Open mike 26/02/2021
Written By:
- Date published:
6:00 am, February 26th, 2021 - 177 comments
Categories: open mike -
Tags:
Open mike is your post.
For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.
The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).
Step up to the mike …
177 comments on “Open mike 26/02/2021 ”
- Comments are now closed
- Comments are now closed
Recent Comments
- Covid outreach disaster as online poll sees vaccination bus named ‘the murder wagon’
Ashley Bloomfield says he doesn’t want those hesitant about getting the vaccine to “be distracted” by the fact they come out of the murder wagon. The Government is dealing with a Covid outreach debacle today, after the decision to put the naming of New Zealand’s vaccination bus service to a ...4 hours ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #37, 2021
Go with real guilt, or imaginatively hide? This week's New Research includes a couple of interesting papers exploring the confused, noisy marketplace of ideas, volitions and impulses we call "the human mind," in connection with thinking about climate change and our responsibility for causing harm and remedy. We're all (surely?) ...4 hours ago - Gesta Gertrudis: Volume IV
Time for another Gertrude update. Alas, due to personal issues involving the DM, this will be the last update from this campaign for some time. Until then, Gertrude shall be put on ice. Since Dunedin is no longer in lockdown, both these sessions were in-person. Session Seven/Sixty-Three Technically, ...6 hours ago - Samoa’s opposition should be sworn in
On Monday, in response to a refusal by HRPP MPs to accept the proper process for being sworn in, Samoa's speaker banned them from parliament. Because they'd also called for a mob, he took the unprecedented step of banning the public too. These decisions were reasonable at the time. MPs ...7 hours ago - Racist from top to bottomBack in 2019, the government tweaked drug laws to encourage the use of police discretion. So did it work? well, charges are down, but the burden of prosecution is falling even more disproportionately on Māori: A 2019 change to drug laws has led to far fewer people being charged ...8 hours ago
- Pattern recognitionGovernment defers introducing tougher winter grazing rules - again, RNZ, 26 August 2021: The government has pushed intensive winter grazing rules back by another six months. Intensive winter grazing is when livestock are feed fodder crops - when done poorly it can create a muddy mess leading to animal ...8 hours ago
- Climate Change: An excuse, not a justificationYesterday the government announced plans to delay its key Emissions Reduction Plan - currently due by law by 31 December - until next year. Its "justification"? Shaw said consultations on the plan would begin in early October. "It is only right to make sure everyone has the chance to ...10 hours ago
- Lessons learned from a remote blood pressure lowering trial in Aotearoa
Helen Eyles, Jacqui Grey, Elaine Umali, Cliona Ni Mhurchu Technologies such as smartphone apps, Wi-Fi-enabled data collection devices, and web-based data management systems offer the opportunity to deliver and assess the impact of clinical trials remotely, something which researchers are becoming increasingly drawn to. However, there are drawbacks, and even ...13 hours ago - NZ Politics Daily: 16 September 2021
Today’s NZPD testimonial from Chris Trotter, Political commentator: “NZ Politics Daily has become an invaluable resource for all those who practice, study and/or write about politics in New Zealand. So much so that I can’t remember how I ever did without it.” Anyone can sign up to NZPD for free at: https://democracyproject.nz/nz-politics-daily/ Today’s ...14 hours ago - Josh Van Veen: The Ghost of lockdowns PastJudith Collins may have led the New Zealand National Party to a catastrophic defeat in 2020. But the election result was not of her making. The real turning point for National came twelve weeks before Collins’ elevation to the leadership. In those days the Opposition could still boast of having ...14 hours ago
- The Indiscrete Charmlessness Of Upper-Class Rule-Breakers.
