Does an MP need to have the permission of their party leader to do a private members bill?
What sort of private members bills would you want to have drawn for new or change of legislation?
I want to see historical sexual assault cases have their own separate legislation and the Limitations Act to have no time limit for a schedule 3 ACC claim under the 1961 Crimes Act. As well a separate entity with funding for lawyers, a one stop shop so a person does not need to deal with multiple agencies.
It takes on average 18 years for a person to disclose a sexual assault. Odd that is how long it took me.
Unfit for purpose legislation is re abusing claimants and it is up to every politician to fix this. I also feel that discrimination is occurring with an historical case compared to a case which the Limitations Act will cover.
The word private has been dropped now from a members bill.
I disagree with you on not needing a members bill. It will take 5 years to see new and fit for purpose legislation.
I was sad to hear that a man who was to appear in April at the Abuse in Care Royal Commission he died in March. Interim legislation needs to be urgently passed. I don't care which party does it, it needs to be a priority. This will send a clear message to an agency who did not take action to stop offending. The sick old legislation will no longer protect you.
Timing will just have to wait for the priority list for the new government, once the Commission is done.
It won't get done any faster as a private members bill – precisely because any attempt would get absorbed into the Government's own legislative response, as usually happens.
The Abuse of Care Royal Commission Inquiry is highlighting historical sexual, physical and psychological cases of abuse. People like me are being excluded because the crime did not occur in a care home.
As well there is some overlap with state care and non state care psychiatric admission.
Am I correct that only children who were abused (sexually, physically and psychologically) in state care can only appear at the inquiry?
I am pleased that finally the children who are now adults who were in state care have a voice.
There is no time statute of limitations on reporting sexual violence or charging someone with sexual violence offences.
Additionally, there is no time limitations on claims to ACC for historical sexual abuse.
A person, recent or historical victim, does not have to file a Complaint with Police to qualify for an ACC injury payout for sexual abuse.
There are agencies who are like a one stop shop. A victim can be supported through processes they choose. An approved provider of 'counselling' type services is needed for the process of assessment for ACC claims. Services are free for victims.
Should a victim wish to proceed with a police complaint , there is no lawyer needed to be paid for by the victim.
There are a lot of related aspects which are relevant to PTSD which are not covered when it comes to getting cover from ACC for sexual crimes which fuel the PTSD.
In the work place you told your employer and they failed to act and due to the Limitations Act time frame running out you cannot take legal action against your employer for the cover up. The awareness today is so different to an historical case.
Aye a family member was raped in her workplace when she was 17 by a client of her employer. The national organisation basically covered it up. This was in the 80's. Only now has she got some counselling for her ongoing PTSD. No support at all for wages and an inability to work cause she wasn't working when she finally sought help due to all the stress her and her other family members were under. By then she was simply not able to work and had been unwell for a long time.
A friend was groped repeatedly while at the photocopier by an employer who also used to run himself against her buttocks as well. She left that job and 20+ years later still shakes when anyone mentions that employer who is quite often on TV or in the press. She lost her career at a young age and has had mental health difficulties ever since.
There are many who have suffered for a long time.
Just as the generation before suffered hideously from marital rape – particularly as for many of them they had no means of support. The stories of being sent back to the new marital home by parents with the "you made your bed you sleep in it" refrain echoing in their ears was certainly true for many.
There is a strong history of damage done to women in this country through sexual assault. It would be useful to have an enquiry to understand more deeply the numbers and impacts of this while there are still those left from earlier generations.
Thank you for your comment. I put it this way, the damage that sexual assault causes the psychology has finally caught up with the incident/s. Sadly the Limitations Act has expired for far to many to make a civil claim and ACC does not compensate for not being able to sue for a mental injury.
Note: I do hope I have got my facts straight when it comes to ACC ONLY covering a schedule 3 incident under the Crimes Act 1961.
I did not make myself as clear as I needed to. It is about changing civil claims against the state or an employer for not taking action and civil litigation in the courts when the issue was sexual, physical or psychological abuse.
Some cases cannot be separated because the effects of the sexual, physical or psychological abuse are fuelled by the cover up or a civil case not going forward due to the Limitations Act time frame expiring.
'National Party leader Judith Collins is hitting back at attacks from the Left on her agriculture policy, saying the Greens are being "hysterical". '
'She is also accusing Labour leader Jacinda Ardern of "going for the jugular" by saying the National Party had changed its position on climate change. '
As I suggest on yesterday's Daily Review it looks to me like Judith might not be doing too well and the over-reaction and tears as you point out PLA, might hint at failure to cope as well as a hardened "tough" politician would expect. Meanwhile in spite of huge problems faced and dealt to, Jacinda carries on in confidence.
I don't like the word 'confidence' in connection with politicians. That is the approach that National uses – being confident – and it's 90% likely that everything they say confidently will be a load of s..t. A con man or woman is a term short for confidence trickster.
Perhaps we could say that Jacinda is staunch – for good policies that work and for improving and encouraging treatment of the low-income, and micro businesses.
staunch – 1. very loyal and committed in attitude.
lol….they really are floundering. I'd feel sorry …No, not at all : ) I just hope Jacinda is gonna get a bit of rest and chill time. She sure EARNED it !
just three days ago, herald headline was "collins call jacinda, poor wee thing" now its"jacinda going for the jugular". the really interesting point, is that collins is talking about jacinda, not other way round. when your narrative is all about your opponent, even you know youve lost.
This morning I woke up at 6.15am with it being nice and light outside. It was glorious.
Then sadness kicked in when I realised the artifical construct that is Daylight Saving, invented by the Germans, starts on Sunday leading NZ back into the dark ages. No more sunrise until an hour later. Fatigue and a sense of tiredness kicking in for a good two weeks as everyones circadian rhythms get knocked out of whack.
Daylight saving should be scrapped. Permanently. NZ doesn't need it as without it, sunset still wouldn't be until anywhere between 8pm – 9pm, thus rendering the age old argument "but we need more light after work" completely moot.
Of course, NZers love status quo, so I would 100% support a one year moratorium on daylight saving so that NZers could actually experience a proper summer without artifical time shifts. It hasn't done so since 1927. Once that moratorium is over people will then have an informed decision as to whether DS should stay, or be scrapped, or shortened to start somewhere from Labour Weekend. At the moment, it starts way too early. Farmers loathe it.
I for one avail myself of the flexible working hour provisions to shift my start and end times at work to an hour later so I don't bother changing my clocks. I find I'm far less affected than everyone else at work because I stick to normal time and I feel much better for it.
Daylight saving (time) has its pluses (hence popular) and minuses (the extra light causes my curtains to fade!) I found it beneficial on occasion while employed, but really wouldn't miss it now I've retired.
"On 8 February 2018, the European Parliament voted to ask the European Commission to re-evaluate DST in Europe. After a web survey giving high support of not adjusting clocks twice annually on 12 September 2018, the European Commission decided to propose to put an end to seasonal clock changes (repealing Directive 2000/84/EC). In order for this to be valid, the European Union legislative procedure must be followed, mainly that the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament must both approve the proposal." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_saving_time_by_country
There's actually no extra light. The amount of sunshine hours remains the same so the curtain principle is a misnomer.
The only thing that changes is the false equivalence that there is "more" daylight at the end of the working day thanks to the completely artificial and unnecessary time shift.
If you pull your curtains across at a set time, say 7 pm, then with daylight saving they get an hours extra daylight on them. It would be balanced by getting an hours less in the morning but that only works if the sun light strikes them in the morning as well as the evening i.e. they face the right way for that to happen.
Of course, the person could delay pulling their curtains across but maybe they need the room dark to watch Shortland Street.
I'm retired, so it makes little difference to me now, but my sadness used to be at the end of summer when we lost the daylight hours at the end of the day. My way of 'destressing' if I'd had issues during the day at work was to come home and work in the garden – pulling up weeds was especially satisfying! It was very sad when I would lose that every year
.
Yeah … but wasn't it Sandy Edmonds herself who informed us way back in 1967: "Oh, Daylight Saving Time, you're going to give me more time to find love with my Bay-bee" ?
