggering cache access issues at the database level. Mostly by taking out some of the obsessive protection that used the database as persistent storage and substituting other tools.
I still haven't located the root cause which is kind of irritating. I'll look at that again this evening. There are much higher than usual general (ie non-site aware) attempts to crack into the site. But it is no more than about 5x the usual rate. It averaged at about 20 per minute. Didn't look like a denial of service attack.
However I need to get back to paid employment (had to take a day off yesterday). So it will have do for the moment.
There are much higher than usual general (ie non-site aware) attempts to crack into the site.
Forgive me my technical illiteracy, but are they attempts to interfere with the ability of the site to continue providing a forum for political debate? Not so long ago one of our local experts warned it was inevitable there would be foreign political interference in the election – not unlike what has been experienced elsewhere.
a lot to consider about the site and possible election based interference, we know it isn't fairy dust to consider this. Thanks for your work LPrent, would money help? Nothing else we could do I imagine.
Ok, I have just seen the problem now that I am looking wider.
One of the SSD drives in the array for The Standard has been locked into a very very long SMART data scan – it is currently at 140% of the expected time. It is running at 49C (its partner is at 29C).
Failing it from the array so the spare kicks in.
Yep, and the really problematic issue is fixed. saving comments and updating them is now fast again.
I really don’t tend to view SSDs as being a possible problem. I just lean in the SMART monitoring I’ll add some notifier diagnostics to scan them over-running tests and getting too hot.
The chickns have come home to roost in Auckland. The delays of putting in decent public transport in Auckland that began in Mayor Robbie's* time 1959 on have now led to problems about Covid-19 spread, as well as making it difficult for just ordinary citizens to get to work and have some time for having a life.
According to Auckland Regional Public Health, the trip took two and a half hours. The reason for this was because "there was very bad traffic congestion that morning as people were heading home before the midday lockdown," the Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) said.
They said the two people sat on the bus for an hour at Symonds Street.
About his rail ideas: Robinson's main focus during his second period as mayor was his advocacy for rapid transit system for Auckland. Robinson's proposal for a bus-rail rapid transit plan was "to provide fast, modern electrified railways through the main traffic corridors of the region". The proposal had passenger trains every three minutes running from an underground subway terminal in the city centre with above ground tracks leading to Howick, Auckland Airport and a tunnel to the North Shore. The scheme was heavily criticized for its cost (an estimated $273 million in 1973) and both the ARA chairman Tom Pearce and most of its members opposed the scheme. The Third Labour Government reneged on an election pledge to pay for the scheme and the rapid rail proposal disappeared. Retrospectively, Robinson's idea to implement rapid rail was seen as a possible long-term solution to Auckland's subsequent transportation difficulties. The phrase; "If we'd only listened to Robbie…" has become common speech in Auckland whenever the city's transport system is debated.
It seems to me that the struggle to get important work carried out for the overall good of a community is a harder goal than to climb Mt Everest. We love Sir Edmund Hillary for doing something quite notable but unnecessary.
We fail to catch the importance of pushing through a future-looking transport system for a growing, major city like Auckland. And Dove-Myer was also prominent in preventing the city's sewage and meat offcuts from manufacturing being dumped out at sea untreated. Apparently he was a feisty man with a big ego, quite interesting reading about him. But he was a thinker; if they had left the tunnel to North Shore out and gone with the rest, they would have been winners instead of losers as they are now.
Let's hope they don't end up like Los Angeles (City of Angels).
“There’s simply not enough places for these people to go, there’s obviously a lot of mental health and addiction problems. “A lot of people flood to California because of the weather and I think the problem has just overwhelmed the system here. “And I think the city of dreams really has turned into the city of nightmares at the moment.” It is a city-wide problem, she says.
“Friends of mine that live I Santa Monica only four blocks from the beach say they can’t take their children to the local park because the homeless situation is so bad that there are people passed out in the park doing drugs, there are syringes everywhere…
“It’s a big city problem across America and I think it’s a socio-economic problem that the rich are getting richer, certainly under Trump, and the poor are getting poorer. “There’s a great sense of social injustice here at the moment.” Homeless encampments are legal in Los Angeles and have blossomed as the city’s chronic housing shortage worsens.
And this is the next step of the epidemic likely to cross our borders carrying all the shit that comes out the actions of the wealthy and malignant in the USA to foul our country's wellbeing, only managed by being the opposite to them in their feckless drive for capital accretion and power.
Wealthy Americans looking for a safe haven in a turbulent Covid-19 world are flocking to invest in New Zealand – and move their businesses here. The number of investor visa applications has soared since the coronavirus outbreak, and the government agency working to attract overseas money says New Zealand's successful public health strategy is behind the ten-fold surge in interest.
I've read that some people in Queenstown are having trouble with the Lords of Creation who have homes with helipads attached that they have wangled on the basis of serving them for arriving and departing. But they have visitors and are restless and on the go so the very loud noise of a helicopter next door can be heard numerous times a week.
When I hear one here it is usually the rescue one going across to land at the hospital set-down spot. They are doing God's work so to speak, and I can put up with that, in fact I find it comforting that we have this service for the needy. There are often trampers who fall, get caught in bad weather, a windy road out of town, Golden Bay and distant communities – so that's different from the wealthy and their taking ways.
If you're prone to COVID panic, don't read further.
Covid reinfection of a healthy 33 year old has been confirmed by the genome of his second infection being different to the genome of his first, with the spike proteins being different between the two strains. The good news, for him anyway, was that the second infection was asymptomatic.
Yep. Still too soon to be making definitive plans about the future and what NZ should be doing with the borders and so on. There's more to learn here about the virus, immunity, transmission before we get to rearranging society again.
And this. South Korea was an early success at controlling Covid-19 and then had a huge outbreak with a religion at its core. I had thought South Koreans religious but well-balanced, now its becoming twisted and political. Their psychology is not too different from what has arisen all over the world, looking for conspiracies and malign agents connected with Covid-19, but it appears so passionate that the country is spiralling out of control.
The latest outbreak of coronavirus cases centred around a right-wing Presbyterian church has spread to all 17 provinces throughout the country for the first time….
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) has admitted that about 20 percent of all new cases are of unknown origin – despite the country's efficient contact tracing system which can track down around 1000 potentially infected patients in an hour.
South Korea's fight against Covid-19 began in February after an outbreak at a Christian cult called the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in the city of Daegu, about 200km south of Seoul. Within weeks, the outbreak was under control…
The majority of new cases are all close to the heavily populated capital city which is home to more than 10 million people.
And one of the biggest concerns is that many of the far-right worshippers who are potentially infected believe the virus was planted as part of a conspiracy to close it down. Many are refusing to be contacted, let alone tested.
And there is also one other major risk factor. Infected members of the Shincheonji church were mostly young – in their 20s. But the current outbreak is affecting a much older age group.
Members of the Sarang Jeil Church, which roughly translates as "Love Comes First", are right-wing conservatives and maintain that President Moon Jae-in is a communist and a puppet of China and North Korea.
Before the coronavirus outbreak, they would gather in their hundreds in the centre of Seoul each Saturday loudly rallying and marching past the Blue House to denounce the South Korean leader.
This is really frightening. If the South Korean government tries to have a total lockdown which appears to be the only way to stop spread, these people could riot in another one of their protests aimed at bringing down the government. They refuse to believe in the facts of the virus and its spread, and if they were in charge would probably impose BAU by force, yet the report is that the hospitals are nearly at capacity. Who can break through this web of lies and hysteria that all South Koreans respect and will pay attention to?
South Korea is somewhat used to dealing with mass protests – and they are mostly very well-behaved. They never run out of police because the police claim a proportion of the two-year military service all Korean men must do – if they need another 100 000 they only need to make a few phone calls. The protest culture, which is a Confucian tradition, really took hold under Chun do Hwan, who was somewhat in the Duterte mould, and police under his leadership killed several thousand protestors. It's not like that these days, and the church cannot muster a large crowd in Korean terms.
they would gather in their hundreds
By Korean standards that makes them look as lonely asBilly TK's meagre handful of supporters.
Well that all sounds very calming, which is good for me. But still the spread and the lack of contact tracing that they can do is going to be a worry.
Perhaps they can all go into their church and close the doors and be together and safe from the government forces. But they must care for their sick with the equipment that will be available on request, food delivered in raw state so they can't blame deaths on poisoning.
Perhaps they will come to their senses as people fall sick while under their care. No evil eye to blame it on.
One of my former students just told me there's a weird group in Korea now that may be deliberately spreading Covid – the rationale is apparently that "we have to share the pain with our ally (United States)". It may be a troll cell behind it, but it's the kind of trouble no country needs.
On Monday, the Democratic super PAC American Bridge released a new ad to run during the Republican convention — starring President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen, who minced no words in blasting his former boss.
Replying to greywarshark @ 12. (for the last 6 months or so I’ve only been able to use the reply function on my iPhone not the iPad I normally use, but now can’t even use iPhone?).
Ironically the reason the cases sat for an hour on the bus on Symonds St is because there was an almighty traffic jam in that area of Symonds St, New North Road, Mt Eden Road and Newton Road after a Covid testing station was set up in a small ex-used car yard on New North Road. It was chaos every day until they moved the testing station to the Eden Park car park. All the bus services routed through that area eventually had to be detoured.
Notwithstanding that I fully agree that Auckland’s cheapskate approach to public transport and planning generally is a growing disaster.
That's awful Scott GN. I think authorities need a knowledgeable outsider who just watches and listens to all the plans re Covid 19 in each area, and steps in before all go away from the meeting room and asks the pertinent questions as to how effective they'll be in that spot, because of this, and this and this? 'I want us to look at these points now, before anything is done and explain to me how these problems can be overcome.'
Someone who has a reinforced spine, and can assert themselves and has knowledge of planning and people, would be useful to spot such things as traffic congestion.