Rules Are For Little People: Those who claim that all human-beings are equal have obviously never encountered a man on horseback when they are travelling on foot!THE UPPER-CLASS ABSCONDERS from Auckland’s Level 4 Lockdown have done the rest of New Zealand a favour. They have exposed, in the most dramatic ...15 hours ago - Intensifying Covid-19 Control Measures: 5 Measures for Faster Elimination and 5 Measures to Prevent ...Prof Nick Wilson, Dr Julie Bennett, Dr Leah Grout, Dr Jin Russell, Dr Jennifer Summers, Prof Michael Baker Despite some good progress, the persisting Covid-19 outbreak in Auckland still poses risks to health, social wellbeing and the economy. There is a need for accelerated efforts to ensure more rapid ...17 hours ago
- The definition of my sex is not hate speech
NZME (publishers of the NZ Herald newspaper, among others) has joined the de-platforming of Speak Up For Women after a few online gender identity activists complained on Twitter about an advertisement in a rival paper the Otago Daily Times. SUFW were to run advertisements in NZME papers too as part of ...1 day ago - Climate Change: Some “emergency”Jacinda Ardern: 'Climate change is my generation's nuclear-free moment', Newshub, 20 August 2017: In her campaign launch speech in Auckland on Sunday, Ms Ardern called climate change "my generation's nuclear free moment". [...] "There will always be those who say it's too difficult. There will be those who say ...1 day ago
- Thinking is Power: How to do your own researchThis is a re-post from the Thinking is Power website maintained by Melanie Trecek-King where she regularly writes about many aspects of critical thinking in an effort to provide accessible and engaging critical thinking information to the general public. Note: This article is the second of a two-part series on “doing your own ...1 day ago
- Climate Change: We need more than excuses on methaneMethane is a powerful greenhouse gas. While its lifetime in the atmosphere is limited - its half-life is 9.1 years, so any given amount is almost entirely gone after a hundred years - it is far better at trapping heat. Averaged over a century it has a global warming potential ...1 day ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 15 September 2021Today’s NZPD testimonial from Colin James, political commentator, author “Bryce Edwards’ five-days-a-week digest of links to articles on policy and politics is a valuable resource, both on the day for those who need to know or are just plain interested and as an archive for those who need or want to track ...2 days ago
- Graham Adams: The double-edged sword of the $55m government journalism fund cuts deepTVNZ’s apparent lack of interest in Dr Siouxsie Wiles’ unmasked trip to the beach has raised questions about the media’s impartiality. Graham Adams assesses the fallout. On Sunday morning, National’s Dr Shane Reti asked on Facebook for people’s “thoughts” about TVNZ’s decision not to broadcast the video of Dr ...2 days ago
- One mine at a time…Some good news for the climate today: another coal mine is closing: The Ohai coal mine is closing in two weeks and rehabilitation of the site is expected to begin next month. Ohai and New Vale coal general manager Antony Stodart said “business at the Ohai based coal mine ...2 days ago
- Plotting the Auckland Delta Outbreak
A graph of Auckland Delta cases since lockdown began: As one can see, we’ve been good at getting the adult cases under control – the recent daily spikes being disproportionately children. That suggests infections within families, rather than across families. So far, so good anyway, and sufficient to ...2 days ago - Submission on Births, Deaths, Marriages and Relationships Registration Bill
. . . . . Other Blogs Boots Theory: End conversion therapy in Aotearoa Boots Theory: Support accurate birth certificates for trans and non-binary people Previous related blogposts First they came… Apartheid in Aotearoa New Zealand – yes, it does exist Fairfax media and Kiwiblog revise incorrect story denigrating trans-people Anti-trans ...2 days ago - Talking Up David Seymour