I'm with you James. I would far rather have the hour of daylight during the day and not late in the evening. I spend the summer throwing imaginary poisoned darts at an imagined effigy of Peter Dunne who was responsible for extending D.S by two weeks at both ends. He did so without consulting the public first – the bastard. 👿
Then sadness kicked in when I realised the artifical construct that is Daylight Saving, invented by the Germans, starts on Sunday leading NZ back into the dark ages.
While Germany and Austria were the first countries to use DST in 1916, it is a little-known fact that a few hundred Canadians beat the German Empire by eight years. On July 1, 1908, the residents of Port Arthur, Ontario, today's Thunder Bay, turned their clocks forward by one hour to start the world's first DST period.
Of course, that may be someone's attempt to claim fame and put a minor town on the map so to speak.
This statement:
Today, about 40% of countries worldwide use it to make better use of daylight and to conserve energy.
really needs to be the other way around:
To conserve energy by making better use of daylight.
But a study that same year by the National Bureau of Economic Research concluded that DST increases the demand for electricity — even though lighting usage reduced, demand for heating and cooling increased, so electricity consumption was about the same.
Other studies have found that benefits of DST may be location-specific. One found electricity reductions in Norway and Sweden, while another saw increased electricity demand in Indiana.
1946 — New Zealand summer time (12 hours in advance of GMT) was adopted as New Zealand standard time. Daylight saving time was effectively discontinued at this point.
1974–5 — Daylight saving was trialled again in 1974, and introduced in 1975. Daylight saving time is 1 hour ahead of New Zealand standard time.
However, this theme has little to do with with the budget and a lot to do with projecting a lack of credibility on Goldsmith. The budget is still a forecast so its too early to claim whos figures are right and whos are mistaken (probably both will be way off).
Its quite funny to see the claim by Robertson that there are serious consequences for such mistakes in the budget while in office. This is because the 'mistake' occurred by using figures from a previous budget so exactly the same magnitude of mistake was made by Robertsons govt in office during that previous budget. Will there be consequences? No, will there be further revisions, yes every 6 months.
Credibility is not that important to me (and no I am in no danger of voting for National). I am just suggesting your being sucked into a partizan narrative which don't rest on anything concrete.
Not at all. Russell Norman lost his credibility when he highlighted that the RBNZ could implement QE to assist the country. It clearly now could and has.
I am just suggesting your being sucked into a partizan narrative which don't rest on anything concrete.
Actually, I think that there is evidence of where National's policies have been bad for the economy but that this ain't that evidence.
What Robertson should be doing is pointing to National's similar policies from before and show the deleterious effect that they had rather than this see, he got the numbers wrong approach which, as you say, isn't really proving anything except that Robertson's a dick.
Robertson's using belittling tactics which is a dick move especially when it really is a fact that the numbers really are inconsequential.
And I'm on record as saying his competence is in question because it would only have taken the use of a simple search/replace function in a spreadsheet to get the numbers right.
It is a dick move, yes, but it's also rubbing National's collective face in the excrement of its own narrative that it is better at managing the economy, because it can do difficult things like accountancy and reading spreadsheets and stuff. It would be unfair for Labour to claim that it is better because it can do those things mroe competently, but it is entirely fair for it to hold National to that standard (even if it's still a dick move).
Nic has a valid point however , competent or not both are trying to sell a message based on wishful thinking by crystal ball gazers at Treasury….garbage in garbage out.
If only they were just rounding errors. It also depends on how/where you round, e.g. to the nearest billion.
Look, at the end of the day, pretty ok is ok enough for National just as pretty legal was ok. And if National’s economic shambles plan is genuinely reflecting what Paora believes then that’s ok with Judith. Apparently. And if it’s ok with Judith then the great unwashedthe plebs we must be ok with it too because National MPs are our natural leaders. Plus they have a rich imagination tradition in creating holes out of nothing.
The differences are largely due to updates between the budget and the pre election budget update, so the scale of his differences is the same as the scale of the treasury revisions.
Its also clear this scale of error is completely inconsequential compared to how far the countries budget shifted due to the GFC and Covid lockdowns. If your not able to see those kinds of budget shifts there is hardely any point being concerned about 4 billion one way or the other in 14 years time.
Bill English put no money into the NZSF, if he had the government would be about $10B better off than it is now (you know $10B more in the fund than the inputs).
Goldsmith thinks by doing the same he will have our debt lower than Labour by 2035, so how clever is he and National.
Having debt **** dollars lower when that **** would multiply in the NZSF (and you know debt is real cheap at the moment and that means rising asset values) is not the smart play.
Put it this way – property investors can pay down debt while mortgage costs are cheap, or they can borrow more and buy another property. Which one delivers the better return? Anyone trying to buy a first home over the past 5 years knows the answer.
Or another way does Goldsmith have a rental while with a mortgage on his home?
It’s pretty obvious National prefers to pay down debt and then siphon out money for tax cuts – so they can buy another investment property. They think like looters.
If only Paul would go floundering. Something that requires actual physical and mental skill (dare I say talent). And if done sustainably within bag limits, achieves good things – feeding whanau and lots of delicate, buttery tastiness with chips and/or salad.
Sadly Paul is not that useful. Resembling a 1990's Alfa Romeo from the height of the Rogernomics era – superficially attractive, but shoddily-built, grotesquely unreliable and deadly if anything goes wrong.
Re latest outbreak of Covid from person who travelled in from India and has now possibly infected people from many parts of NZ
“Bloomfield said he did not think fear of Aucklanders was justified”
Fear of Aucklanders who travelled away from Auckland while in Level 3 and 2.5 and who have recently arrived in this country is justified.
It is justified until people arriving from countries in the grip of the Covid Pandemic are
1/ testing negative before leaving that country although I know it doesn,t mean they are 100% clear but it is a good start.
2/ do not rush off travelling around NZ catching up with families and friends as soon as they come out of quarantine because 14 days is only a probable indication that someone is not infected.
3/ and best would be not to allow anyone in from countries experiencing current high levels of Covid infection to begin with.
Once out of 14 day isolation a stay at home for a week (all members in the house to stay home for a week, everyone to get tested on day 6) and no travel out of the region for 2 weeks once the 1 week at home is completed.
If I heard correctly during the debate the other night Jacinda said that the number of returnees are slowing and that is what would give space for the 1000 essential workers a month. But if demand is slowing why not just reduce the number coming through and forget about the essential workers – that alone would help reduce risk.
Plus it's really starting to take off again overseas with the northern winter so yes lengthier quarantines and possible border closure plus strict auditing of the practices of all the airlines flying here – the news reports are unclear but one referred to a charter flight – plus maybe more pre quarantine before leaving to try to reduce the number of infections that actually get on the plane.
I for one have stopped trying to plan anything away from home.
Running a pre leaving quarantine in an airport hotel for a few days pre departure whilst not being perfect might help though. Plus testing of course. Airlines to include this with the fares package from high risk departure points.
How do you know the room has been cleaned properly, very little of the world is anywhere near as thorough as NZ, that's why its fun to travel and see what you can catch.
That's true about foreign diseases, I bought back bilharzia (parasitic flatworm in the bladder) from Malawi many moons ago and dengue fever came back with me from Cambodia a few years back.
explain this to me. Because lessening the number of people with covid getting on a plane seems like a no brainer. There are significant fairness and logistics issues that might make that not viable, but that's a different issue.
This conversation already happened a few weeks ago. A negative test means nothing of any value. Everyone needs to be handled as if they are infectious anyway.
that's not an explanation, it's an assertion (which is what I've seen a lot of).
Is there any chance of someone on a plane being infected by someone else on a plane with covid even where everyone is handled as if they are infectious?
I'm pretty sure it has been discussed before, when some politician or media opinionator blithely demanded everyone be tested before they come, so therefore there would be no need for quarantine (something like that).
Firstly, we have no control over the labs, or even whether the "test results" a passenger provides are genuine. Even an "accredited provider" could have an employee on the take.
Secondly, the gap between testing and travel can be an incubation period, or an opportunity to catch the disease.
Thirdly, they could catch it actively in transit. Especially as aircraft air conditioning is notoriously bad quality (to save fuel they suck in the minimum amount of fresh air).