It destroyed the lives of several pro-Corbyn students sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. It also triggered Labour’s “anti-Semitism crisis” in earnest. The manufactured crisis continues today, even with Corbyn now marginalized. After an internal Labour disciplinary investigation, some of the accused were cleared of anti-Semitism the following year.
But by that time the damage had been done.
After a four-year investigation, The Electronic Intifada has obtained the full Rubin report, which has never been published.
I found this yesterday in a promo for The Telegraph and found it very instructive about nice people in the UK and the lengths they will go to maintain their nice lives, and the rationalisation they use for being tricky.
…Every week, when I sit down to write my Wednesday column in The Telegraph, concerns like those are at the forefront of my mind. I see my job as speaking up for the silent majority, for men and women who lack a voice in a world where, if you don’t subscribe to fashionable left-wing causes, you’re called “inappropriate” or “something-phobic”.
People like us have been made to feel like a beleaguered minority. But who gave the Conservatives a whacking majority at the general election and protected our country from the lunatic extremism of Jeremy Corbyn? We did.
I’m proud that readers email to say it’s a huge relief to know that they’re not alone. I rejoice that Telegraph subscribers call the paper a “haven” for those who don’t get offended by views other than their own. Whenever possible, I try to see the funny side. Let’s face it, with the coronabeast laying waste to life as we know it, people are incredibly grateful for a laugh. Allison Pearson, Telegraph Columnist
People like this are irritated at changes including the constant nitpicking of word sensitivity at the moment and regard it as OTT. But they don't see that their own behaviour is similar on the other side of the see-saw.
Sturmer, the King of Nothing, can't get more support than Boris Johnson, even though Johnson is possibly the most obnoxious and incompetent British prime minister in history. He and his cronies have expelled anyone with a moral compass from the Labour Party—people like Asa Winstanley, who wrote this article, and Michael Rosen, and without a doubt would have drummed out Sir Gerald Kaufman if he was still alive….
"It is the nature of human existence that shared sacrifice is the glue that binds disparate individuals and groups into a unified and thus powerful entity."
"Profound disunity is characterized by the recognition that favored elites make no sacrifices, and this injustice consumes the bonds of civil unity."
fuck this. seriously fuck this bullshit, and someone please go to Winz and start weeding some of these drones out and send them to the unemployment queue, also Government (Labour/Green/NZFirst) do fucking better.
Most people know the Emergency Accommodation scheme put people in motels and hotels at market rates of over $120 per night for every room rented.
What they don't know is from 2018 – within this current term of government – the Ministry of Social Development extended this scheme to include private homes.
The catch is that MSD continued to pay the same motel room rates to landlords for every room in the house they would rent.
A three-bedroom house rented out at a "hotel" rate of up to $150 per room per night could bring in $3000 per week in areas of the country where median rent for those was $550. The rent was capped at the $3000 mark.
MSD did not visit the properties to check if they met basic living standards.
Once a provider joined the Emergency Housing scheme through providing a motel or hotel, it could then rent out extra rooms or houses into the scheme – and the status of those would not be checked.
Mangere East Family Services social worker Alastair Russell said the houses MSD paid penthouse apartment rates for were often "marginal to uninhabitable".
He was well aware of the scheme because a large number of properties in South Auckland were tied up in it.
"Houses without stoves and ovens [and] houses that were essentially building sites with debris scattered both in and outside the house.
"You're talking planks of wood with nails sticking out of them. Broken glass. And families with kids that had to go into those houses.
"No one was going in there and checking the places out."
Landlords knew, agent claims
It seems to have happened with the full knowledge of the ministry.
someone said something the other day that 'we know have well being as a priority a new social contract with the government', reading this article it occurs to me that some have a social contract with the government and it makes them very very rich while those that are too poor to be of importance to anyone (unless its an election year) can go live in a dump paid for by the tax payer 3000$ per pop.
But we can't increase unemployment and social benefits to the level of the wage subsidy casue we don't have the money, right? We seem to have the money, for landlords, real estate agents and winz drones who probably did well on kick backs. But hey, surely this is all a great misunderstanding, someone mis spoke, and someone mis appropriated funds and and and and.
Pigeon-holes? People with children thrust into some sort of covered dwelling or room. Is that how it is with MSD? No wonder they need guards on their offices. When people get distraught enough with no end in sight to their condition, they can feel they have nothing to lose!
Can we get our smug backsides off our seats as seen in twitter Hellhole, 'Oh I'm at the beach, on my balcony, on my lifestyle block, walking along this nature reserve'. It was sickening after the first laugh at giving the finger to Trump or some overblown liar about how bad NZ is. For some it bloody well is bad and we shouldn't forget that.
I mention a difficulty that I think is common, and that is authority will say that some remedial program won't fix the problem, so it's no good. That is such a copout to say nothing can be done till it is the perfect solution. "Oh we can't waste money here if more has to be spent later." We are not prepared to divide the problem into sections, start with the worst difficulty, and work up to bigger and better outcomes. Put everything on a graph from axes of 0 so as things improve they'll show up, why not measure that way.
So get up you bums and open your minds, every meeting has to result in a beneficial outcome for people who really need it, and receive enough of your budget to succeed, and be properly monitored with encouragement and support to achieve what is wanted by the recipients.
Sabine, So lazy or overworked people in MSD let greedy landlords and their agents rort the system of the Government trying to find shelter for people. This has come to light, and yet you paint this as a failure by this Government, when you know the rot is endemic, and will take time to overcome, as so many are gaining.
You threw my "social contract comment" back in my face inferring I am one of those who is making $3000 a week!! I realise you mispoke in anger and frustration. I was talking about covid, you have taken that out of context.
This is housing situation is upsetting and not good enough. Who else have you sent a complaint to? Megan Woods? or just us?
PS I could have ignored that remark, but it is not fair.
We must not forget the power of the officials who implement the policy passed but in THEIR OWN way, or do they. There is mention of National gaining power in 1961 and it going to their heads. Do politicians have control or do they face some humiliating discussion with the head of the State Services Commission after they have got nowhere with their head of department?
I have been looking at some columns from Chris Trotter in past years. He said this in 2016 at the time Trump and Farage were looking very pleased with themselves.
The Last Laugh: As Plato predicted, more than 2,000 years ago, a democratic citizenry that loses faith in its own efficacy will voluntarily entrust its destiny to the first demagogue who learns to speak its language of despair. In 2016, this annus horribilis, those demagogues’ names were Nigel Farage and Donald Trump.
These from May 2017.
Not Just At The Gates – Within The Walls! Dr J.C. Beaglehole, writing in 1961, recorded with considerable disdain: “The naïve, the almost childish brutality, with which the chiefs of the National Party fell upon power may seem quite surprising, until one remembers how famished for power they were, and with what an innocency of experience they faced the world about them ….. [Their] insensitiveness to administrative delicacies was quite appalling.”
And The Truth Shall Set You Free: Moving beyond the thirty-year-old neoliberal order in New Zealand can only be achieved by confronting and disproving its explanations and excuses for the inequality, poverty and powerlessness it perpetuates.
New Labour or Coalition government – what will confront them?
The simple answer is: The Past. A government elected on the strength of public misgivings about rampant homelessness and the lack of affordable housing; out-of-control immigration; and a despoiled natural environment; will be presented with thirty-year-old government machinery designed specifically to make effective state intervention as difficult as possible.
Any attempt to deploy this machinery in pursuit of social and economic objectives for which it was not designed is highly likely to end in failure – and, quite possibly, disaster. Arrayed against a government in which only a handful of ministers possess Cabinet experience will be a bristling phalanx of public servants, National Party appointees, corporate and special interest lobbyists and public relations firms – all of whom have a vested interest in preserving the status quo…
When, after staggering into their minister’s offices under the weight of multiple reports, studies and surveys, the representatives of Treasury, MFAT, MBIE and MPI advise the new progressive government that its programme will wreck the economy and/or bankrupt the nation, how will Labour, NZ First and the Greens respond? Will they be able to offer their own stack of reports, studies and surveys in rebuttal?
I am throwing nothing back in your face, i just called it up because we need a social contract. A real contract that covers all of us all the time and not just some of us some of the time.
I am not speaking in anger nor frustration, but i am tired of the misery that we cause by not holding our government accountable and the price of that is paid by those that have the least to give or to loose. I have never ever even mentioned covid, You did. I am constantly talking about unemployment, homelessness and the lack of the government in regards to these issue.
Do i believe that the wage subsidy is / was not enough. I do. Do i think the government did an adequit job re Covid given the circumstances, yes, have i ever said open the borders or relax quarantine? No i never did and you would be hard pressed to find anything in regards to this. The problem is that currently every critisism by us vs Labour is shut down literally with words of 'shut up, national is worse and do you want us all to die". Talk about a nice way of telling people to shut up and just vote. 🙂 Ain't happening.
As for complaining, i spoke to the person who hopes to get elected in my area, lol, not talking policy, don't you think we did well, is this not enough, I leave comments of FB pages and i give money as far as i can to the community where i live which btw has a huge homeless problem, a huge over crowding problem and a huge poverty problem and it will only get worse with raising unemployment and no jobs to apply for. So no i don't see any reason to really talk to labour nor the greens nor nzfirst, as non of them listen when it comes to these issues. Shut up and vote, lest National wins.
So yes, i did took your 'applies to covid only' social contract comment and i applied it to our homeless and jobless. And if that is what upsets you then i can't help you there, because this article again just showed the truth, that in this country some are in it knee deep and others are not, some have a social contract and others don't. And the very poor in this country seem to be disregarded by all parties. We are not all in this together.
MSD isn't that incompetent, they are lacking something vital that should be searched for in their CVs at the time of getting the job, but perhaps the agency that does the human resources work doesn't bother with anything except the right ed and previous employers. That's how a serial fraudster got through recently. Does the department concerned claim the money back:? I believe they get quite a dosh per person. Anyone know what and how it is calculated?