There is no sign in recent issues of the Herald that it has abandoned in any way its underlying strategy and goal of undermining the government in the hope that it can be replaced at the next election by a National government. So why has the Herald continued to blow ...2 days ago - How big companies are targeting middle income countries to boost ultra-processed food salesEdwin Kwong, The University of Melbourne; Joanna Williams, Swinburne University of Technology; Phillip Baker, Deakin University; Rob Moodie, The University of Melbourne, and Thiago M Santos, Federal University of Pelotas Ultra-processed foods might not be a familiar term to many people. But it is an emerging, and increasingly dominant ...2 days ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 14 September 2021Today’s NZPD testimonial from Claudette Hauiti, Producer/Host at Radio Waatea: “Me tuku mihi ki a koe me tou mahi i te ao pāpaho o Aotearoa. Thank you for your invaluable contribution to critical information sharing. I appreciate the range and depth of articles distributed and especially support your inclusion of Māori ...3 days ago
- The Microbiologist, the Caretaker Leader, and some Nasty Germs. . (* Fiji’s death troll is likely to be under-reported.) . . . References ODT: Collins calls Dr Siouxsie Wiles ‘a big, fat hypocrite’ Stuff media: Covid-19 – Dr Siouxsie Wiles warns of ‘disinformation’ after claims she was caught breaking lockdown rules ODT: Dr Wiles hits back at ...3 days ago
- Free Speech, done Newshub-style. . . . . References Newshub Politics: Twitter – Who can reply? People @NewshubPolitics mentioned can reply – 13.9.21 . . . . = fs = ...3 days ago
- Not Understood: Chris Trotter Replies To Susan St John.Wishful Thinker: While the people from the “leafy suburbs’” salaries, house-prices, social-status and children’s futures depend upon them not understanding either the economic disadvantages of unequal wealth distribution, or the sheer dehumanising agony of grinding poverty, then they will go on not understanding it. Do you not understand, Susan, even ...3 days ago
- Legal Beagle: Everything was Done; or some answers to some of the questions people have been asking
On 3 September, New Zealand Police shot and killed Ahamed Samsudeen, shortly after he commenced a knife attack in an Auckland supermarket. Considering him to be highly dangerous, he was under close surveillance. His death meant, that in the days following, the Government and the Courts were able to release ...3 days ago - Furedi on corporate backing for Cancel Culture
Professor Frank Furedi, British academic, author, and commentator, discusses the speed with which the corporate world has internalised the customs/practices/language of the university- and what can be done about it. ...3 days ago - The hottest summer most Americans have ever lived throughThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob Henson An 85-year-old record for summer heat set during the Dust Bowl has met its match. In 2021, the contiguous U.S. had its warmest meteorological summer (June-August) on record, according to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). Records going back ...3 days ago
- Childish bullshit continues in SamoaSamoa's parliament will sit tomorrow, for the first time since it was sworn in in May. But that first sitting only included FAST party MPs. As for the HRPP, they will not be allowed to attend tomorrow. The context here is that the HRPP - or at least the tyrant ...3 days ago
- Another one bites the dustAnother offshore energy permit was surrendered on Friday: permit 60094, owned by Todd Energy: The permit covered an area of Māui dolphin habitat, so its surrender is good news on that front too. According to NZPAM's map, there are now only six offshore exploration permits remaining: one owned by ...3 days ago
- Passport To Covid Safety.The Badge Of Good Citizenship: Why are foreign governments insisting that people wishing to enter their country must present proof of vaccination and non-infection? Because they are committed to keeping their people safe. Why will our own government soon be requiring us to present a vaccination passport before entering a ...3 days ago
- Support accurate birth certificate for trans and non-binary people
Content note: suicide, transphobia I’d wanted to get this done a lot earlier, but we bought a house in the middle of lockdown and that has a tendency to throw every other plan out the window. It’s definitely not perfect and I apologise for anything I’ve missed or messed up ...4 days ago - NZ Politics Daily: 13 September 2021NOTE TO SUBSCRIBERS: Today, we’re continuing with the NZ Politics Daily subscriber drive – please see the testimonial below from Andrew Geddis. Unfortunately, just as the subscriber drive kicked off on Friday, our website went down for the first time. So, if anyone tried to subscribe they would have found ...4 days ago
- 2021 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #37Listing of articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, September 5, 2021 through Sat, September 11, 2021 The following articles sparked above average interest during the week: Climate change deniers are as slippery as those who justified the slave trade, People don’t know what ...4 days ago