Fourth, and most importantly, it doesn't really change anything, other than costing money to administer and monitor. We'd still need to quarantine everyone who arrives. It might not even lower the number of infected people coming in, depending on track and trace efforts in origin countries.
If it gets to the stage of "spit in a cup, two seconds later you get 99.99% (insane) accurate red light or green light at the boarding gate even if you just got exposed in the taxi to the airport", maybe it might be a better pandemic purchase than a million new masks. But then we'd be doing it for community surveillance first.
thanks McFlock. Much of that fits into the logistics make it not viable at this stage category, rather than it being a bad idea per se. If we put aside National's policy (which wasn't well thought out), and just look at if testing before getting on a plane could useful or not, I've yet to see the rationale for why not.
If the goal is to reduce transmission on the plane, then pre-travel testing may be useful once the tech, logistics and economics work.
McFlock very concisely explained the rationale – nothing to do with logistics:
Secondly, the gap between testing and travel can be an incubation period, or an opportunity to catch the disease.
Thirdly, they could catch it actively in transit. Especially as aircraft air conditioning is notoriously bad quality (to save fuel they suck in the minimum amount of fresh air).
Fourth, and most importantly, it doesn't really change anything, other than costing money to administer and monitor. We'd still need to quarantine everyone who arrives.
the point of testing before travel isn't to pick up all cases of covid, it's to lessen the risk of transmission from low symptom/pre symptomatic people (or people hiding/minimising symptoms). The point isn't to say negative tests = covid free or establish the plane as covid free (that's not possible), but to catch the positive tests and not let them on the plane.
So the first two points in your quote are irrelevant to what I am saying. The last point doesn't make sense, because anyone not let on the plane is one less person needing Q at this end.
Sure, but the case still hasn't been made against what I said. McFlock or someone else might pick it up, but it's going to keep coming up and I think telling people who are suggesting it that it's not useful doesn't work without a clear explanation. National's policy was easy to pick apart when it came out, but the general idea isn't going away.
If the tests are quick enough, airports are a logical place to run them.
Asian airports began running thermal cameras (to find passengers running fevers) way back in the swine flu days. It's a cheap unintrusive measure, and if it stops even a handful of further infections, it's worthwhile.
On the basis of our knowledge and understanding of viral infectivity and host response, we urge countries without the capacity to do molecular testing at scale to research the use of serology tests to triage symptomatic patients in community settings, to test contacts of confirmed cases, and in situational analysis and surveillance.
Though, as McFlock notes, we still need to maintain our isolation protocols.
It depends where you come from, which airline you travel with, and where you catch your connecting flight. For example:
Before you travel
Take a COVID-19 PCR test:
All passengers travelling to Dubai from any destination, including passengers connecting in Dubai, must have a printed negative COVID-19 PCR test certificate to be accepted on the flight.
The test must be taken a maximum of 96 hours before departure.
The certificate must be for a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. Other test certificates including antibody tests and home testing kits are not accepted in Dubai.
Bring an official, printed certificate to check-in – SMS and digital certificates are not accepted. Without a printed negative test certificate, you will not be accepted on the flight.
the point of testing before travel isn't to pick up all cases of covid, it's to lessen the risk of transmission from low symptom/pre symptomatic people (or people hiding/minimising symptoms).
But it doesn't actually change the situation at the NZ end. Flights will still be bringing in infected people. Everyone still needs to be quarantined.
Different actors have different priorities. Airlines need to minimise covid disruption to their workforce, so slow down the amount of time before the pursar gets infected. Testing might marginally help them do that.
NZ govt priority is to make sure that people getting off the plane don't release it into the community. So regardless of the preflight test result, everybody goes into isolation. It's even possible that mandatory preflight testing might not even effect NZ numbers at all, given the people who provide a negative 3 day test and positive towards the end of their isolation.
"But it doesn't actually change the situation at the NZ end"
Can you please explain how preventing someone from getting covid doesn't affect the NZ end? There's the person who doesn't have the illness and potentially end up disabled (or dead). And there's potentially one less person's need for ICU etc.
I understand the public health management perspective, but I don't understand the argument that the pragmatics of that mean there is no benefit at all. If someone gets on the plane with covid and infects another person on the plane, and that could have been prevented, is this not a good thing irrespective of how the prevention of spread is handled at the NZ end?
"NZ govt priority is to make sure that people getting off the plane don't release it into the community. So regardless of the preflight test result, everybody goes into isolation."
You do understand that this is completely irrelevant to what I am saying right? It's a given that everyone goes into isolation at the NZ end.
I don’t know but I assume that it is a combination of changing knowledge & information, PR & politics, and economic/profit motives. I believe airlines and airports can set their own rules as they see fit. I’ve read that some (?) countries require a negative test result less than 96 hours old upon boarding and some upon arrival, which can make a big difference on long-haul flights. Of course, it changes all the time …
Yes anyone going through a number of hubs (Dubai and Hong Kong plus possibly others im unaware of) are required to show a negative test before boarding their flight at departure point….however that test is up to 4 days old, and as has been pointed out by others there is the possibility of poor testing practice and false negatives (low viral load etc)….the regime however already exists and may add a marginal improvement in the numbers arriving in NZ without infection and all the implications of such.
NZ demanding a negative test before departure in addition to these hubs however presents problems for travellers (these are largely NZ nationals remember) in areas without easy access to testing for that marginal benefit.
It seems to me that the process as it currently operates is operating at both a practical and safe level …no process is going to be 100%.
The call strikes me as a beat up largely for political purpose.
Can you please explain how preventing someone from getting covid doesn't affect the NZ end? There's the person who doesn't have the illness and potentially end up disabled (or dead). And there's potentially one less person's need for ICU etc.
As I said, It's even possible that mandatory preflight testing might not even effect NZ numbers at all, given the people who provide a negative 3 day test and positive towards the end of their isolation.
If someone is severely ill, they're not travelling anyway.
If someone is a close contact, chances are that they've been identified and tested by the country of origin's public health service, anyway.
That leaves a narrow window of people who have it, are not yet symptomatic, have not been identified as a close contact, have not tripped any airline criteria or criteria in the country of origin, but would trip a further preflight test. It does nothing to identify the people who catch it on the ride to the airport. The likelihood is that testing with even a few hours turnaround would detect bugger all otherwise-undetected-until-in-NZ cases
An all it takes is thousands of staff hours to administer when they could be doing other stuff like contact tracing or procuring equipment for those ICU beds.
It sounds great. But it has no known benefit (how many cases it would actually prevent in the real world) and potentially astronomical costs (how to administer a system that is not easily compromised) and could well require some complex international cooperation (NZ oversight of labs? Do we test the people and ship the samples back here doubletime for testing – how to avoid customs delays? Or do we hope a certified form is as good as doing the job ourselves?).
Interesting observation since the debate. Quite voluntarily, people since then that I have come across have expressed their intense dislike for Judith Collins and the way she behaved. Hopefully that reaction is widespread.
After an MMP election, the politicians dick around working out who they are going to partner up with – it can take two or three weeks. Usually, the country carries on and, as my father say, it just shows how little we need politicians. But this time getting the politicians back to working again ASAP and making decisions about covid-19 is going to be vitally important – what happens if we have an outbreak while the politicians are negotiating about who is going to be in power? Who is going to be making decisions about going to level 2, 3 or 4?
In this time and place, we really need a definitive result before the end of election night.
It is a bit alarming – but I imagine one of the senior health officials has the powers to act without government instruction in what would be an emergency. If not, some combination of MoH and the military isolation staff should get a containment brief until the silly season is over.
Actually we spend 2 weeks waiting for the result (even longer this time). No government can be formed before then. But usually under MMP we have known who would lead the government already on election night (99, 02, 08, 11, 14).
2017 was the first time since 2005 that we had to wait for negotiations, and even then we knew Clark would be PM, but not who with.
But it won't be as bad (or as good?) as Belgium, which went almost 600 days without a government in 2010-11 and another year without one in 2018-19.
Whatever happens Ardern remains caretaker PM until she or someone else is sworn in by the Governor-General.
Decisions about alert level changes during that period would presumably require consultation with the leaders of the parties in the (new?) parliament. But if the election result is conclusive other parties couldn’t push their views too strongly.
