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.
‘It has been said that figures rule the world. Maybe. I am quite sure that it is figures which show us whether it is being ruled well or badly.’ GoetheI was struck at a recent conference on equity for the elderly, how many presenters implicitly relied upon Statistics New Zealand. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveReporting on defence spending late last year, RNZ said the coalition government will have to make some tough calls this term to help the force address staff shortages and ageing infrastructure. “These are huge, huge amounts of government spending. It’s a significant proportion of the government’s ...
Peter Dunne writes – I am always wary when I hear that the Controller and Auditor-General has commented on or made recommendations to the government about an issue of public policy that does not relate strictly to public expenditure. According to the legislation, the role of the Controller ...
How Labour’s and National’s failure to move beyond neoliberalism has brought NZ to the brink of economic and cultural chaos Chris Trotter writes – TO START LOSING, so soon after you won, requires a special kind of political incompetence. At the heart of this Coalition ...
And why did the Crown not challenge the Tribunal’s jurisdiction? Gary Judd writes – Retired District Court Judge, David Harvey, has posted on his A Halflings View Substack an excellent summary of Justice Isacs’ judgment declining to uphold the witness summons issued by the Waitangi Tribunal ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result?As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and ...
Macklemore isn’t someone I’d usually think about. Sure I liked his big hit from a few years back, everybody did it was catchy and cool with some memorable lines. But if I was going to think of artists who might speak out on political matters or world events, he wouldn’t ...
Another week goes by in the Luxon government’s efforts to roll back the past 70 years of social progress. The school lunches programme is to be downgraded by $107 million, and women need bother their heads no longer about pay equity, let alone expect ACC to provide adequate sexual violence ...
Brrr, the first cold snap of the year. Hope you’re rugged up nice and warm. Here are some stories that caught our eye this week… This Week on Greater Auckland On Monday, we had a post from a new contributor, Connor Sharp, who dug into the public feedback ...
Almost all of the Wellington City Council’s recommended zoning changes to allow many more apartments and townhouses in its inner-suburbs have been approved.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guest on geopolitics, ...
Open access notablesA Global Increase in Nearshore Tropical Cyclone Intensification, Balaguru et al., Earth's Future:Tropical Cyclones (TCs) inflict substantial coastal damages, making it pertinent to understand changing storm characteristics in the important nearshore region. Past work examined several aspects of TCs relevant for impacts in coastal regions. However, ...
Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result? As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and always answered “yes”, with very few ...
Thus far May has followed on from a quiet April in the blogging department, but in fairness, it has been another case of doing what I am supposed to be doing, namely writing original fiction. Plus reading. So don’t worry – I have been productive. But in order to reassure ...
Buzz from the Beehive A new government agency will open for business on July 1 – the Social Investment Agency. As a new standalone central agency effective from 1 July, it will lead the development of social investment across Government, helping ministers understand who they need to invest in, what ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The ...
Alwyn Poole writes – After being elected to Parliament in 2008 the maiden speech of Hipkins was substantially around education policy. He was Labour’s spokesperson for education 2011 – 2017. He was Minister for Education from 2017 until February 2023. This is approximately 88% of the time Labour ...
Eric Crampton writes – A fashion industry group is lobbying for protections. They make the usual arguments and a newer one. None of it makes sense. An industry group says it pumped $7.8 billion into the economy last year – that’s 1.9 percent of New Zealand’s GDP. ...
In December 2006, Fiji's military leader Voreqe Bainimarama overthrew the elected government in a coup. He ruled Fiji for the next 16 years, first as dictator, then as "elected" Prime Minister. But now, he's finally been sent to jail where he belongs. Sadly, this isn't for his real crime of ...
Don't like National's corrupt Muldoonist "fast-track" law? Aotearoa's environmental NGO's - Greenpeace, Forest & Bird, WWF, Coromandel Watchdog, Coal Action Network Aotearoa, Kiwis Against Seabed Mining, and others - have announced a joint march against it in Auckland in June: When: 13:00, 8 June, 2024 Where: Aotea Square, Auckland You ...