- Liam Hehir: The authenticity of Simon BridgesSimon Bridges may not have exuded authenticity when he was Leader of the Opposition, but his new book, National Identity, is exactly that according to reviewer Liam Hehir. He says “It is not a book about conservatism, but it is an honourably conservative book.” I had no expectation of ...4 days ago
- Coronacapitalism: Reverse the Resetby Kobad Ghandy Kobad Ghandy a well known communist in India examines the world economy and the lockdowns of the past 18 months. How deep the economic difficulties facing capitalism run and how sharp any depression may be is a contested area. Redline has mostly argued that the recessions have ...4 days ago
- Reposted articles from Thinking is PowerIn early August 2021 we started to repost selected articles from the Thinking is Power website maintained by Melanie Trecek-King where she regularly writes about many aspects of critical thinking in an effort to provide accessible and engaging critical thinking information to the general public. This page lists the reposted articles in ...5 days ago
- A Beautiful Cage: But Bernard… You Say It Like It’s a Bad Thing
Commentator Bernard Hickey has a pretty astute piece on New Zealand’s predicament in a Coronavirus world: https://thekaka.substack.com/p/dawn-chorus-time-to-stop-kidding The core of Hickey’s argument is that New Zealand can’t re-open its borders, because our health system would be shortly overwhelmed by the virus. Ergo, the borders must remain closed for ...5 days ago - Renting in New Zealand, a sick jokeby Don Franks Everything seemed right with the world yesterday. Sun shining and in Wellington level 2 we can emerge from our bubble and visit friends. While enjoying that freedom, I noticed two doors down from where we were, quite a lot of activity. An estate agent was carefully marshalling ...5 days ago
- Bile and HostilityMike Hosking is a professional journalist and, as such, he presumably wants to be read – and not only read, but taken seriously and believed. It is surprising, therefore, that he seems not to have grasped a basic principle – that someone whose every utterance is obviously coloured by an ...6 days ago
- Implications for mitigating methane emissions in agricultureThis is a re-post from And Then There's Physics Since I was discussing methane in yesterday’s post, I thought I would highlight a paper on [u]nderstanding the implications for mitigating methane emissions in agriculture (H/T Miles King). The reason I found it interesting, is that it uses GWP* (which I try to explain here), rather ...6 days ago
- Should I take Ivermectin?
This guide will help you with that big decision ...6 days ago - Liberal-Conservatives and Social Democrats: The Future of Māori
Michael Cullen set out his political philosophy in his autobiography. So has Chris Finlayson. His is having significant impact on Māori development. Chris Finlayson was Minister for Treaty Negotiations (and Attorney General) between 2008 and 2017. (Alas, he was Minister of Arts, Culture and Heritage for only six of those ...6 days ago - Too many cows in the NetherlandsThe Netherlands has a water quality problem. Too many cows, producing too much shit and piss, which flows into the rivers and poisons them. But they also have a solution: forcing farmers to destock or sell up: Dutch politicians are considering plans to force hundreds of farmers to sell ...6 days ago
- Packaging generates a lot of waste – now Maine and Oregon want manufacturers to foot the bill for ...Jessica Heiges, University of California, Berkeley and Kate O’Neill, University of California, Berkeley Most consumers don’t pay much attention to the packaging that their purchases come in, unless it’s hard to open or the item is really over-wrapped. But packaging accounts for about 28% of U.S. municipal solid waste. ...6 days ago
- Hard News: Pearl, prescriptions and patient expertsAs I've noted here before, for various reasons, the clinical evidence for cannabis as a teatment for pain and other conditions is not yet compelling. This doesn't mean it won't be, but as the International Association for the Study of Pain put it in a recent position statement, "promising" advances ...6 days ago
- Strange And Disturbing Times 2.0Strange And Disturbing: If we are not living through revolutionary times, then what sort of times are we living through? Is there another great historical era that bears comparison with our present period of intellectual and moral ferment? While finding an exact historic parallel is, obviously, an impossibility – no two periods ...6 days ago