I think Auckland people should have to stay in place not travel around. There are enough of them to make their own economy. The rest of NZ can visit them. I notice that Aucklanders have got the money to go visiting, and the sheer numbers of them and the propensity of that area to carry Covid 19 increases the likelihood of the disease being spread.
Keep them home, let them enjoy the wonderful, world class Auckland amenities on their doorstep. They can host whoever from the rest of the country and get business, and we'll take our chances on Covid-19 if we go there.
Also let's have a direction from MoH to keep wearing face masks. I notice little hand washing, mask wearing. We are getting casual about individual responsibility.
Diana tried to find a way to use her position and fame to act for better ways and helping humanity. Now Prince Harry and Meghan are getting the ire of the upper class twits in the UK and USA. It's not easy being green etc.
edit
Take a break from angry stress – let Jonathan Pie do it for you. This one from 2017 about the curbing of free speech by the people who believe in always being 'naice' and well-behaved – sort of like The Charge of the Light Brigade in the face of overwhelming fire.
Someone had blundered.
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die.
That's the spirit – no, no, wrong – don't show spirit, just grit teeth and carry on with the right behaviour like gutless little wimps. So Jonathan Pie gets exercised and shows how to be dynamically charged.
I think balance is what is needed, trying to decide where excess should be curbed but recognising that life is dynamic – we can't cope if we are milksops.
National has thrown caution to the wind in a last ditch attempt to increase their vote share at election time….suspect ACT is gaining too much of their support for comfort.
Reduced brightline test period
Tax cuts
Repealing much of Climate Act
Repealing much of water strategy
cancelling minimum wage increase
If ever anyone needed confirmation that a continuation of the failed migration/housing low wage imported growth model is all they have to offer then it has just been given.
National…governing for the top quintile since forever
At the very limits of our atmosphere, where life meets void, two vultures hang, fell-wings spread in a questioning-arc, poised, poisonous; the Eyebrows of Judith;
"National leader Judith Collins refused to criticise two of her MPs for circulating a fake quote from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Friday.
Collins said she didn’t think the MPs should take down their posts as they were “genuinely reflecting what they believe.”"
Matt King is for the future, at least the coming election. He shows the real calibre of their mob. A smartarse who will gather the votes of similar Northland boofheads.
As a teenager ,I remember the unusual looking Vernon Cracknell as the party leader in the 60's and thought he must be a crackpot with fuddy duddy ideas , sort of a crimplene suited joke
It's all about monetary reform and using the Reserve Bank to issue money to fund our Covid recovery .And clearly the policies don't stop there.
Modern monetary theory does seem to have become more topical
My first vote was for them back in 1978, FPP in most electorates meant nothing in those elections – and they were the ones speaking truth about global debt capitalism at the time. Democratic empowerment of the people, then and now was constrained by the expection that government was dependent on tax revenue or affordable levels of debt finance.
Look what the world has come to since then post GFC and the pandemic – it was always possible but only applied to save private sector capitalism and even now dismissed as a way to improve the well being of the people.
Winston Peters is one Maori who doesn't support the others trying to build a cohesive future for all Maori. He is corrupted by what he has achieved for himself.
He isn't funny or satirical like the black man playing out racist expectations in Blazing Saddles. He manages to show black and white attitudes in the one performance, when as the black Sheriff he is threatened by the stock black criminal.
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
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 ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
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Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Genterwocky After a hard days marching, Sir Doocey calls in at the Village Tavern For a pint of ale and a pork pie. The grim villagers stare at him. “Do not be travelling on the forest road,” warns a crusty old beak. “And why is that, antique peasant?” Grins Sir ...
Political conferences after a party returns to power are usually a chance for some healthy, even unhealthy backslapping. Yet National Party president Sylvia Wood’s address to its mainland representatives on Saturday hardly contained the unalloyed delight that one might have expected following National’s escape from the wilderness of opposition. Yes, ...
Comment: Almost half the world is voting in national elections this year and artificial intelligence is the elephant in the room. There are genuine fears AI-generated or AI-edited deepfakes will potentially manipulate election outcomes not just in the US and UK, but critically in countries such as India. For that ...
Ahead of the reality franchise’s return to New Zealand, allow us to introduce the eight brides and grooms. Chuck on a veil and tie back your man bun, because it’s time to say “I do” to a new season of Married at First Sight NZ. The reality TV “social experiment” ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Norton, Professor in the Practice of Higher Education Policy, Australian National University Every year on June 1, student debt in Australia is indexed to inflation. In 2023, high inflation pushed the indexation rate to 7.1%, the highest since 1990. This ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Changes in the May 14 budget will cut the student debt of more than three million people, wiping more than $3 billion from what people owe. The government will cap the HELP indexation rate ...
Asia Pacific Report The prosecutor’s office at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has appealed for an end to what it calls intimidation of its staff, saying such threats could constitute an offence against the “administration of justice” by the world’s permanent war crimes court. The Hague-based office of ICC Prosecutor ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk A women’s union in New Caledonia has staged a sit-in protest this week to support senior Kanak indigenous journalist Thérèse Waia, who works for public broadcaster Nouvelle-Calédonie la Première, after a smear attack by critics. The peaceful demonstration was held on ...
New Zealand Food Safety is monitoring overseas recalls of Indian packaged spice products manufactured by MDH and Everest due to concerns over a cancer-causing pesticide. ...
By Stephen Wright and Stefan Armbruster of BenarNews Fiji’s ranking in a global press freedom index has jumped into the top tier of countries with free or mostly free media after its government last year repealed a draconian law that threatened journalists with prison for doing their jobs. Fiji’s improvement ...
We might be in Invercargill but all anyone can talk about is Gore. Specifically, Salford Street. That’s where three-year-old Lachlan Jones lived, south of the centre of town, between the A&P Showgrounds and the Mataura River. Roughly 1.2 km away from the single level home he lived in with his ...
MONDAY I lined up the latest round of civil servants from city hall against the wall, and signalled for the firing squad to drop their rifles. I stepped up onto a wooden crate to look at the office workers in the eye. But that didn’t feel right, so I found ...
Keen hiker and second-year MSc student Liam Hewson wears two hats when he’s in the great outdoors. “The scientist in me appreciates nature and goes, ‘Oh, there’s that thing and there’s another thing,’ but then the tramper and the outdoorsy person in me thinks, ‘Cool bush.’” Born and bred in ...
After a long and illustrious career as a goal kicker, Dan Carter’s favourite way to unwind is… kicking goals. Why can’t he get enough of it? And what it’s like to watch him do it for an hour straight? A semicircle of people wielding cameras and phones has formed in ...
Dame Susan Devoy takes us through her life in television, including late night ER debriefs, her proudest CTI moment and the show she watches in secret. Quite aside from her four world champion squash titles, Dame Susan Devoy will likely go down in history as one of the best Celebrity ...
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ThreeNow’s new murder mystery series takes us on a dark, damp journey into the Australian wilderness.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. High Country is ThreeNow’s new Australian eight-part crime drama, set in a remote part of the Victorian highlands. It tells ...
Introducing a new way to read The Spinoff every weekend. After nearly 10 years of being an online magazine, we’re finally embracing the weekend liftout. Despite our best efforts to convince you otherwise, writers and editors at The Spinoff don’t work weekend. It is through the sheer power of technology ...
Tip one: let yourself be nurtured by this big old man. Tip two: don’t ask him to adopt you. So, you’ve arrived at your first session with a new therapist. He tells you to make yourself comfortable and you opt for the tweed armchair, hoping it makes you look like ...
I didn’t know books could open you back up; that there were books that stayed with you, where reading was like a chemical event. I knew nothing.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.Not too long ago, I was listening to the American ...
Former Olympic swimmer James Magnussen has already started training for the Enhanced games, though says he won’t start taking performance enhancing substances until about nine months out from the competition. The Australian world champion was the first athlete to be announced by Enhanced, but he says the organisation has had ...
Everyone thinks he’s dead. Every day they expect his body to be washed up along the coast. Most likely up Karitane way, the way the tide’s running. But nobody’ll be too surprised if his body’s never found. Even in death he wouldn’t have wished for such attention. He would have ...