Seymour describes sushi as too woke for school meals. There are no fish sushi meals recommended by the School Lunches programme. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: The Government will swap out hot meals for packaged sandwiches to save $107 million on school lunches for poor kids. MSD has pulled ...
I don't mind stealin' bread from the mouths of decadenceBut I can't feed on the powerless when my cup's already overfilled, yeahBut it's on the table, the fire's cookin'And they're farmin' babies, while slaves are workin'The blood is on the table and the mouths are chokin'But I'm goin' hungry, yeahSome ...
The Ardern Government’s chickens came home to roost yesterday with the news that the country is short of natural gas. In 2018, Labour banned offshore petroleum exploration, and industry executives say that the attendant loss of confidence by the industry impacted overall investment in onshore gas fields. Energy Resources Minister ...
Hi,If you’ve been digging through the newly launched Webworm store (orders are being dispatched worldwide as I type!) you’ll have noticed the best model we had was Calvin.This is Calvin.Calvin.Calvin is 7, and is the son of my producer over on Flightless Bird, Rob — aka “Wobby Wob”. Rob also ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Climate change is everywhere. And when something's everywhere it can feel like it's nowhere. So how do we get our heads ...
Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
Yesterday Winston Peters focussed his attention on the important matter at hand. Tweeting. Like the former, and quite possibly next, orange POTUS, from whom he takes much of his political strategy, Winston is an avid X’er.His message didn’t resemble an historic address this time. In fact it was more reminiscent ...
Buzz from the Beehive A significant decline in natural gas production has given Resources Minister Shane Jones an opportunity to reiterate his enthusiasm for the mining and burning of coal. For good measure, he has praised an announcement from Genesis Energy that it will resume importing coal. He and Energy ...
“Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The political parties are legally obliged to make ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Here is my subjective ranking on a “most-left” to “most-right” scale of most of our major NZ Universities, with some anecdotal (and at times amusing) evidence to back up the claim.Extreme Left Auckland University of TechnologyEvidenceThe ...
Eric Crampton writes – I hadn’t thought about this one until a helpful email showed up in my inbox.It’s pretty obvious that income tax thresholds should automatically index with inflation – whether to anchor the thresholds in percentiles of the income distribution, or to anchor against a real ...
Jacqui Van Der Kaay writes – Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National ...
Gary Judd writes – The Dean of the law school at the Auckland University of Technology is someone called Khylee Quince. I have been sent her social media posting in which she has, over the LawNews headline “Senior King’s Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Maori studies for ...
Cleo Paskal writes – WASHINGTON, D.C.: ‘Many of us have received phone calls from [the opposing camp] telling them if they join the camp they will be given projects for their wards and $300,000 [around US$35,000] each’, says former Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani. The elections in Solomon Islands aren’t ...
With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would then immediately launch attacks on Rafah, regardless. We might have hoped the concessions made by Hamas would cause Israel to desist from slaughtering thousands more ...
Placards and mourners outside the Kilbirnie Mosque following the Christchurch terror attack: MSD has terminated the Kaiwhakaoranga service, which has been used by 415 families since the attacks. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The Government’s pledge to only cut ‘back office’ staff rather than ‘frontline’ services is on increasingly shaky ground, with ...
There’s been a few smaller public transport announcements over the last week or so that I thought I’d cover in a single post. Fareshare I’ve long called for Auckland Transport to offer a way to enable employer-subsidised public transport options. The need for this took on even more importance ...
Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National Minister Matt Doocey, reflects poorly on Genter and ...
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 ...
Who likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – 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 (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
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 ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
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. ...
New Zealand voted in favour of a resolution broadening Palestine’s participation at the United Nations General Assembly overnight, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The resolution enhances the rights of Palestine to participate in the work of the UN General Assembly while stopping short of admitting Palestine as a full ...
Introduction Good morning. It’s a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. “Our servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...
New Zealand’s ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Government’s focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “An enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...
Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
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 ...
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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