- The world is desperate for new antibiotics, and New Zealand’s unique fungi are a source of promisi...Siouxsie Wiles, University of Auckland While we’re all rightly focused on the COVID-19 pandemic at the moment, the SARS-CoV-2 virus isn’t the only microbial threat we face. Back in 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that within a decade, antibiotic-resistant bacteria could make routine surgery, organ transplantation and ...7 days ago
- Resolving a genetic mash-up: reconstructing an accurate evolutionary history of kākārikiPrioritising species conservation and over-stretched government funding is built upon an accurate understanding of evolutionary relationships and taxonomy. But what if that evolutionary history is wrong? More importantly, what are the consequences for endangered biodiversity as conservation funding and resources are re-assigned? Numerous examples have come to light in recent ...7 days ago
- Improving ventilation in schools: a key protection against Covid-19 outbreaks and an enduring legacy...Dr Amanda Kvalsvig, Dr Julie Bennett, Dr Jin Russell, Dr Jennifer Summers, Dr Leah Grout, Prof Michael Baker, and Prof Nick Wilson* As much of the country moves down Alert Levels, children are returning to in-person learning with little or no protection against the potential spread of Covid-19 infection in ...7 days ago
- Making The Terrorism Suppression Act Fit-For-Purpose.Infamous Day: Tomorrow, 11 September 2021, is the twentieth anniversary of the New York and Washington terrorist attacks. Think of the preliminary steps required to make 9/11 happen. Had they been detected, the tragedy could have been prevented. We need legislation equal to that task. HE WAS PROBABLY the smartest student ...7 days ago
- Languishing, burnout and stigma are all among the possible psychological impacts as Delta lingers in...Dougal Sutherland, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington As New Zealand remains under different levels of restriction, the psychological toll of the Delta outbreak may start to show, even as lockdown eases for everyone outside Auckland. We know that stress and isolation associated with a lockdown can ...7 days ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #36, 2021108 articles by 621 contributing authors Physical science of climate change, effects Arctic amplification of climate change: a review of underlying mechanisms Previdi et al. Environmental Research Letters Open Access 10.1088/1748-9326/ac1c29 (provisional link) Understanding physical drivers of the 2015/16 marine heatwaves in the Northwest Atlantic 10.1038/s41598-021-97012-0 Observations of climate change, ...1 week ago
- Cancel this odious debtWriting on Newsroom, Laura Walters makes a case for cancelling student debt: [A]t the moment, loan debt is hurting the economy, holding back everything from small business formation, to new home buying, and even marriage and reproduction. So rather than offering interest-free borrowing, or expecting people to refinance their ...1 week ago
- Climate Change: The CCR is a failed, counterproductive policyWriting on Interest, and in the context of carbon farming displacing traditional sheep and beef farming, Keith Woodford says: Given that this year’s cost-containment reserve is already exhausted, there is considerable speculation as to what will happen as soon as the next auction on 1 December. The Government will ...1 week ago
- Licensing bonanza in computational life sciences* By Florian Pichlmueller (University of Auckland) and Christina Straub (ESR) . 2min read GPL, MIT, BSD, CC – no they’re not a secret vocabulary, these are in fact acronyms for open source licenses that allow code to be freely used, modified and shared. And there are many more – take ...1 week ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 9 September 2021Mall terror attack Andrew Geddis (Pundit): Why Not Just Send The Auckland Terrorist Back? Paul Buchanan (Kiwipolitico): The supermarket stabbing spree was not a terrorist act Hanlie Booysen (The Conversation): Social inclusion is important in Aotearoa New Zealand — but so is speaking honestly about terrorism Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Act and Greens agree on ...1 week ago
- Submission on Conversion Not-A-Therapy Bill. . . . . References Legislation: Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill Other Blogs Boots Theory: End conversion therapy in Aotearoa . . . Liked what you read? Feel free to share. Have your own thoughts? Leave a comment. (Trolls need not bother.)rolls need not bother.) . = fs ...1 week ago
- Equality, Equity & The Great Race Of Life.1 week ago