Council members voted 21 to 4 in favour of Ahluwalia returning to the Laucala campus following a much-awaited meeting in Vanuatu this week. It comes as USP and its two unions — the Association of the University of the South Pacific Staff (AUSPS) and the Administration and Support Staff Union ...
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Does an MP need to have the permission of their party leader to do a private members bill?
What sort of private members bills would you want to have drawn for new or change of legislation?
I want to see historical sexual assault cases have their own separate legislation and the Limitations Act to have no time limit for a schedule 3 ACC claim under the 1961 Crimes Act. As well a separate entity with funding for lawyers, a one stop shop so a person does not need to deal with multiple agencies.
It takes on average 18 years for a person to disclose a sexual assault. Odd that is how long it took me.
Unfit for purpose legislation is re abusing claimants and it is up to every politician to fix this. I also feel that discrimination is occurring with an historical case compared to a case which the Limitations Act will cover.
They certainly need to consult with their caucus, or they won't get it passed.
But sexual assault legislation changes will almost certainly come out of the Commission which is going through Hearings at the moment.
No need for a private members' bill in that area.
The word private has been dropped now from a members bill.
I disagree with you on not needing a members bill. It will take 5 years to see new and fit for purpose legislation.
I was sad to hear that a man who was to appear in April at the Abuse in Care Royal Commission he died in March. Interim legislation needs to be urgently passed. I don't care which party does it, it needs to be a priority. This will send a clear message to an agency who did not take action to stop offending. The sick old legislation will no longer protect you.
Timing will just have to wait for the priority list for the new government, once the Commission is done.
It won't get done any faster as a private members bill – precisely because any attempt would get absorbed into the Government's own legislative response, as usually happens.
The Abuse of Care Royal Commission Inquiry is highlighting historical sexual, physical and psychological cases of abuse. People like me are being excluded because the crime did not occur in a care home.
As well there is some overlap with state care and non state care psychiatric admission.
Am I correct that only children who were abused (sexually, physically and psychologically) in state care can only appear at the inquiry?
I am pleased that finally the children who are now adults who were in state care have a voice.
There is no time statute of limitations on reporting sexual violence or charging someone with sexual violence offences.
Additionally, there is no time limitations on claims to ACC for historical sexual abuse.
A person, recent or historical victim, does not have to file a Complaint with Police to qualify for an ACC injury payout for sexual abuse.
There are agencies who are like a one stop shop. A victim can be supported through processes they choose. An approved provider of 'counselling' type services is needed for the process of assessment for ACC claims. Services are free for victims.
Should a victim wish to proceed with a police complaint , there is no lawyer needed to be paid for by the victim.
I knew everything you said.
There are a lot of related aspects which are relevant to PTSD which are not covered when it comes to getting cover from ACC for sexual crimes which fuel the PTSD.
In the work place you told your employer and they failed to act and due to the Limitations Act time frame running out you cannot take legal action against your employer for the cover up. The awareness today is so different to an historical case.
See the Mariya Taylor case.
Aye a family member was raped in her workplace when she was 17 by a client of her employer. The national organisation basically covered it up. This was in the 80's. Only now has she got some counselling for her ongoing PTSD. No support at all for wages and an inability to work cause she wasn't working when she finally sought help due to all the stress her and her other family members were under. By then she was simply not able to work and had been unwell for a long time.
A friend was groped repeatedly while at the photocopier by an employer who also used to run himself against her buttocks as well. She left that job and 20+ years later still shakes when anyone mentions that employer who is quite often on TV or in the press. She lost her career at a young age and has had mental health difficulties ever since.
There are many who have suffered for a long time.
Just as the generation before suffered hideously from marital rape – particularly as for many of them they had no means of support. The stories of being sent back to the new marital home by parents with the "you made your bed you sleep in it" refrain echoing in their ears was certainly true for many.
There is a strong history of damage done to women in this country through sexual assault. It would be useful to have an enquiry to understand more deeply the numbers and impacts of this while there are still those left from earlier generations.
Thank you for your comment. I put it this way, the damage that sexual assault causes the psychology has finally caught up with the incident/s. Sadly the Limitations Act has expired for far to many to make a civil claim and ACC does not compensate for not being able to sue for a mental injury.
Note: I do hope I have got my facts straight when it comes to ACC ONLY covering a schedule 3 incident under the Crimes Act 1961.
I did not make myself as clear as I needed to. It is about changing civil claims against the state or an employer for not taking action and civil litigation in the courts when the issue was sexual, physical or psychological abuse.
Some cases cannot be separated because the effects of the sexual, physical or psychological abuse are fuelled by the cover up or a civil case not going forward due to the Limitations Act time frame expiring.
'National Party leader Judith Collins is hitting back at attacks from the Left on her agriculture policy, saying the Greens are being "hysterical". '
'She is also accusing Labour leader Jacinda Ardern of "going for the jugular" by saying the National Party had changed its position on climate change. '
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/decision-2020/collins-targets-%E2%80%98stupider-stuff%E2%80%99
So….Jacinda's "going for the jugular"?
Judith, Judith, Judith. Kinda sounds like hysterical hyperbole : )
As I suggest on yesterday's Daily Review it looks to me like Judith might not be doing too well and the over-reaction and tears as you point out PLA, might hint at failure to cope as well as a hardened "tough" politician would expect. Meanwhile in spite of huge problems faced and dealt to, Jacinda carries on in confidence.
I don't like the word 'confidence' in connection with politicians. That is the approach that National uses – being confident – and it's 90% likely that everything they say confidently will be a load of s..t. A con man or woman is a term short for confidence trickster.
Perhaps we could say that Jacinda is staunch – for good policies that work and for improving and encouraging treatment of the low-income, and micro businesses.
staunch –
1. very loyal and committed in attitude.
Similar:stalwart loyal faithful
trusty committed
devoted dedicated
dependable reliable
steady constant
hard-working vigorous
stable firm
steadfast redoubtable
resolute
2. (of a wall) of strong or firm construction.
“these staunch walls could withstand attack by cannon”
And she also has Proven Credibility : )
Psy…
Collins et al – Proven Incredibility!
lol….they really are floundering. I'd feel sorry …No, not at all : ) I just hope Jacinda is gonna get a bit of rest and chill time. She sure EARNED it !
Perhaps we can use the word confident despite your reservations.
I wouldn't attempt to argue about that Gabby.
Would that be why judith timed her meet and greet in Punakaiki to finish around 15mins before Jacinda arrived in Punakaiki?
I find the timing of judith's visit there today strange. It's a really small location and there was no special occasion happening.
just three days ago, herald headline was "collins call jacinda, poor wee thing" now its"jacinda going for the jugular". the really interesting point, is that collins is talking about jacinda, not other way round. when your narrative is all about your opponent, even you know youve lost.
Although if you can't even work out what that narrative is, there's a decent possibility that you haven't noticed.
This morning I woke up at 6.15am with it being nice and light outside. It was glorious.
Then sadness kicked in when I realised the artifical construct that is Daylight Saving, invented by the Germans, starts on Sunday leading NZ back into the dark ages. No more sunrise until an hour later. Fatigue and a sense of tiredness kicking in for a good two weeks as everyones circadian rhythms get knocked out of whack.
Daylight saving should be scrapped. Permanently. NZ doesn't need it as without it, sunset still wouldn't be until anywhere between 8pm – 9pm, thus rendering the age old argument "but we need more light after work" completely moot.
Of course, NZers love status quo, so I would 100% support a one year moratorium on daylight saving so that NZers could actually experience a proper summer without artifical time shifts. It hasn't done so since 1927. Once that moratorium is over people will then have an informed decision as to whether DS should stay, or be scrapped, or shortened to start somewhere from Labour Weekend. At the moment, it starts way too early. Farmers loathe it.
I for one avail myself of the flexible working hour provisions to shift my start and end times at work to an hour later so I don't bother changing my clocks. I find I'm far less affected than everyone else at work because I stick to normal time and I feel much better for it.
Daylight saving is popular, but has no purpose.