"The Ministry of Social Development has admitted the scheme made the rental crisis worse – as people took rental properties off the market and used them instead to rent out to MSD to earn thousands more."
this is not incompetence it is no one in charge giving a shit. That would be the bosses of the kinder gentler still full of bullshit Winz. Carmel Sepuloni is her name and last i checked she was the minister of social development and if you read the article all the way to the end you will see that she is 'waiting to be briefed and can not answer questions'.
read everything about it, and then maybe understand where i am coming from when i lament the utter failure of the current government (Labour/NZFIRST/Green – and no any one person in particular) in regards to unemployment, social welfare starvation rates and housing. And i am being charitable calling it 'failure'.
if three thousand dollar a week is a strategy to house someone in unsanitary hovels without any security then that is not a strategy, but feel free to educate me about the strategy that i am missing. As i said above, please read all the way to the end where it states that the Minister of social development refuses to answer questions as to the strategy of this particular program.
Please weka, enlighten me. Cause i have been syaing this already under National, where this 'emergency programme' started under Paula Benefit.
The government changed nothing. did nothing, and is now being called out for having done nothing and chances are wasted millions to enrich a handful of in my book criminal land lords and real estate agents.
But i am happy to read your explanation of the strategy that i am missing.
Unless utter failure and disperagement of people going to winz for help is the strategy, then yes i must admit i totally did not see that.
funny that you think this is about Labour's strategy rather than yours or mine or the left's. I've been talking about strategy around this for years. Like I said, you don't get it.
Just to change the conversation, a cool wind blowing through the groves. Eddie Izzard and others having a discussion Europe and UK. Boris was a Daily Telegraph columnist and found Thatcher as the genesis of Eddie's career as a comedian.
I think Boris says he is a socialist about 5 mins in. I don't think he spends the time when he is not speaking, listening to the others, but thinking up what he wants to put over next.
From our archives. 1997 debate. Do we hate the French? What is the UK's place in Europe? Hosted by Jeremy Paxman, with Boris Johnson, comedian Eddie Izzard and Labour MEP Carole Tongue. More Newsnight archives here
Various media channels have sought the views of business leaders in Auckland to what the affects of extending Level 3 'til Sunday will be. And Chamber of Commerce Barnett appeared to be reading from a prepared-script-of-anticipation. Also spokespeople for the hospitality industry, in unison, have said that it is going to be catastrophic and that there will be massive permanent closures as a result.
I hope the media channels will seek these same people out again in a fortnight or so to get their assessments and to check if their predictions were anywhere even close.
I hope the media channels will seek these same people out again in a fortnight or so to get their assessments and to check if their predictions were anywhere even close.
Media Release 10 August 2020
New Zealand’s total fertility rate has reached an all-time low, with an average of 1.71 children per woman in New Zealand, well below population replacement level….
Report author Lindsay Mitchell says, “In the past, government policy could positively affect the size of families. The Universal Family Benefit strongly influenced peak fertility in 1961 when women had an average of 4.3 children. But as females have become better educated and increased their work force participation, more have chosen to have fewer or no children. Economic pressures like student debt and insecure employment play a role. And now they face additional pressure from environmentalists. Meanwhile, policy interventions appear less and less effective.”..
“Without population replacement or growth, economies decline. A nation’s strength lies in its young: their energy, innovation, risk-taking and entrepreneurship.
The new blood drives the exchange of ideas and experimentation. If these attributes aren’t home-grown, they have to be imported. At an individual level, single person households are the fastest growing household type in New Zealand. Increasingly people face old-age with few or no family supports.”
It doesn't take Lindsay Mitchell long to extrapolate opinions from fact. Now environmentalists are causing additional pressures on family numbers. And a nation relying on its young – it shows how far Mitchell is from reality. The PtB are quite happily importing the people it wants, making it difficult for parents especially mothers alone to bring up their children to utilise their, e, i, rt and ent. It's more efficient and valuable to the economy, to teach other people's children for a fee than to ensure good education for well-rounded minds of young NZ. And the future is not with people at the helm, it is as servants to machines and vast conglomerates situated overseas, now with holiday homes in NZ. The jobs that people could do and hold their heads up high as independent people are being deleted. It suits the neolib cohort to virtually delete people! The schools are preparing children for this future by making them do their learning on computers, laptops. Manual, hand work, is out, and jobs are just a number to indicate the movements of the market.
The trouble with these narrow-minded people, is that they are against the lone woman, and will punish her by keeping her poor and lonely, and they regard sex as sinful if not sanctified by marriage. And the actions of such as Family First match this prejudice. They will back the right wing who would rather single women were working at a low-level and tiring job, than to be available to their children and being supported to become first-rate parents, home managers, and have skills training enabling them to earn and improve their lifestyles and work status over the years.
That would be the ideal but it would seem to be encouraging the women and the right wing don't want this to happen. They don't like the idea of beneficiaries being happy – how dare they enjoy living off my hard-won earnings is the mean refrain. So they won't even back them to get a good start in life, along with their children. When they talk about beneficiary mothers it is the children they mention, not the person trying to cope with responsibilities on one pair of shoulders. This has been made worse by the demand to advise the father's identity or lose benefit payment.
After time passes and some wisdom gained, plus the experience of bearing and birthing their child, many women know the man concerned will have a negative affect on them and the child. But money and stiff morality have equal places in the minds of the right wing, and I think it is money that is paramount really. It's a toxic world in there when you get a glimpse into the depths of such people's minds, no matter how pleasant they look and sound.
Hi LP, thanks as ever for your site. I’ve had problems viewing the articles for a while now. I see the headline, and the comments, but not the article itself. Not always, but often. Now, today, the ‘design’ is missing too, your banner for example. A ‘template’ problem? I can switch to desktop version, but that doesn’t work so well either on a phone. I’m using safari, latest iOS 13x, on iPhone se. Hope this info is helpful.
You are absolutely correct. I’ve been mostly concerned with other things (like the site running like a dog due to what turned out to be a failing SSD in a RAID array) for the last day or so.
But I’m seeing the same things on a Android Samsung S10+. I’ll clean it up after I get through inserting new SSDs. However it may be tomorrow (he says looking at the time).
It is now ok now on my samsung. Checked it on my partners iphone. Her front page is still wrong but the rest is as it should be. I’m presuming that is a caching issue. My android suddenly came right a while after I did a update for the appearance.
Is New Zealand chicken production as disgusting as this?
'The UK slaughters 20 million broilers every week, the vast majority of which are fast- growing breeds, reaching slaughter weight in just 35 days – four times faster than in the 1950s. This, according to the RSPCA, is responsible for contributing to severe welfare problems such as chronic leg disorders and heart and circulatory problems.
The data revealed that more than 3 million chickens were rejected at slaughter due to ascites or heart failure. “The main contributor is believed to be an increased oxygen demand by the fast-growing muscle. The body simply can’t keep up,” said Vicky Bond, veterinarian and director of the Humane League. CIWF have called for a ban on the use of fast-growing broiler breeds.
Dr Ed Van Klink, senior lecturer at Bristol Veterinary School, said: “Some of these issues are clearly welfare related … There will always be sick animals, certainly given the enormous numbers that are being processed. Poultry is kept in large flocks, therefore attention for individual disease issues is generally not possible.”
I think Ardern has a 20% advantage in the next election over National. Lets press her to implement the Welfare Advisory Group's recommendations. If not now for our kin, when?
Don't vote for her , talk against her, unless she helps the neediest NOW after 36 years.
Disgusted I have to make a case here.
We are too far near to America's set-up.
When Jacinda bullshits about poverty and can't talk for Godzone.
I despise her because I know her, and reality, unlike others.
Ardern baited her hooks for middle NZ… being the daughter of a white cop in Mangakino does not give her insight into the lives of those the WEAG were trying to champion.
The reality is, just like NZ voted National back in time and time again despite the water in the pot getting hotter all the time, there will be flesh falling from the bones of Godzone's most vulnerable and still the bulk will vote for the popular and telegenic.
Ross Ardern worked in a number of towns in the Waikato region (Murupapa, Piako-Matamata, Morrinsville, etc.) So he was "a white cop in Mangakino" too, eh? SSDD.
However…do you think this government has addressed the needs of the most vulnerable New Zealanders Drowsy M.Kram?
Do you think it is OK for this government to have largely ignored the recommendations of the WEAG?
Do you think it is OK that the most vulnerable have been told since forever…'just wait, be patient, your day will come when there's enough money in the coffers…'
…only to see that when Business is threatened by the effects of a virus there's suddenly mega billions in the coffers?
Do you think that Ardern's(and most of our other elected 'representatives') privileged upbringing has prepared her to be able to properly empathize with those who has been discarded by government for the past twenty five years?
Because if its not to do with her lack of experience of life in the outer margins…?
IMHO it's a bit rich to have a go at Ardern for not being able to "properly empathize", but whatever floats your boat.
I do think that our Government should be aiming to address "the needs of the most vulnerable New Zealanders" as a priority, and then the needs of the less vulnerable, and lastly the needs of the invulnerable should they have any.
No, I don't "think it is OK for this government to have largely ignored the recommendations of the WEAG", nor do I think it's OK that various NZ governments have avoided making recommended changes to MMP, and have avoided alcohol law reform, and have privatised public assets in the face of strong public opposition, and have said no to introducing a CGT, or a Fart Tax, or indeed whatever progressive tax(es) might be needed to adequately address the many and varied needs of all citizens and the wider environment.
But there are only so many things that I can rail against at any one time.