- The Person Who Lies To You The Most…. Is YouThis is a re-post from the Thinking is Power website maintained by Melanie Trecek-King where she regularly writes about many aspects of critical thinking in an effort to provide accessible and engaging critical thinking information to the general public. The difference between Cognitive Dissonance, Motivated Reasoning, and Confirmation Bias Dorothy Martin awoke early ...1 week ago
- Graham Adams: David Seymour is cast into hell… alongside Tova O’BrienTweets about giving Maori priority access to vaccines have blown up. Graham Adams assesses the damage. In his epic 14th-century poem Inferno, Dante depicted sinners who questioned established religion or whose heretical views damaged the fabric of society as trapped in burning tombs in the Sixth Circle of Hell, ...1 week ago
- Bryce Edwards: Political Roundup – What’s going on in the National Party?What exactly is plaguing the National Party? And would another leadership change help? These are the big and enduring questions that have surrounded the opposition party since they lost power in 2017. For the best answers to these questions, it’s well worth reading the latest piece by Matthew Hooton in ...1 week ago
- Musicians are urging us to vaccinate: the Australian federal government should learn from these movi...Andrea Fenton, Swinburne University of Technology A new ad has been released from the LIVE Alliance (Live Industry Venues + Entertainment) a music industry collective, under the guidance of advertising veteran Russel Howcroft. The campaign, Vax the Nation, is set to Powderfinger’s My Happiness. Here, the lyrics take on ...1 week ago
- More Labour secrecyThe government introduced a new Civil Aviation Bill to modernise the 30-year-old Civil Aviation Act and 55-year-old Airport Authorities Act today. Which is not normally the sort of bill I would comment on, except that it includes not one, but two new secrecy clauses. The first of these in section ...1 week ago
- The supermarket stabbing spree was not a terrorist act.
Blood had not even been mopped up from the floor after the supermarket stabbing spree when the prime minister strode to the parliamentary theatre podium and declared it to be an act of terrorism committed by an individual following an extremist ideology. Within minutes of her pronouncement the media sped ...1 week ago - Stupidly counterproductiveLast night the government made it mandatory for businesses to collect contact records. There are obvious concerns here around abuse - for example, the police forcing the production of someone's covid app data under a production order - and these concerns are a disincentive for some people to sign in ...1 week ago
- David Seymour – Arsehole of the Week
1 week ago - The OIA has a problem with extensionsThe Ombudsman released their latest OIA complaint stats today, and the headline is a rise in overall complaints. But buried in the data is something interesting: extension complaints have increased massively. There were 54 complaints about extensions in the first half of this year, compared to 29 in the previous ...1 week ago
- Why not just send the Auckland terrorist back?
In the wake of the LynnMall terror attack, there’s been a lot of questions asked and potential legal “fixes” proposed to the problem of why the terrorist was able to be active in the community. One particular issue, however, has yet to be fully addressed: what to do about the ...1 week ago - New research reveals animals are changing their body shapes to cope with climate changeSara Ryding, Deakin University and Matthew Symonds, Deakin University Global warming is a big challenge for warm-blooded animals, which must maintain a constant internal body temperature. As anyone who’s experienced heatstroke can tell you, our bodies become severely stressed when we overheat. Animals are dealing with global warming in ...1 week ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 8 September 2021Mall terror attack Bryce Edwards (Democracy Project): Political Roundup – Could government agencies have averted the development of a terrorist? Marc Daalder (Newsroom): How to stop the next terrorist RNZ: The Detail: Turning around a terrorist Kris Gledhill (The Conversation): Despite deportation and detention attempts, could New Zealand have done more to prevent Friday’s ...1 week ago
- With lockdowns easing for the rest of New Zealand, Auckland becomes the elimination frontlineMichael Plank, University of Canterbury and Shaun Hendy, University of Auckland The number of new cases in New Zealand’s Delta outbreak is now on a downward trend and we have a good chance of eliminating it, even as lockdown restrictions ease for most of the country from tomorrow. After ...1 week ago