Daylight saving (time) has its pluses (hence popular) and minuses (the extra light causes my curtains to fade!) I found it beneficial on occasion while employed, but really wouldn't miss it now I've retired.
https://www.govt.nz/browse/recreation-and-the-environment/daylight-saving/public-attitudes-to-daylight-saving/ [link to 2008 survey]
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/116204765/little-political-appetite-for-abolishing-daylight-savings [Oct. 2019 article]
There's actually no extra light. The amount of sunshine hours remains the same so the curtain principle is a misnomer.
The only thing that changes is the false equivalence that there is "more" daylight at the end of the working day thanks to the completely artificial and unnecessary time shift.
Thanks James – I found 'daylight saving' useful/helpful/beneficial on occasion. Wouldn't miss it now, although that's just a personal (minority) view.
If you pull your curtains across at a set time, say 7 pm, then with daylight saving they get an hours extra daylight on them. It would be balanced by getting an hours less in the morning but that only works if the sun light strikes them in the morning as well as the evening i.e. they face the right way for that to happen.
Of course, the person could delay pulling their curtains across but maybe they need the room dark to watch Shortland Street.
'The Germans' (well, the federal government of Germany), of course, favour a permanent switch to daylight saving, not the abolition of it.
“Daylight saving should be scrapped”
+100
I'm retired, so it makes little difference to me now, but my sadness used to be at the end of summer when we lost the daylight hours at the end of the day. My way of 'destressing' if I'd had issues during the day at work was to come home and work in the garden – pulling up weeds was especially satisfying! It was very sad when I would lose that every year
Sorry James but I love daylight saving….those long warm summer evenings.
We have had a permanent 30 minute daylight saving in NZ since the 1940s. Midday is 12:30pm.
.
Yeah … but wasn't it Sandy Edmonds herself who informed us way back in 1967:
"Oh, Daylight Saving Time, you're going to give me more time to find love with my Bay-bee" ?
Wise words indeed.
I'm with you James. I would far rather have the hour of daylight during the day and not late in the evening. I spend the summer throwing imaginary poisoned darts at an imagined effigy of Peter Dunne who was responsible for extending D.S by two weeks at both ends. He did so without consulting the public first – the bastard. 👿
Id vote for the party who has a policy whereby, you can save up all of your unwanted saved daylight and sell it to some nightshift workers.
woodart
Apparently not:
Of course, that may be someone's attempt to claim fame and put a minor town on the map so to speak.
This statement:
really needs to be the other way around:
To conserve energy by making better use of daylight.
Then there's the question of if it actually works:
The fact that it was discontinued 1946 and then re-introduced in 75 may indicate that it does work for saving electricity in NZ.
Or, it could just be that people liked it.
It's a frigging horrible idea, and it was typical of fright wig bowtie boy Dunne to make a bad idea worse.
"Paul Goldsmith is floundering", Labour's Grant Robertson says.
Goldsmith says he doesn't "accept that at all".
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/426859/national-says-fiscal-plan-stacks-up-after-labour-insists-there-s-another-mistake
Welll…denial aint a river in Egypt : )
Pauley's a willing servant who knows he's in way over his head with no signs of surfacing.
He represents their lack of depth once you look beyond the bluster front of JC/GB as another career trougher who's coat tailed the likes of Banksy.
However, this theme has little to do with with the budget and a lot to do with projecting a lack of credibility on Goldsmith. The budget is still a forecast so its too early to claim whos figures are right and whos are mistaken (probably both will be way off).
Its quite funny to see the claim by Robertson that there are serious consequences for such mistakes in the budget while in office. This is because the 'mistake' occurred by using figures from a previous budget so exactly the same magnitude of mistake was made by Robertsons govt in office during that previous budget. Will there be consequences? No, will there be further revisions, yes every 6 months.
And how is his Credibility looking? You know ….as a Potential NZ Finance Minister an all : )
Credibility is not that important to me (and no I am in no danger of voting for National). I am just suggesting your being sucked into a partizan narrative which don't rest on anything concrete.
"Credibility is not that important to me" ? Surely you jest : ) As Credibility…
"Credibility has two key components: trustworthiness and expertise, which both have objective and subjective components."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credibility
you know…
Not at all. Russell Norman lost his credibility when he highlighted that the RBNZ could implement QE to assist the country. It clearly now could and has.
Actually, I think that there is evidence of where National's policies have been bad for the economy but that this ain't that evidence.
What Robertson should be doing is pointing to National's similar policies from before and show the deleterious effect that they had rather than this see, he got the numbers wrong approach which, as you say, isn't really proving anything except that Robertson's a dick.
"proving anything except that Robertson's a dick" Well…maybe to you and Nic the Not national voter..
Robertson ,and I'm pretty sure the Labour Govt (and Voters) are quite within their rights to ponder on a Potential Finance Ministers competence.
: )
Robertson's using belittling tactics which is a dick move especially when it really is a fact that the numbers really are inconsequential.
And I'm on record as saying his competence is in question because it would only have taken the use of a simple search/replace function in a spreadsheet to get the numbers right.
It is a dick move, yes, but it's also rubbing National's collective face in the excrement of its own narrative that it is better at managing the economy, because it can do difficult things like accountancy and reading spreadsheets and stuff. It would be unfair for Labour to claim that it is better because it can do those things mroe competently, but it is entirely fair for it to hold National to that standard (even if it's still a dick move).
Nic has a valid point however , competent or not both are trying to sell a message based on wishful thinking by crystal ball gazers at Treasury….garbage in garbage out.
Stuffing up the numbers on that scale seems concrete enough.
The numbers are less then half a percent of the budget, less than a rounding error.
If only they were just rounding errors. It also depends on how/where you round, e.g. to the nearest billion.
Look, at the end of the day, pretty ok is ok enough for National just as pretty legal was ok. And if National’s economic
shamblesplan is genuinely reflecting what Paora believes then that’s ok with Judith. Apparently. And if it’s ok with Judith thenthe great unwashedthe plebswe must be ok with it too because National MPs are our natural leaders. Plus they have a richimaginationtradition in creating holes out of nothing.That, Incognito is priceless. Lol
The differences are largely due to updates between the budget and the pre election budget update, so the scale of his differences is the same as the scale of the treasury revisions.
Its also clear this scale of error is completely inconsequential compared to how far the countries budget shifted due to the GFC and Covid lockdowns. If your not able to see those kinds of budget shifts there is hardely any point being concerned about 4 billion one way or the other in 14 years time.
We could consider
Bill English put no money into the NZSF, if he had the government would be about $10B better off than it is now (you know $10B more in the fund than the inputs).
Goldsmith thinks by doing the same he will have our debt lower than Labour by 2035, so how clever is he and National.
Having debt **** dollars lower when that **** would multiply in the NZSF (and you know debt is real cheap at the moment and that means rising asset values) is not the smart play.
Put it this way – property investors can pay down debt while mortgage costs are cheap, or they can borrow more and buy another property. Which one delivers the better return? Anyone trying to buy a first home over the past 5 years knows the answer.
Or another way does Goldsmith have a rental while with a mortgage on his home?
It’s pretty obvious National prefers to pay down debt and then siphon out money for tax cuts – so they can buy another investment property. They think like looters.
"Paul Goldsmith is floundering"
If only Paul would go floundering. Something that requires actual physical and mental skill (dare I say talent). And if done sustainably within bag limits, achieves good things – feeding whanau and lots of delicate, buttery tastiness with chips and/or salad.
Sadly Paul is not that useful. Resembling a 1990's Alfa Romeo from the height of the Rogernomics era – superficially attractive, but shoddily-built, grotesquely unreliable and deadly if anything goes wrong.
denial isnt a river in egypt, but dont think there is anywhere to flounder in epsom. flounce, yes, founder probably.
Re latest outbreak of Covid from person who travelled in from India and has now possibly infected people from many parts of NZ
“Bloomfield said he did not think fear of Aucklanders was justified”
Fear of Aucklanders who travelled away from Auckland while in Level 3 and 2.5 and who have recently arrived in this country is justified.
It is justified until people arriving from countries in the grip of the Covid Pandemic are
1/ testing negative before leaving that country although I know it doesn,t mean they are 100% clear but it is a good start.
2/ do not rush off travelling around NZ catching up with families and friends as soon as they come out of quarantine because 14 days is only a probable indication that someone is not infected.