I do think its OK that NZ governments resisted popular attempts to overturn the 'anti-smacking' legislation introduced to the house by Sue Bradford, and it's OK that the current Government introduced stricter gun control laws in the wake of the Christchurch massacre, and that they are also doing a reasonable-to-good job (indeed, an excellent job if current international comparisons of health outcomes are valid) of addressing the immediate public health and welfare issues relating to the Covid-19 pandemic, not to mention record investment in mental health, building classrooms and new schools, fixing hospitals, introducing the winter energy payment, extending paid parental leave…
But something's gotta give, and when it does most of us who are able to look back on past times will realise just how good we had it. Just my opinion, of course, and thanks for asking.
Buzz from the Beehive Transport Minister Simeon Brown dutifully issued advice to all road users to keep safe on our roads during the Easter weekend. He encouraged them to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. ...
Oliver Hartwich writes – New Zealanders recently learned about a new feature film. It will be about former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – and taxpayers will subsidise it to the tune of NZ$800,000. Ardern had nothing personally to do with either the film or the subsidy. But her government’s ...
TL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above that was recorded yesterday afternoon above between and The Kākā’s climate correspondent : An independent review panel into the emergency response to Cyclone Gabrielle in Hawkes Bayconcluded “that ...
There are now only a few days left to give feedback on the Draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport 2024-34 (see our earlier post this week on GPS submission guides). As we’ve reported, the GPS is a disaster for Local Government, so we were particularly interested to hear ...
Willis has pledged to go ahead with the debt-funded tax cuts, despite growing opposition from her own supporters worried about appearing fiscally irresponsible. 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 ...
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
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:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
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. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
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 ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
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. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
Opposition MPs and unions are criticising a proposal by New Zealand’s Ministry of Pacific Peoples to cut staff by 40 percent. The country’s largest trade union — The Public Service Association — says the ministry has informed staff that it is looking to shed 63 of 156 positions. Opposition MPs ...
A poem by Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 featured poet Carin Smeaton. Daughtr of the 90s when she gets promoted to usherette a baby blu eel carries her all the way up to mothership she’s hovering high she lets the underaged in to see keanu reeves she lets the only lonely ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
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 A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Nicholas, Senior Lecturer in Language and Literacy Education, Deakin University Earlier this month, the New South Wales government announced it would roll out programs for gifted students in every public school in the state. This comes amid concerns gifted school ...
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OMG we live in very strange times!
Here I am linking to a Fox News clip and suggesting that Donald Trump is right!
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
(10 minutes long)
What this illustrates is how fucked up the American health system is, how driven by the dollar, how politicised.
I have been lambasted on here for promoting the videos of Chris Martensen, who months ago suggested HCQ + Ivermectin + zinc given early at the onset of covid-19 and before hospitalisation was the prophylactic which would have most beneficial effects.
Time will tell, and I don’t expect apologies, but I do reserve the right to say: I told you so.
You've been criticised for uncritically posting lengthy videos by Martenson, without doing even the simplest courtesy of a basic couple of sentences of why the video might be worth watching. As it turns out, Martenson does not appear to base his recommendations on sound science, but overhypes limited results from poorly designed studies. A brief look at Martenson's past stuff, from gold-bugging to doomie preparation, suggests he's a clickbait artist on the topics-du-jour rather than a credible expert with insight on a complex specialist topic.
How about providing some links to actual studies backing up your implication that HCQ + ivermectin + zinc given early is beneficial?
Your link to the Lyin' King's twitter account doesn't seem to go to anything like what you've described, and frankly, that you would suggest that any information coming through the Drumpf/Fox sewer line might possibly be taken at face value suggests an extreme deficit in the skepticism and information assessment department.
But if it's about the latest miracle cure touted by Donnie Dumpsterfire, convalescent plasma treatment, here's a look at the actual numbers showing how even the relatively small improvements for something touted as article are in fact an overhype of the tiny improvements actually observed. Let alone the difficulties in obtaining useful quantities of the miracle substance.
https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2020/08/trump-misleads-the-nation-yet-again-about-covid-19-miracle-cure/
Andre, did you hold your nose and actually watch the linked video?
I've no time for Drumpf and I'm not suggesting he has any answers (no matter what the question) but there does seem to be a quickness to jump on HCQ as a prophylactic given early in the onset of covid – merely because trump in one of his meanderings promoted it.
The Harvard professor cites case studies which show the effectiveness of HCQ – yet the profit-driven health system slams the drug and goes after other drugs which cost an arm and a leg.
No I didn't watch the video because the evidence shows that statements from Trump are more likely to be false than true by a ratio of about two to one.
Nor is your say-so reason to waste ten minutes watching a video, particularly given your history of posting lengthy misinformation videos from clickbait artists that don't have substance behind them.
When it comes to HCQ, there is a large weight of evidence from the better-designed studies showing it has negligible beneficial effect, and is actually likely increase the risk of death due to HCQ's well-known side-effects on heart function.
You have attempted to boost the apparent credibility of your post by saying "Harvard professor" but declined to provide a name nor any info about about the case studies to check out whether there's any substance to the study. It could be a Harvard professor of DrumpfDivinity citing case studies at Liberty University for all we know – and the track record of Trump, Fox, and the clickbait artists you post suggest it's really not worth wasting the time to watch the video to find out.
If you want to provide actually useful info rather than likely amplifying misinformation and worsening the misinformation epidemic, post actual names and links to actual studies.
edit: meanwhile a search for actual hydroxychloroquine evidence turns up a veritable cornucopia of articles such as:
https://medcitynews.com/2020/08/why-hydroxychloroquines-appeal-endures-despite-evidence-it-doesnt-work-for-covid-19/
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2020388 (looking at HCQ for prophylaxis)
Here are the first three hits from googling risch yale hydroxychloroquine study:
First is a defensively toned memo from Yale defending Risch academic right to opine on topics outside his expertise:
Next is:
Third is:
I'm not defensive. I'm disgusted with your promotion of misinformation that you didn't even make a rudimentary attempt to fact-check. Or even have the courtesy to drop a few breadcrumbs as to the actual substantive content. Or even provide a clean link to the video you expect people to waste time watching. (Your twitter link went to the Twittertwat's general twitter cesspit, leaving your reader to try to figure out which turd you expected them to pick out)
I'm not defensive. I'm disgusted with your promotion of misinformation …
Having been on the receiving end of your spew Andre, I am disgusted at your continuing propensity to declare any information or opinion which has not got The Establishment's tick of approval as "misinformation".
You worship at the altar of mainstream and official, and seem blind to the fact that practically nothing we see, hear or read on the internet can be relied on unless supported by personal knowledge or experience…or the personal knowledge or experience of others we personally trust.
Sometimes, Andre, what we are told is 'fact' simply does not add up and we have to do our own research and draw on our own knowledge.
Case in point are the discussions you and I have had over the history of measles in the developed world,and the safety and efficacy of the flu vaccine. I'm not going to provide you with links (again) as you will refuse to read or listen to anything that might challenge the comfortable position you cling to.
Taking second information from Harvey's boss and some colleagues as gospel, all the while ignoring what Harvey is actually saying is pretty piss poor fact checking imo.
Thanks Tony, the proof is in the pudding as they say. Minnesota is the second state to revoke the ban and allow HCQ use as a treatment. You would think more states to follow…
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/08/17/mn_governor_quietly_reverses_course_on_hydroxychloroquine__143978.html
…the proof is in the pudding" as they say. Some might say. Others say
"The proof of the pudding is in the eating…" but it seems to be passé now.
Before you start gloating, claim bragging rights, and elevate your YouTube hero to superhero status you may just want to read this balanced piece for a general audience that came out today:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2020-08-25/covid-19-repurposed-treatments/12587250?section=health
There’s still much we don’t know about this virus and anybody who claims they know (better or best) and they are right are taking a punt, at best, because to the best of knowledge, there is no conclusive evidence for many claims yet. Even a safe and effective vaccine may never eventuate despite enormous efforts (and investments). I think people will have to accept the limits of what is possible but many seem to have huge faith in science and technology to deal with if not solve all issues that are plaguing humankind, sooner or later. That includes CC, by the way.
It's started already advertorials for those set to take advantage of Collins; clear intention, given the chance, & shows her limited capacity to do anything other than tender the virus out https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sponsored-stories/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503708&objectid=12358168
That truly was an excellent episode of Sunday and word around the staffroom is we need more shows like that, because we here in NZ have no idea what it's really like during a pandemic.
I found her column really thoughtful and more people ought to have access to it.
Who is she? And where is Sunday – on tv?
Eaxactly. That photography exhibition was also a winner.
So there seems to be a concerted attempt building, whether by design or by accident, to present Jacinda Ardern as a bit lame and patronising. I agree to a reasonable extent; in manner, she's like John Key with slightly less mangling of the English language, and mercifully minus the doofus dickhead dimension. Having said that, I find it rather off-putting to see David Seymour homing on on her use of the word 'tricky' to describe COVID-19, followed by Luke Malpass at Stuff parroting the line, saying that she 'insists on calling [it] “tricky” as if it somehow deliberately sneaks in the back window […]'. Mr. Seymour, Mr. Malpass, 'tricky' is usually just a synonym for 'difficult'. Look it up, you pair of nitwits.
Malpass is either an idiot (a distinct possibility) or deliberately manufacturing trivial hits on Ardern. 'Tricky' is used all the time colloquially to describe something that is difficult to achieve, handle, or respond to in an effective way. As in 'a tricky problem', 'a tricky corner', 'a tricky situation', 'a tricky climb' etc. etc. In none of these examples does the use of 'tricky' attribute intent to something that is incapable of having intent.
What's happening here is that Malpass doesn't like being reminded that the whole Covid response is immensely difficult. If everything is mixed, nuanced, problematic, evolving as it goes, etc, then simple-minded gotcha journalism is off the table – making it harder for him to shill for the Nats without appearing like a complete loon.