- Geoffrey Miller: How 9/11 changed New Zealand’s foreign policyInternational analyst Geoffrey Miller reflects on the impact that the September 11 attacks had on New Zealand’s foreign policy This week’s anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001 is also an opportunity to recall the impact the tragedy – and the response to it ...1 week ago
- Open letter calling for ACC to cover all birth injuries and trauma reaches 10,000 signatures
In less than 12 hours, more than 10,000 people have signed on the Green Party’s open letter asking for ACC to cover all birth injuries and trauma. ...5 hours ago - Greens call for all birth injuries to be covered by ACC, launch open letterThe Green Party is launching an open letter to the Minister for ACC asking for all birth injuries and trauma to be covered, and the letter has strong support from the sector. ...15 hours ago
- Our mihi to the ways te reo Māori can unite and inspire through COVID
Kia ora e te whānau, and happy Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori! Yes, it’s Māori Language Week. And even though we’ll be celebrating a little differently this year as we work to stamp out mate korona, there are still plenty of opportunities to embrace this taonga and advance our ...2 days ago - Alert Level 2: Everything you need to knowStamping out COVID-19 isn’t easy, but together, we are stronger than the virus. We’ve made good progress, but the job still isn’t done. We need to stay vigilant to stop the spread. Here’s where you can find the essential information you need to stay safe at Alert Level 2. ...1 week ago
- Greens call for immediate student support, launches petitionGreen Party Tertiary Education Spokesperson Chlöe Swarbrick has launched a petition calling for immediate, meaningful support for students, saying the Government’s announced boost to the student hardship funds doesn’t go far enough. ...1 week ago
- Greens say Govt investment in public transport, walking, cycling is not enoughThe Green Party welcomes the $6 billion being invested in public transport, walking and cycling through the National Land Transport Programme, as announced by the Minister of Transport today, however says it is nowhere near enough. ...1 week ago
- Greens’ Te Mātāwaka Caucus responds to ACT leader’s racial sabotageThe Green Party’s Te Mātāwaka is calling out ACT leader David Seymour for apparently targeting Māori vaccination providers for political gain. Mr Seymour publicly shared vaccine booking information which was intended for Māori communities. ...1 week ago
- Auckland Central MP welcomes relocated COVID-19 vaccination centre with increased capacityAuckland Central MP Chlöe Swarbrick welcomes the relocation of the City Centre’s dedicated COVID-19 Vaccination Centre from Elliot Street to a larger space on Graham Street, just up from Victoria Park, which will provide close to double the capacity. ...1 week ago
- Auckland Central MP welcomes City Rail Link hardship schemeAuckland Central MP Chlöe Swarbrick is welcoming the hardship scheme for small businesses impacted by the development of the City Rail Link, announced by the Mayor of Auckland and Minister of Transport today. ...2 weeks ago
- Greens urge more support for vulnerable families in lockdownThe Green Party calls on the Government to urgently provide relief for people and families doing it tough, as a new report from the Salvation Army shows the need for emergency food parcels and welfare support escalating. ...2 weeks ago
- Greens call out racial profiling toward Pasifika CommunitiesThe Green Party’s Te Mātāwaka spokesperson for Pacific Peoples is condemning the consistent racial overtone during this pandemic. ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party will not attend Parliament during Alert Level 4The Green Party will not attend Parliament while Wellington is at Alert Level 4 this week. ...2 weeks ago
- NZ economy’s strong momentum will support rebound from Delta outbreak; COVID fund replenished
The economy showed strong momentum in the period leading up to the recent Delta COVID-19 outbreak, which bodes well for a solid economic rebound, Grant Robertson said. GDP rose 2.8 percent in the June quarter, following on from a 1.4 percent increase in the previous March quarter. This was a ...11 hours ago - Projects create benefits into the futureMaking a well-known lake swimmable and helping to halt the decline of the endangered hoiho/yellow-eyed penguins are among a suite of new projects being supported by the Government’s Jobs for Nature programme across the southern South Island, Conservation Minister Kiri Allan says. “It’s no secret that many of our most ...13 hours ago