3/ and best would be not to allow anyone in from countries experiencing current high levels of Covid infection to begin with.
Once out of 14 day isolation a stay at home for a week (all members in the house to stay home for a week, everyone to get tested on day 6) and no travel out of the region for 2 weeks once the 1 week at home is completed.
If I heard correctly during the debate the other night Jacinda said that the number of returnees are slowing and that is what would give space for the 1000 essential workers a month. But if demand is slowing why not just reduce the number coming through and forget about the essential workers – that alone would help reduce risk.
Plus it's really starting to take off again overseas with the northern winter so yes lengthier quarantines and possible border closure plus strict auditing of the practices of all the airlines flying here – the news reports are unclear but one referred to a charter flight – plus maybe more pre quarantine before leaving to try to reduce the number of infections that actually get on the plane.
I for one have stopped trying to plan anything away from home.
Already happening in the transit hubs..i.e Dubai and HongKong….you cant board without a negative test result if transiting through these hubs
No. It means nothing. Just sounds good when people say it, hence Nats doing so.
Running a pre leaving quarantine in an airport hotel for a few days pre departure whilst not being perfect might help though. Plus testing of course. Airlines to include this with the fares package from high risk departure points.
A few days, also nothing.
How do you know the room has been cleaned properly, very little of the world is anywhere near as thorough as NZ, that's why its fun to travel and see what you can catch.
That's true about foreign diseases, I bought back bilharzia (parasitic flatworm in the bladder) from Malawi many moons ago and dengue fever came back with me from Cambodia a few years back.
And we could train ourselves some of these dogs to use as well. Maybe fly them offshore to sniff out the boarding passengers.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/24/close-to-100-accuracy-airport-enlists-sniffer-dogs-to-test-for-covid-19
I thought animals could catch it. We wouldn't want to encourage the nasty to jump the species barrier. So no sniffers I think. But good try.
This is a job for the Hero Rats.
Yes, animals can get infected with Covid-19.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/animals.html
Apparently not through sweat samples.
explain this to me. Because lessening the number of people with covid getting on a plane seems like a no brainer. There are significant fairness and logistics issues that might make that not viable, but that's a different issue.
This conversation already happened a few weeks ago. A negative test means nothing of any value. Everyone needs to be handled as if they are infectious anyway.
that's not an explanation, it's an assertion (which is what I've seen a lot of).
Is there any chance of someone on a plane being infected by someone else on a plane with covid even where everyone is handled as if they are infectious?
This has already been explained here.
not that I've seen, at least not adequately.
I'm pretty sure it has been discussed before, when some politician or media opinionator blithely demanded everyone be tested before they come, so therefore there would be no need for quarantine (something like that).
Firstly, we have no control over the labs, or even whether the "test results" a passenger provides are genuine. Even an "accredited provider" could have an employee on the take.
Secondly, the gap between testing and travel can be an incubation period, or an opportunity to catch the disease.
Thirdly, they could catch it actively in transit. Especially as aircraft air conditioning is notoriously bad quality (to save fuel they suck in the minimum amount of fresh air).
Fourth, and most importantly, it doesn't really change anything, other than costing money to administer and monitor. We'd still need to quarantine everyone who arrives. It might not even lower the number of infected people coming in, depending on track and trace efforts in origin countries.
If it gets to the stage of "spit in a cup, two seconds later you get 99.99% (insane) accurate red light or green light at the boarding gate even if you just got exposed in the taxi to the airport", maybe it might be a better pandemic purchase than a million new masks. But then we'd be doing it for community surveillance first.
Thank you.
thanks McFlock. Much of that fits into the logistics make it not viable at this stage category, rather than it being a bad idea per se. If we put aside National's policy (which wasn't well thought out), and just look at if testing before getting on a plane could useful or not, I've yet to see the rationale for why not.
If the goal is to reduce transmission on the plane, then pre-travel testing may be useful once the tech, logistics and economics work.
McFlock very concisely explained the rationale – nothing to do with logistics:
the point of testing before travel isn't to pick up all cases of covid, it's to lessen the risk of transmission from low symptom/pre symptomatic people (or people hiding/minimising symptoms). The point isn't to say negative tests = covid free or establish the plane as covid free (that's not possible), but to catch the positive tests and not let them on the plane.
So the first two points in your quote are irrelevant to what I am saying. The last point doesn't make sense, because anyone not let on the plane is one less person needing Q at this end.
I can't be bothered arguing about this when it has been discussed before. Enjoy your day.
Sure, but the case still hasn't been made against what I said. McFlock or someone else might pick it up, but it's going to keep coming up and I think telling people who are suggesting it that it's not useful doesn't work without a clear explanation. National's policy was easy to pick apart when it came out, but the general idea isn't going away.
If the tests are quick enough, airports are a logical place to run them.
Asian airports began running thermal cameras (to find passengers running fevers) way back in the swine flu days. It's a cheap unintrusive measure, and if it stops even a handful of further infections, it's worthwhile.
Serology tests make sense also
On the basis of our knowledge and understanding of viral infectivity and host response, we urge countries without the capacity to do molecular testing at scale to research the use of serology tests to triage symptomatic patients in community settings, to test contacts of confirmed cases, and in situational analysis and surveillance.
Though, as McFlock notes, we still need to maintain our isolation protocols.
It depends where you come from, which airline you travel with, and where you catch your connecting flight. For example:
https://www.emirates.com/nz/english/help/covid-19/dubai-travel-requirements/tourists/
These requirements change all the time!
But it doesn't actually change the situation at the NZ end. Flights will still be bringing in infected people. Everyone still needs to be quarantined.
Different actors have different priorities. Airlines need to minimise covid disruption to their workforce, so slow down the amount of time before the pursar gets infected. Testing might marginally help them do that.
NZ govt priority is to make sure that people getting off the plane don't release it into the community. So regardless of the preflight test result, everybody goes into isolation. It's even possible that mandatory preflight testing might not even effect NZ numbers at all, given the people who provide a negative 3 day test and positive towards the end of their isolation.
"But it doesn't actually change the situation at the NZ end"
Can you please explain how preventing someone from getting covid doesn't affect the NZ end? There's the person who doesn't have the illness and potentially end up disabled (or dead). And there's potentially one less person's need for ICU etc.
I understand the public health management perspective, but I don't understand the argument that the pragmatics of that mean there is no benefit at all. If someone gets on the plane with covid and infects another person on the plane, and that could have been prevented, is this not a good thing irrespective of how the prevention of spread is handled at the NZ end?
"NZ govt priority is to make sure that people getting off the plane don't release it into the community. So regardless of the preflight test result, everybody goes into isolation."
You do understand that this is completely irrelevant to what I am saying right? It's a given that everyone goes into isolation at the NZ end.
Incognitio, is that change because of better knowledge of how covid works? Or changes in govt covid response?
I don’t know but I assume that it is a combination of changing knowledge & information, PR & politics, and economic/profit motives. I believe airlines and airports can set their own rules as they see fit. I’ve read that some (?) countries require a negative test result less than 96 hours old upon boarding and some upon arrival, which can make a big difference on long-haul flights. Of course, it changes all the time …
Stuart, that's from July, would be interesting to see what the position is now.
@ incognito
Yes anyone going through a number of hubs (Dubai and Hong Kong plus possibly others im unaware of) are required to show a negative test before boarding their flight at departure point….however that test is up to 4 days old, and as has been pointed out by others there is the possibility of poor testing practice and false negatives (low viral load etc)….the regime however already exists and may add a marginal improvement in the numbers arriving in NZ without infection and all the implications of such.
NZ demanding a negative test before departure in addition to these hubs however presents problems for travellers (these are largely NZ nationals remember) in areas without easy access to testing for that marginal benefit.
It seems to me that the process as it currently operates is operating at both a practical and safe level …no process is going to be 100%.
The call strikes me as a beat up largely for political purpose.
As I said, It's even possible that mandatory preflight testing might not even effect NZ numbers at all, given the people who provide a negative 3 day test and positive towards the end of their isolation.
If someone is severely ill, they're not travelling anyway.
If someone is a close contact, chances are that they've been identified and tested by the country of origin's public health service, anyway.