Thanks AB I didn't have a good feeling about Malpass from what I had read and then found that he had been set up as Political Editor made me wonder. He's a bit tricky I feel.
He is an imported neoliberal writer of financial articles and agenda setting news in Australia. Setting the agenda ?? Moved back here in John Key’s time. Nuff said!!
Oh thanks. I thought he must be getting encouragement from somewhere to counter his unfortunate name Malpass. Mal in French is bad. Some surnames are discouraging.
in manner, she's like John Key
????
Your reading of "manner" is most eccentric. Key never seemed bright or particularly pleasant. Ardern doesn't come across as oafish or malicious.
Jacinda has never come across as a sleazy car-salesman!
Nor has she ever coolly and repeatedly told a lie such as "Jon Stephenson rang me up and harassed me on the phone at home."
He was a one, wasn't he! Still is, I bet.
Tricky is the adjective science seems to have given it. They were going with evil however inferring intent isn't allowed so ‘tricky’ it is.
Seymour and science not in the same room, no surprises there.
Dr Chris Smith, superb communicator, virologist from Cambridge, and regular on Kim Hill RNZ – describes coronavirus as 'tricky'.
Yes Matiri isn't he good and I'm glad he pops along to Kim and she feeds him questions, of which there are more than he can answer. But promises to come back. You feel that you have heard a well-balanced informed background to the tricky Covid-19 behaviour.
– one for each bullet point.
so you know more than a Professor of Medicine, gee you must be clever
as with smart comebacks, not all professors of medicine are without fault. a good professor of ANYTHING will say that they dont know enough, they are still learning.
Perhaps Anker might might take some notice of your wisdom. Maybe better to do that rather than insist that anyone who doesn't agree with his/her narrow viewpoint should STFU.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/a-message-for-our-scientists?utm_source=Friends+of+the+Newsroom&utm_campaign=5d49fddc3a-Daily+Briefing+25.8.20&utm
[lprent: removed the dot at the end of your handle. I’ll do it on the first of the other comments as well. Could you correct on your side please. ]
So sorry Iprent. Will try not to have that happen again
Its really not about who agrees with me Alan. I go by what the scientists say and trust in the MofH and our Govts directives as they have served and continue to serve us well…It is the arm chair critics I was taking aim at. These are mostly the journos who look to have gotcha moments. The journo who asked Ashleigh B if he was going to resign needs to be told how dangerous the idea is. Re Professor Gorman, see my comments below.
Have a nice day
I never said I knew more that a Professor in Medicine and certainly I know very little about medicine for divers and brain injury. These are the two areas Professor Gorman has his qualifications in.
Professor Gorman seems to have held a number of positions in health funding, workforce development and health system design. He held these from around 2010 and it appears from his CV he is no longer used so much by the current govt.
Given he had so much time and influence to sort the health system, if his criticisms are to be believed, he clearly failed to do so in when he was in a position to implement the changes.
By his own admission in the Radio NZ interview, the govt are using the right strategies, contract tracing, quarantine, high testing rates…………..
Right now is not the time for the health system to re-structure or to set up new agencies…………..We are in acute crisis mode. And despite any failings or inadequacies Mr Gorman sees, our health system which has been woefully underfunded is coping and adapting spectacularly well as seen by our Covid response and the statistics that don’t lie….. So no I have no time for Mr Gorman
Hee hee cleverer than you Alan. When you feel the urge to write all you can say is yah-boo. Doh! And yet you are upset at the STFU! When you write you don’t say anything of any assistance in the toil and tribulations we are in. You are not using your great powers to help so why worry about it.
Literally all you have is an appeal to authority, when that authority disagrees with most of his peers.
Best campaign ad of 2020, probably
https://twitter.com/TheDailyShow/status/1296620499385163777?s=20
That was a lot of fun.
Also fair.
Really appreciate The Standard. Feeling of loss when it has a few hiccups, so thankyou Lprent for giving us this outlet.
+1000 for LPrent and team.
Yes well done Lprent. Much appreciated.
Many thanks to Iprent and team!
Thank you lprent and the team.
Our misinformation crisis – how can we stop ourselves from falling for it and spreading it?
Videos seem to be particularly pernicious for misinformation, at least partly because of the extra obstacles in the way of fact-checking:
https://factcheckingday.com/articles/13/10-tips-for-verifying-viral-social-media-videos
More useful reading on different kinds of misinformation:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/misinformation-has-created-a-new-world-disorder/
Perhaps we should keep coming to The Standard and someone will raise a point about error as a rule, but not always. I have asked for help now and then and no-one replied so the blog is only partially useful at sorting into piles all the words and sentences that roll out endlessly.
The site still isn't right. But I've fixed most of the speed issue which appears to have been something triggering cache access issues at the database level. Mostly by taking out some of the obsessive protection that used the database as persistent storage and substituting other tools.
I still haven't located the root cause which is kind of irritating. I'll look at that again this evening. There are much higher than usual general (ie non-site aware) attempts to crack into the site. But it is no more than about 5x the usual rate. It averaged at about 20 per minute. Didn't look like a denial of service attack.
However I need to get back to paid employment (had to take a day off yesterday). So it will have do for the moment.
Forgive me my technical illiteracy, but are they attempts to interfere with the ability of the site to continue providing a forum for political debate? Not so long ago one of our local experts warned it was inevitable there would be foreign political interference in the election – not unlike what has been experienced elsewhere.
a lot to consider about the site and possible election based interference, we know it isn't fairy dust to consider this. Thanks for your work LPrent, would money help? Nothing else we could do I imagine.
See the "Donate" button at the top right.
https://thestandard.org.nz/contact-us/donate/
not targeted.
Okay. I thought "aware" might have been a typo.
Pretty much not targeted.
If they were then the main point of any login seeking would be to get the super admin logins. I'm not seeing that.
It looks like a general increase in intrusion attacks. I'd say that new botnets have been activated.
Ok, I have just seen the problem now that I am looking wider.
One of the SSD drives in the array for The Standard has been locked into a very very long SMART data scan – it is currently at 140% of the expected time. It is running at 49C (its partner is at 29C).
Failing it from the array so the spare kicks in.
Yep, and the really problematic issue is fixed. saving comments and updating them is now fast again.
I really don’t tend to view SSDs as being a possible problem. I just lean in the SMART monitoring I’ll add some notifier diagnostics to scan them over-running tests and getting too hot.
" I still haven't located the root cause…"
This is a catastrophe….more testing please.
🙂 See 11.2
"its a shambles"
The chickns have come home to roost in Auckland. The delays of putting in decent public transport in Auckland that began in Mayor Robbie's* time 1959 on have now led to problems about Covid-19 spread, as well as making it difficult for just ordinary citizens to get to work and have some time for having a life.
According to Auckland Regional Public Health, the trip took two and a half hours. The reason for this was because "there was very bad traffic congestion that morning as people were heading home before the midday lockdown," the Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) said.
They said the two people sat on the bus for an hour at Symonds Street.
According to Auckland Transport's website, the trip from Stop 7162 to Stop 8200 can be walked in 11 minutes. By bus, albeit with no traffic, it takes 3 minutes.
On Google Maps, from one stop to the other, it is 750 metres.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/424334/more-details-around-bus-trip-with-covid-19-emerge
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dove-Myer_Robinson
About his rail ideas: Robinson's main focus during his second period as mayor was his advocacy for rapid transit system for Auckland. Robinson's proposal for a bus-rail rapid transit plan was "to provide fast, modern electrified railways through the main traffic corridors of the region". The proposal had passenger trains every three minutes running from an underground subway terminal in the city centre with above ground tracks leading to Howick, Auckland Airport and a tunnel to the North Shore. The scheme was heavily criticized for its cost (an estimated $273 million in 1973) and both the ARA chairman Tom Pearce and most of its members opposed the scheme. The Third Labour Government reneged on an election pledge to pay for the scheme and the rapid rail proposal disappeared. Retrospectively, Robinson's idea to implement rapid rail was seen as a possible long-term solution to Auckland's subsequent transportation difficulties. The phrase; "If we'd only listened to Robbie…" has become common speech in Auckland whenever the city's transport system is debated.
Greywarshark
I remember the rhetoric at the time, even the media put the boot in.
I seem to remember it was his last term as mayor.
In the last 50 yrs Robinson was the only person that I can recall that "Had a Vision for the Future of Auckland and NZ",
NZ has suffered from a Visionary" deficit ever since.
It seems to me that the struggle to get important work carried out for the overall good of a community is a harder goal than to climb Mt Everest. We love Sir Edmund Hillary for doing something quite notable but unnecessary.
We fail to catch the importance of pushing through a future-looking transport system for a growing, major city like Auckland. And Dove-Myer was also prominent in preventing the city's sewage and meat offcuts from manufacturing being dumped out at sea untreated. Apparently he was a feisty man with a big ego, quite interesting reading about him. But he was a thinker; if they had left the tunnel to North Shore out and gone with the rest, they would have been winners instead of losers as they are now.
Let's hope they don't end up like Los Angeles (City of Angels).
“There’s simply not enough places for these people to go, there’s obviously a lot of mental health and addiction problems.
“A lot of people flood to California because of the weather and I think the problem has just overwhelmed the system here.
“And I think the city of dreams really has turned into the city of nightmares at the moment.”
It is a city-wide problem, she says.
“Friends of mine that live I Santa Monica only four blocks from the beach say they can’t take their children to the local park because the homeless situation is so bad that there are people passed out in the park doing drugs, there are syringes everywhere…
“It’s a big city problem across America and I think it’s a socio-economic problem that the rich are getting richer, certainly under Trump, and the poor are getting poorer.
“There’s a great sense of social injustice here at the moment.”