That leaves a narrow window of people who have it, are not yet symptomatic, have not been identified as a close contact, have not tripped any airline criteria or criteria in the country of origin, but would trip a further preflight test. It does nothing to identify the people who catch it on the ride to the airport. The likelihood is that testing with even a few hours turnaround would detect bugger all otherwise-undetected-until-in-NZ cases
An all it takes is thousands of staff hours to administer when they could be doing other stuff like contact tracing or procuring equipment for those ICU beds.
It sounds great. But it has no known benefit (how many cases it would actually prevent in the real world) and potentially astronomical costs (how to administer a system that is not easily compromised) and could well require some complex international cooperation (NZ oversight of labs? Do we test the people and ship the samples back here doubletime for testing – how to avoid customs delays? Or do we hope a certified form is as good as doing the job ourselves?).
Interesting observation since the debate. Quite voluntarily, people since then that I have come across have expressed their intense dislike for Judith Collins and the way she behaved. Hopefully that reaction is widespread.
Both Ardern and Collins were just being themselves, so that reaction is natural – what we (NZers) see is what we (will/would) get.
After an MMP election, the politicians dick around working out who they are going to partner up with – it can take two or three weeks. Usually, the country carries on and, as my father say, it just shows how little we need politicians. But this time getting the politicians back to working again ASAP and making decisions about covid-19 is going to be vitally important – what happens if we have an outbreak while the politicians are negotiating about who is going to be in power? Who is going to be making decisions about going to level 2, 3 or 4?
In this time and place, we really need a definitive result before the end of election night.
It is a bit alarming – but I imagine one of the senior health officials has the powers to act without government instruction in what would be an emergency. If not, some combination of MoH and the military isolation staff should get a containment brief until the silly season is over.
Actually we spend 2 weeks waiting for the result (even longer this time). No government can be formed before then. But usually under MMP we have known who would lead the government already on election night (99, 02, 08, 11, 14).
2017 was the first time since 2005 that we had to wait for negotiations, and even then we knew Clark would be PM, but not who with.
But it won't be as bad (or as good?) as Belgium, which went almost 600 days without a government in 2010-11 and another year without one in 2018-19.
Whatever happens Ardern remains caretaker PM until she or someone else is sworn in by the Governor-General.
Decisions about alert level changes during that period would presumably require consultation with the leaders of the parties in the (new?) parliament. But if the election result is conclusive other parties couldn’t push their views too strongly.
That's right – Ardern is caretaker PM, and the caretaker convention applies, as always.
This is the case even if Labour get 99% of the vote on election night. There is no result. There never is on election night.
I think Auckland people should have to stay in place not travel around. There are enough of them to make their own economy. The rest of NZ can visit them. I notice that Aucklanders have got the money to go visiting, and the sheer numbers of them and the propensity of that area to carry Covid 19 increases the likelihood of the disease being spread.
Keep them home, let them enjoy the wonderful, world class Auckland amenities on their doorstep. They can host whoever from the rest of the country and get business, and we'll take our chances on Covid-19 if we go there.
Also let's have a direction from MoH to keep wearing face masks. I notice little hand washing, mask wearing. We are getting casual about individual responsibility.
At least keep them out of Te Wai Pounamu,. How long is it now that we have not had a community case ..120+days ?.
Diana tried to find a way to use her position and fame to act for better ways and helping humanity. Now Prince Harry and Meghan are getting the ire of the upper class twits in the UK and USA. It's not easy being green etc.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2020/09/23/hard-see-way-back-royal-family-harry-meghan-risky-decision-appear/?
It’s hard to see any way back into the Royal family for Harry and Meghan after risky decision to appear in US voting video
It’s one thing for Meghan to nail her political colours to the mast – but quite another for Prince Harry to do the same…
About: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have caused plenty of controversy recently, but now the couple have drawn the ire of President Donald Trump by appearing together in a US voter registration drive video. Camilla Tominey explains why the move could prove a point of no return for the Duke.
edit
Take a break from angry stress – let Jonathan Pie do it for you. This one from 2017 about the curbing of free speech by the people who believe in always being 'naice' and well-behaved – sort of like The Charge of the Light Brigade in the face of overwhelming fire.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45319/the-charge-of-the-light-brigade
That's the spirit – no, no, wrong – don't show spirit, just grit teeth and carry on with the right behaviour like gutless little wimps. So Jonathan Pie gets exercised and shows how to be dynamically charged.
I think balance is what is needed, trying to decide where excess should be curbed but recognising that life is dynamic – we can't cope if we are milksops.
National has thrown caution to the wind in a last ditch attempt to increase their vote share at election time….suspect ACT is gaining too much of their support for comfort.
Reduced brightline test period
Tax cuts
Repealing much of Climate Act
Repealing much of water strategy
cancelling minimum wage increase
If ever anyone needed confirmation that a continuation of the failed migration/housing low wage imported growth model is all they have to offer then it has just been given.
National…governing for the top quintile since forever
We knew they would.
but hoped they wouldnt
Vain hope.
sadly yes
With the school holidays upon us, to all the parents, grandparents, caregivers etc out there…. may the force be with you for the next two weeks
Go it with some bright blues and pazazz just like the Blues Brothers being good.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHV0zs0kVGg
Have a Happy Day with choir of children and then nuns and Whoopi Goldberg:
At the very limits of our atmosphere, where life meets void, two vultures hang, fell-wings spread in a questioning-arc, poised, poisonous; the Eyebrows of Judith;
"National leader Judith Collins refused to criticise two of her MPs for circulating a fake quote from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Friday.
Collins said she didn’t think the MPs should take down their posts as they were “genuinely reflecting what they believe.”"
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300116953/election-2020-judith-collins-refuses-to-condemn-false-quote-posted-by-her-mps
Like Trump before her, Collins is not shy about warning people about what they would get if elected.
Of course it may be that Collins knows that she could not control her caucus especially since she leads by awful example.
I genuinely believe that Matt King and Harete Hipango are things of the past.
Matt King is for the future, at least the coming election. He shows the real calibre of their mob. A smartarse who will gather the votes of similar Northland boofheads.
Fish flapping forlornly on the dry sands of history.
This is extraordinary
The only political party in NZ that has actually mentioned Julian Assange's name
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO2009/S00193/social-credit-condemns-assange-show-trial.htm
I thought Social Credit expired back in the 80's.
As a teenager ,I remember the unusual looking Vernon Cracknell as the party leader in the 60's and thought he must be a crackpot with fuddy duddy ideas , sort of a crimplene suited joke
It's all about monetary reform and using the Reserve Bank to issue money to fund our Covid recovery .And clearly the policies don't stop there.
Modern monetary theory does seem to have become more topical
Interesting
https://www.socialcredit.nz/
What an extraordinary plethora of small parties have been thrown up by Covid
I've never seen so many billboards in the paddocks surrounding our small rural town
My first vote was for them back in 1978, FPP in most electorates meant nothing in those elections – and they were the ones speaking truth about global debt capitalism at the time. Democratic empowerment of the people, then and now was constrained by the expection that government was dependent on tax revenue or affordable levels of debt finance.
Look what the world has come to since then post GFC and the pandemic – it was always possible but only applied to save private sector capitalism and even now dismissed as a way to improve the well being of the people.
It does seem to me that now is the time for a totally different approach to what money is about
After all it's a human construct, not a physical law
Matt Robson, big ups for his support for Assange as well. A man of principle.
Winston Peters is one Maori who doesn't support the others trying to build a cohesive future for all Maori. He is corrupted by what he has achieved for himself.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/426907/winston-peters-says-nz-first-staved-off-any-action-on-ihumatao-before-election
He isn't funny or satirical like the black man playing out racist expectations in Blazing Saddles. He manages to show black and white attitudes in the one performance, when as the black Sheriff he is threatened by the stock black criminal.
He's Establishment. He'll tolerate no threats to his comfy perch.
Establishment – a useful word that we haven't used much.
Sir David Attenborough…94 years old! What a Man. Worthy of that descriptor. A lifetimes Wealth of Wisdom. .
We ignore at our peril…
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/entertainment/2020/09/david-attenborough-s-a-life-on-our-planet-an-obituary-for-the-earth.html