Homeless encampments are legal in Los Angeles and have blossomed as the city’s chronic housing shortage worsens.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/2018760720/los-angeles-has-turned-into-a-city-of-nightmares
And this is the next step of the epidemic likely to cross our borders carrying all the shit that comes out the actions of the wealthy and malignant in the USA to foul our country's wellbeing, only managed by being the opposite to them in their feckless drive for capital accretion and power.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018760983/covid-19-wealthy-americans-flock-to-invest-in-nz
Wealthy Americans looking for a safe haven in a turbulent Covid-19 world are flocking to invest in New Zealand – and move their businesses here.
The number of investor visa applications has soared since the coronavirus outbreak, and the government agency working to attract overseas money says New Zealand's successful public health strategy is behind the ten-fold surge in interest.
and you can bet that those wealthy americans will hide in gated communities here, if they get the chance.
I've read that some people in Queenstown are having trouble with the Lords of Creation who have homes with helipads attached that they have wangled on the basis of serving them for arriving and departing. But they have visitors and are restless and on the go so the very loud noise of a helicopter next door can be heard numerous times a week.
When I hear one here it is usually the rescue one going across to land at the hospital set-down spot. They are doing God's work so to speak, and I can put up with that, in fact I find it comforting that we have this service for the needy. There are often trampers who fall, get caught in bad weather, a windy road out of town, Golden Bay and distant communities – so that's different from the wealthy and their taking ways.
If you're prone to COVID panic, don't read further.
Covid reinfection of a healthy 33 year old has been confirmed by the genome of his second infection being different to the genome of his first, with the spike proteins being different between the two strains. The good news, for him anyway, was that the second infection was asymptomatic.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/08/first-confirmed-case-of-sars-cov-2-reinfection-reported-in-hong-kong/
Yep. Still too soon to be making definitive plans about the future and what NZ should be doing with the borders and so on. There's more to learn here about the virus, immunity, transmission before we get to rearranging society again.
And this. South Korea was an early success at controlling Covid-19 and then had a huge outbreak with a religion at its core. I had thought South Koreans religious but well-balanced, now its becoming twisted and political. Their psychology is not too different from what has arisen all over the world, looking for conspiracies and malign agents connected with Covid-19, but it appears so passionate that the country is spiralling out of control.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/424345/south-korea-on-brink-of-nationwide-virus-outbreak-officials-warn
The latest outbreak of coronavirus cases centred around a right-wing Presbyterian church has spread to all 17 provinces throughout the country for the first time….
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) has admitted that about 20 percent of all new cases are of unknown origin – despite the country's efficient contact tracing system which can track down around 1000 potentially infected patients in an hour.
South Korea's fight against Covid-19 began in February after an outbreak at a Christian cult called the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in the city of Daegu, about 200km south of Seoul. Within weeks, the outbreak was under control…
The majority of new cases are all close to the heavily populated capital city which is home to more than 10 million people.
And one of the biggest concerns is that many of the far-right worshippers who are potentially infected believe the virus was planted as part of a conspiracy to close it down. Many are refusing to be contacted, let alone tested.
And there is also one other major risk factor. Infected members of the Shincheonji church were mostly young – in their 20s. But the current outbreak is affecting a much older age group.
Members of the Sarang Jeil Church, which roughly translates as "Love Comes First", are right-wing conservatives and maintain that President Moon Jae-in is a communist and a puppet of China and North Korea.
Before the coronavirus outbreak, they would gather in their hundreds in the centre of Seoul each Saturday loudly rallying and marching past the Blue House to denounce the South Korean leader.
This is really frightening. If the South Korean government tries to have a total lockdown which appears to be the only way to stop spread, these people could riot in another one of their protests aimed at bringing down the government. They refuse to believe in the facts of the virus and its spread, and if they were in charge would probably impose BAU by force, yet the report is that the hospitals are nearly at capacity. Who can break through this web of lies and hysteria that all South Koreans respect and will pay attention to?
South Korea is somewhat used to dealing with mass protests – and they are mostly very well-behaved. They never run out of police because the police claim a proportion of the two-year military service all Korean men must do – if they need another 100 000 they only need to make a few phone calls. The protest culture, which is a Confucian tradition, really took hold under Chun do Hwan, who was somewhat in the Duterte mould, and police under his leadership killed several thousand protestors. It's not like that these days, and the church cannot muster a large crowd in Korean terms.
they would gather in their hundreds
By Korean standards that makes them look as lonely as Billy TK's meagre handful of supporters.
Well that all sounds very calming, which is good for me. But still the spread and the lack of contact tracing that they can do is going to be a worry.
Perhaps they can all go into their church and close the doors and be together and safe from the government forces. But they must care for their sick with the equipment that will be available on request, food delivered in raw state so they can't blame deaths on poisoning.
Perhaps they will come to their senses as people fall sick while under their care. No evil eye to blame it on.
One of my former students just told me there's a weird group in Korea now that may be deliberately spreading Covid – the rationale is apparently that "we have to share the pain with our ally (United States)". It may be a troll cell behind it, but it's the kind of trouble no country needs.
?
https://twitter.com/MichaelCohen212/status/1298025781310955520
On Monday, the Democratic super PAC American Bridge released a new ad to run during the Republican convention — starring President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen, who minced no words in blasting his former boss.
“For more than a decade, I was President Trump’s right-hand man, fixer, and confidante,” said Cohen, who went to prison over the scheme to make hush payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels on Trump’s behalf. “I was complicit in helping conceal the real Donald Trump. I was part of creating an illusion.”
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/08/michael-cohen-stars-in-new-anti-trump-ad-to-run-during-rnc-convention/
Watching tRump jnr and his squeeze's speeches at the RNC. They’re baked.
edit:
https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1298075982595842048
Barking nuts
Replying to greywarshark @ 12. (for the last 6 months or so I’ve only been able to use the reply function on my iPhone not the iPad I normally use, but now can’t even use iPhone?).
Ironically the reason the cases sat for an hour on the bus on Symonds St is because there was an almighty traffic jam in that area of Symonds St, New North Road, Mt Eden Road and Newton Road after a Covid testing station was set up in a small ex-used car yard on New North Road. It was chaos every day until they moved the testing station to the Eden Park car park. All the bus services routed through that area eventually had to be detoured.
Notwithstanding that I fully agree that Auckland’s cheapskate approach to public transport and planning generally is a growing disaster.
That's awful Scott GN. I think authorities need a knowledgeable outsider who just watches and listens to all the plans re Covid 19 in each area, and steps in before all go away from the meeting room and asks the pertinent questions as to how effective they'll be in that spot, because of this, and this and this? 'I want us to look at these points now, before anything is done and explain to me how these problems can be overcome.'
Someone who has a reinforced spine, and can assert themselves and has knowledge of planning and people, would be useful to spot such things as traffic congestion.
The bogus anti-Semitism report that sank Jeremy Corbyn
by ASA WINSTANLEY, The Electronic Intifada, 24 August 2020
The road to Jeremy Corbyn’s political downfall began at Oxford University Labour Club in February 2016. A rogue inquiry by a Labour staffer with close ties to the Israeli embassy included fabricated allegations of anti-Semitism.
It destroyed the lives of several pro-Corbyn students sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. It also triggered Labour’s “anti-Semitism crisis” in earnest. The manufactured crisis continues today, even with Corbyn now marginalized. After an internal Labour disciplinary investigation, some of the accused were cleared of anti-Semitism the following year.
But by that time the damage had been done.
After a four-year investigation, The Electronic Intifada has obtained the full Rubin report, which has never been published.
Michael Rubin, who wrote it, was chair of the right-wing group Labour Students. But the “inquiry” was his own initiative and had not been mandated by either Labour’s leader or its ruling National Executive Committee. Rubin was also collaborating with Shai Masot, an Israeli “diplomat” who would be kicked out of the UK the following year.
Soon after writing the report, Rubin was hired by Labour Friends of Israel, a group which secretly coordinates with the Israeli embassy in London.
Masot was caught in undercover footage recruiting to the Israeli front group.
Read more…
https://electronicintifada.net/content/bogus-anti-semitism-report-sank-jeremy-corbyn/31026
I found this yesterday in a promo for The Telegraph and found it very instructive about nice people in the UK and the lengths they will go to maintain their nice lives, and the rationalisation they use for being tricky.
…Every week, when I sit down to write my Wednesday column in The Telegraph, concerns like those are at the forefront of my mind. I see my job as speaking up for the silent majority, for men and women who lack a voice in a world where, if you don’t subscribe to fashionable left-wing causes, you’re called “inappropriate” or “something-phobic”.
People like us have been made to feel like a beleaguered minority. But who gave the Conservatives a whacking majority at the general election and protected our country from the lunatic extremism of Jeremy Corbyn? We did.
I’m proud that readers email to say it’s a huge relief to know that they’re not alone. I rejoice that Telegraph subscribers call the paper a “haven” for those who don’t get offended by views other than their own. Whenever possible, I try to see the funny side. Let’s face it, with the coronabeast laying waste to life as we know it, people are incredibly grateful for a laugh. Allison Pearson, Telegraph Columnist
People like this are irritated at changes including the constant nitpicking of word sensitivity at the moment and regard it as OTT. But they don't see that their own behaviour is similar on the other side of the see-saw.
Jeremy Corbyn. Wikipedia narrates him us as the Hilary Clinton of UK politics.
Take a sure thing, fuck it up, blame everyone else.
Just wait for the book no one will read.
Whereas in the real world, Keir Starmer is leading Labour already close to even pegging with the Conservatives already; Conservative 40%, Labour 38%:
https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/explore/political_party/Labour_Party
Sturmer, the King of Nothing, can't get more support than Boris Johnson, even though Johnson is possibly the most obnoxious and incompetent British prime minister in history. He and his cronies have expelled anyone with a moral compass from the Labour Party—people like Asa Winstanley, who wrote this article, and Michael Rosen, and without a doubt would have drummed out Sir Gerald Kaufman if he was still alive….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GQDT9t2lRs
"It is the nature of human existence that shared sacrifice is the glue that binds disparate individuals and groups into a unified and thus powerful entity."
"Profound disunity is characterized by the recognition that favored elites make no sacrifices, and this injustice consumes the bonds of civil unity."
The best thing I have read today.
fuck this. seriously fuck this bullshit, and someone please go to Winz and start weeding some of these drones out and send them to the unemployment queue, also Government (Labour/Green/NZFirst) do fucking better.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/landlords-paid-3k-a-week-by-government
someone said something the other day that 'we know have well being as a priority a new social contract with the government', reading this article it occurs to me that some have a social contract with the government and it makes them very very rich while those that are too poor to be of importance to anyone (unless its an election year) can go live in a dump paid for by the tax payer 3000$ per pop.
But we can't increase unemployment and social benefits to the level of the wage subsidy casue we don't have the money, right? We seem to have the money, for landlords, real estate agents and winz drones who probably did well on kick backs. But hey, surely this is all a great misunderstanding, someone mis spoke, and someone mis appropriated funds and and and and.
Pigeon-holes? People with children thrust into some sort of covered dwelling or room. Is that how it is with MSD? No wonder they need guards on their offices. When people get distraught enough with no end in sight to their condition, they can feel they have nothing to lose!
Can we get our smug backsides off our seats as seen in twitter Hellhole, 'Oh I'm at the beach, on my balcony, on my lifestyle block, walking along this nature reserve'. It was sickening after the first laugh at giving the finger to Trump or some overblown liar about how bad NZ is. For some it bloody well is bad and we shouldn't forget that.
I mention a difficulty that I think is common, and that is authority will say that some remedial program won't fix the problem, so it's no good. That is such a copout to say nothing can be done till it is the perfect solution. "Oh we can't waste money here if more has to be spent later." We are not prepared to divide the problem into sections, start with the worst difficulty, and work up to bigger and better outcomes. Put everything on a graph from axes of 0 so as things improve they'll show up, why not measure that way.
So get up you bums and open your minds, every meeting has to result in a beneficial outcome for people who really need it, and receive enough of your budget to succeed, and be properly monitored with encouragement and support to achieve what is wanted by the recipients.
Sabine, So lazy or overworked people in MSD let greedy landlords and their agents rort the system of the Government trying to find shelter for people. This has come to light, and yet you paint this as a failure by this Government, when you know the rot is endemic, and will take time to overcome, as so many are gaining.
You threw my "social contract comment" back in my face inferring I am one of those who is making $3000 a week!! I realise you mispoke in anger and frustration. I was talking about covid, you have taken that out of context.
This is housing situation is upsetting and not good enough. Who else have you sent a complaint to? Megan Woods? or just us?
PS I could have ignored that remark, but it is not fair.
This government is committed to the Middle. Always was. Always will be. Case in point the pathetically embarrassing launch of Kiwibuild.
Channeling Savage…shame.
Should have hit the ground running housing the homeless.
Should have implemented the recommendations of the Welfare Experts Advisory Group.
Should have listened to those at the front line rather than the bureaucrats from the various Ministries.
Patricia you are right. How do we stop the rot
We must not forget the power of the officials who implement the policy passed but in THEIR OWN way, or do they. There is mention of National gaining power in 1961 and it going to their heads. Do politicians have control or do they face some humiliating discussion with the head of the State Services Commission after they have got nowhere with their head of department?
I have been looking at some columns from Chris Trotter in past years. He said this in 2016 at the time Trump and Farage were looking very pleased with themselves.
https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/2016/12/2016-annus-horribilis.html
The Last Laugh: As Plato predicted, more than 2,000 years ago, a democratic citizenry that loses faith in its own efficacy will voluntarily entrust its destiny to the first demagogue who learns to speak its language of despair. In 2016, this annus horribilis, those demagogues’ names were Nigel Farage and Donald Trump.
These from May 2017.
Not Just At The Gates – Within The Walls! Dr J.C. Beaglehole, writing in 1961, recorded with considerable disdain: “The naïve, the almost childish brutality, with which the chiefs of the National Party fell upon power may seem quite surprising, until one remembers how famished for power they were, and with what an innocency of experience they faced the world about them ….. [Their] insensitiveness to administrative delicacies was quite appalling.”
https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/2017/05/insensitiveness-to-administrative.html
https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/2017/05/our-path-to-future-is-blocked-by-past.html
Our path to the future is blocked by the past.
And The Truth Shall Set You Free: Moving beyond the thirty-year-old neoliberal order in New Zealand can only be achieved by confronting and disproving its explanations and excuses for the inequality, poverty and powerlessness it perpetuates.
New Labour or Coalition government – what will confront them?
The simple answer is: The Past. A government elected on the strength of public misgivings about rampant homelessness and the lack of affordable housing; out-of-control immigration; and a despoiled natural environment; will be presented with thirty-year-old government machinery designed specifically to make effective state intervention as difficult as possible.
Any attempt to deploy this machinery in pursuit of social and economic objectives for which it was not designed is highly likely to end in failure – and, quite possibly, disaster. Arrayed against a government in which only a handful of ministers possess Cabinet experience will be a bristling phalanx of public servants, National Party appointees, corporate and special interest lobbyists and public relations firms – all of whom have a vested interest in preserving the status quo…
When, after staggering into their minister’s offices under the weight of multiple reports, studies and surveys, the representatives of Treasury, MFAT, MBIE and MPI advise the new progressive government that its programme will wreck the economy and/or bankrupt the nation, how will Labour, NZ First and the Greens respond? Will they be able to offer their own stack of reports, studies and surveys in rebuttal?
I am throwing nothing back in your face, i just called it up because we need a social contract. A real contract that covers all of us all the time and not just some of us some of the time.
I am not speaking in anger nor frustration, but i am tired of the misery that we cause by not holding our government accountable and the price of that is paid by those that have the least to give or to loose. I have never ever even mentioned covid, You did. I am constantly talking about unemployment, homelessness and the lack of the government in regards to these issue.
Do i believe that the wage subsidy is / was not enough. I do. Do i think the government did an adequit job re Covid given the circumstances, yes, have i ever said open the borders or relax quarantine? No i never did and you would be hard pressed to find anything in regards to this. The problem is that currently every critisism by us vs Labour is shut down literally with words of 'shut up, national is worse and do you want us all to die". Talk about a nice way of telling people to shut up and just vote. 🙂 Ain't happening.
As for complaining, i spoke to the person who hopes to get elected in my area, lol, not talking policy, don't you think we did well, is this not enough, I leave comments of FB pages and i give money as far as i can to the community where i live which btw has a huge homeless problem, a huge over crowding problem and a huge poverty problem and it will only get worse with raising unemployment and no jobs to apply for. So no i don't see any reason to really talk to labour nor the greens nor nzfirst, as non of them listen when it comes to these issues. Shut up and vote, lest National wins.
So yes, i did took your 'applies to covid only' social contract comment and i applied it to our homeless and jobless. And if that is what upsets you then i can't help you there, because this article again just showed the truth, that in this country some are in it knee deep and others are not, some have a social contract and others don't. And the very poor in this country seem to be disregarded by all parties. We are not all in this together.
Incompetence (MSD) meets corruption (REI)
MSD isn't that incompetent, they are lacking something vital that should be searched for in their CVs at the time of getting the job, but perhaps the agency that does the human resources work doesn't bother with anything except the right ed and previous employers. That's how a serial fraudster got through recently. Does the department concerned claim the money back:? I believe they get quite a dosh per person. Anyone know what and how it is calculated?
"The Ministry of Social Development has admitted the scheme made the rental crisis worse – as people took rental properties off the market and used them instead to rent out to MSD to earn thousands more."
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/landlords-paid-3k-a-week-by-government
this is not incompetence it is no one in charge giving a shit. That would be the bosses of the kinder gentler still full of bullshit Winz. Carmel Sepuloni is her name and last i checked she was the minister of social development and if you read the article all the way to the end you will see that she is 'waiting to be briefed and can not answer questions'.
Had read the article in full (twice) hours before you posted the link…and incompetence it surely is
I've only read the first third of that so far, and I feel sick.
read everything about it, and then maybe understand where i am coming from when i lament the utter failure of the current government (Labour/NZFIRST/Green – and no any one person in particular) in regards to unemployment, social welfare starvation rates and housing. And i am being charitable calling it 'failure'.
pretty sure we disagree on strategy not on political views of what is happening.
honestly i can't see the strategy here, all i see is 'nothing was done, nothing at all'.
that's right, you can't see strategy.
if three thousand dollar a week is a strategy to house someone in unsanitary hovels without any security then that is not a strategy, but feel free to educate me about the strategy that i am missing. As i said above, please read all the way to the end where it states that the Minister of social development refuses to answer questions as to the strategy of this particular program.
Please weka, enlighten me. Cause i have been syaing this already under National, where this 'emergency programme' started under Paula Benefit.
The government changed nothing. did nothing, and is now being called out for having done nothing and chances are wasted millions to enrich a handful of in my book criminal land lords and real estate agents.
But i am happy to read your explanation of the strategy that i am missing.
Unless utter failure and disperagement of people going to winz for help is the strategy, then yes i must admit i totally did not see that.
funny that you think this is about Labour's strategy rather than yours or mine or the left's. I've been talking about strategy around this for years. Like I said, you don't get it.
Is the National Party feeding questions to Mike Hosking for his interviews with the Prime Minister?
You don't seriously think that would happen do you? Oh, okay, of course it would.
Maybe it's Newshub, they seem to be part of the National Party.
if so, he should be renamed patsy hoskings… perhaps someone with twitter can start that one.
Not sure they're smart enough to do that – maybe someone they've hired eh.
Just to change the conversation, a cool wind blowing through the groves. Eddie Izzard and others having a discussion Europe and UK. Boris was a Daily Telegraph columnist and found Thatcher as the genesis of Eddie's career as a comedian.
I think Boris says he is a socialist about 5 mins in. I don't think he spends the time when he is not speaking, listening to the others, but thinking up what he wants to put over next.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRtcJUO5k1k
From our archives. 1997 debate. Do we hate the French? What is the UK's place in Europe? Hosted by Jeremy Paxman, with Boris Johnson, comedian Eddie Izzard and Labour MEP Carole Tongue. More Newsnight archives here
Various media channels have sought the views of business leaders in Auckland to what the affects of extending Level 3 'til Sunday will be. And Chamber of Commerce Barnett appeared to be reading from a prepared-script-of-anticipation. Also spokespeople for the hospitality industry, in unison, have said that it is going to be catastrophic and that there will be massive permanent closures as a result.
I hope the media channels will seek these same people out again in a fortnight or so to get their assessments and to check if their predictions were anywhere even close.
I wouldn't hold my breath.
https://www.familyfirst.org.nz/2020/08/nz-fertility-rate-is-at-all-time-low/
Media Release 10 August 2020
New Zealand’s total fertility rate has reached an all-time low, with an average of 1.71 children per woman in New Zealand, well below population replacement level….
Report author Lindsay Mitchell says, “In the past, government policy could positively affect the size of families. The Universal Family Benefit strongly influenced peak fertility in 1961 when women had an average of 4.3 children. But as females have become better educated and increased their work force participation, more have chosen to have fewer or no children. Economic pressures like student debt and insecure employment play a role. And now they face additional pressure from environmentalists. Meanwhile, policy interventions appear less and less effective.”..
“Without population replacement or growth, economies decline. A nation’s strength lies in its young: their energy, innovation, risk-taking and entrepreneurship.
The new blood drives the exchange of ideas and experimentation. If these attributes aren’t home-grown, they have to be imported. At an individual level, single person households are the fastest growing household type in New Zealand. Increasingly people face old-age with few or no family supports.”
It doesn't take Lindsay Mitchell long to extrapolate opinions from fact. Now environmentalists are causing additional pressures on family numbers. And a nation relying on its young – it shows how far Mitchell is from reality. The PtB are quite happily importing the people it wants, making it difficult for parents especially mothers alone to bring up their children to utilise their, e, i, rt and ent. It's more efficient and valuable to the economy, to teach other people's children for a fee than to ensure good education for well-rounded minds of young NZ. And the future is not with people at the helm, it is as servants to machines and vast conglomerates situated overseas, now with holiday homes in NZ. The jobs that people could do and hold their heads up high as independent people are being deleted. It suits the neolib cohort to virtually delete people! The schools are preparing children for this future by making them do their learning on computers, laptops. Manual, hand work, is out, and jobs are just a number to indicate the movements of the market.
The trouble with these narrow-minded people, is that they are against the lone woman, and will punish her by keeping her poor and lonely, and they regard sex as sinful if not sanctified by marriage. And the actions of such as Family First match this prejudice. They will back the right wing who would rather single women were working at a low-level and tiring job, than to be available to their children and being supported to become first-rate parents, home managers, and have skills training enabling them to earn and improve their lifestyles and work status over the years.
That would be the ideal but it would seem to be encouraging the women and the right wing don't want this to happen. They don't like the idea of beneficiaries being happy – how dare they enjoy living off my hard-won earnings is the mean refrain. So they won't even back them to get a good start in life, along with their children. When they talk about beneficiary mothers it is the children they mention, not the person trying to cope with responsibilities on one pair of shoulders. This has been made worse by the demand to advise the father's identity or lose benefit payment.
After time passes and some wisdom gained, plus the experience of bearing and birthing their child, many women know the man concerned will have a negative affect on them and the child. But money and stiff morality have equal places in the minds of the right wing, and I think it is money that is paramount really. It's a toxic world in there when you get a glimpse into the depths of such people's minds, no matter how pleasant they look and sound.
Replying to Logie97 at 21.
The media interview businesses, and the opposition. For the sake of balance they should be also interviewing those whose lives are being saved.
Hi LP, thanks as ever for your site. I’ve had problems viewing the articles for a while now. I see the headline, and the comments, but not the article itself. Not always, but often. Now, today, the ‘design’ is missing too, your banner for example. A ‘template’ problem? I can switch to desktop version, but that doesn’t work so well either on a phone. I’m using safari, latest iOS 13x, on iPhone se. Hope this info is helpful.
You are absolutely correct. I’ve been mostly concerned with other things (like the site running like a dog due to what turned out to be a failing SSD in a RAID array) for the last day or so.
But I’m seeing the same things on a Android Samsung S10+. I’ll clean it up after I get through inserting new SSDs. However it may be tomorrow (he says looking at the time).
It is now ok now on my samsung. Checked it on my partners iphone. Her front page is still wrong but the rest is as it should be. I’m presuming that is a caching issue. My android suddenly came right a while after I did a update for the appearance.
Is New Zealand chicken production as disgusting as this?
'The UK slaughters 20 million broilers every week, the vast majority of which are fast- growing breeds, reaching slaughter weight in just 35 days – four times faster than in the 1950s. This, according to the RSPCA, is responsible for contributing to severe welfare problems such as chronic leg disorders and heart and circulatory problems.
The data revealed that more than 3 million chickens were rejected at slaughter due to ascites or heart failure. “The main contributor is believed to be an increased oxygen demand by the fast-growing muscle. The body simply can’t keep up,” said Vicky Bond, veterinarian and director of the Humane League. CIWF have called for a ban on the use of fast-growing broiler breeds.
Dr Ed Van Klink, senior lecturer at Bristol Veterinary School, said: “Some of these issues are clearly welfare related … There will always be sick animals, certainly given the enormous numbers that are being processed. Poultry is kept in large flocks, therefore attention for individual disease issues is generally not possible.”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/aug/25/over-60-million-chickens-in-england-and-wales-rejected-over-disease-and-defects
Don't buy it or consume it.
(Hat tip to Mary from The Lifeboat News.)
I think Ardern has a 20% advantage in the next election over National. Lets press her to implement the Welfare Advisory Group's recommendations. If not now for our kin, when?
Don't vote for her , talk against her, unless she helps the neediest NOW after 36 years.
Disgusted I have to make a case here.
We are too far near to America's set-up.
When Jacinda bullshits about poverty and can't talk for Godzone.
I despise her because I know her, and reality, unlike others.
Just about sums it up, sumsuch.
Ardern baited her hooks for middle NZ… being the daughter of a white cop in Mangakino does not give her insight into the lives of those the WEAG were trying to champion.
The reality is, just like NZ voted National back in time and time again despite the water in the pot getting hotter all the time, there will be flesh falling from the bones of Godzone's most vulnerable and still the bulk will vote for the popular and telegenic.
SSDD
“In 2002 Mr Ardern received a Police Commissioner’s Commendation after he negotiated for three hours with a man armed with a machete in an incident in Morrinsville’s main street. The stand-off ended peacefully.”
https://www.pressreader.com/new-zealand/waikato-times/20131120/281689727589313
Ross Ardern worked in a number of towns in the Waikato region (Murupapa, Piako-Matamata, Morrinsville, etc.) So he was "a white cop in Mangakino" too, eh? SSDD.
Murupara/Mangakino
I always confuse the two…my bad.
However…do you think this government has addressed the needs of the most vulnerable New Zealanders Drowsy M.Kram?
Do you think it is OK for this government to have largely ignored the recommendations of the WEAG?
Do you think it is OK that the most vulnerable have been told since forever…'just wait, be patient, your day will come when there's enough money in the coffers…'
…only to see that when Business is threatened by the effects of a virus there's suddenly mega billions in the coffers?
Do you think that Ardern's(and most of our other elected 'representatives') privileged upbringing has prepared her to be able to properly empathize with those who has been discarded by government for the past twenty five years?
Because if its not to do with her lack of experience of life in the outer margins…?
IMHO it's a bit rich to have a go at Ardern for not being able to "properly empathize", but whatever floats your boat.
I do think that our Government should be aiming to address "the needs of the most vulnerable New Zealanders" as a priority, and then the needs of the less vulnerable, and lastly the needs of the invulnerable should they have any.
No, I don't "think it is OK for this government to have largely ignored the recommendations of the WEAG", nor do I think it's OK that various NZ governments have avoided making recommended changes to MMP, and have avoided alcohol law reform, and have privatised public assets in the face of strong public opposition, and have said no to introducing a CGT, or a Fart Tax, or indeed whatever progressive tax(es) might be needed to adequately address the many and varied needs of all citizens and the wider environment.
But there are only so many things that I can rail against at any one time.
I do think its OK that NZ governments resisted popular attempts to overturn the 'anti-smacking' legislation introduced to the house by Sue Bradford, and it's OK that the current Government introduced stricter gun control laws in the wake of the Christchurch massacre, and that they are also doing a reasonable-to-good job (indeed, an excellent job if current international comparisons of health outcomes are valid) of addressing the immediate public health and welfare issues relating to the Covid-19 pandemic, not to mention record investment in mental health, building classrooms and new schools, fixing hospitals, introducing the winter energy payment, extending paid parental leave…
But something's gotta give, and when it does most of us who are able to look back on past times will realise just how good we had it. Just my opinion, of course, and thanks for asking.
The neediest matter most.
You won't confuse the two if you ever go through and 'stop' at Murupara (don't), Rosemary. It's Ardern's Dorian Gray portrait.
The 1980 ruling class by right of 'merit' has everything but 'right'.
And we remember, and, what's more, have the personnel to turn around our country, unlike America, their model.
https://youtu.be/QAB6aXOfUmU
https://youtu.be/REXeJAdQ68c
https://youtu.be/qQfetkoGrpU