- New members appointed to KāpuiaThe Government is adding four additional members to Kāpuia, the Ministerial Advisory Group on the Government’s Response to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the terrorist attack on Christchurch mosques. “I’m looking forward to having Pamela MacNeill, Huia Bramley, Melani Anae and Katherine Dedo join Kāpuia and contribute to this group’s ...1 day ago
- Timeline confirmed for Emissions Reductions PlanCabinet has agreed to begin consulting on the Emissions Reduction Plan in early October and require that the final plan be released by the end of May next year in line with the 2022 Budget, the Minister of Climate Change, James Shaw confirmed today. “Cabinet’s decision allows organisations and communities ...1 day ago
- Pay parity pathway for early learning teachers confirmedPay parity conditions and higher funding rates for education and care services will come into force on 1 January, 2022, Minister of Education Chris Hipkins confirmed today. The Government signalled this work in Budget 2021. “From 1 January, 2022, centres opting into the scheme will receive government funding and be ...1 day ago
- Speech to the New Zealand Nurses Organisation Conference 2021Kia Ora tatau katoa. Ka tuku mihi ki nga nēhi, He pou Hauora o Aotearoa, E ora ai tatou. Whakatau mai I runga i te kaupapa o te ra Te NZNO conference. Tena koutou tena koutou Tena tatou katoa Good morning, and thank you inviting me ...2 days ago
- Government investment in farmer-led catchment groups sweeps past 150 mark171 catchment groups have now been invested in by the Government 31 catchment groups in the Lower North Island are receiving new support More than 5,000 farmers are focussed on restoring freshwater within a generation through involvement in catchment groups Government investment in on-the-ground efforts by farmers to improve land ...2 days ago
- Fight to protect kauri on trackThe Government is pitching in to help vital work to protect nationally significant kauri forests in Auckland, Minister of Conservation Kiri Allan says. “Ensuring the survival of these iconic trees for future generations means doing everything we can to prevent the potential spread of kauri dieback disease,” Kiri Allan said. ...2 days ago
- Joint statement of Mr Bernard Monk; Hon Andrew Little, Minister Responsible for Pike River Re-entry,...[Note: The Parties have agreed on terms to fully and finally settle the proceeding and will jointly issue the below statement.] At the heart of this litigation are the lives of the 29 men tragically lost at the Pike River mine on 19 November 2010 and to whom we pay ...3 days ago
- More financial support for businessesToday’s decision to keep Auckland in a higher COVID Alert Level triggers a third round of the Wage Subsidy Scheme which will open for applications at 9am this Friday. “The revenue test period for this payment will be the 14th to the 27th of September. A reminder that this is ...3 days ago
- Aotearoa New Zealand provides further humanitarian support for AfghanistanAotearoa New Zealand is providing a further $3 million in humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. “There is significant humanitarian need in Afghanistan, with the crisis disproportionately affecting women and girls,” said Nanaia Mahuta. The UN has estimated that 80% of the quarter of a million ...3 days ago
- Innovative te reo prediction tool announced in Te Wiki o Te Reo MāoriA new Māori language prediction tool will play a key role in tracking our te reo Māori revitalisation efforts, Minister for Māori Development Willie Jackson announced today. He Ara Poutama mō te reo Māori (He Ara Poutama) can forecast the number of conversational and fluent speakers of te reo Māori ...4 days ago
- Further Government support for people to access food and essential itemsThe Government is responding to need for support in Auckland and has committed a further $10 million to help people access ongoing food and other essential items, Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni announced today. This latest tranche is targeted at the Auckland region, helping providers and organisations to distribute ...4 days ago
- Half a million Pfizer vaccines from DenmarkThe Government has secured an extra half a million doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines from Denmark that will start arriving in New Zealand within days, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. “This is the second and larger agreement the Government has entered into to purchase additional vaccines to meet the ...4 days ago
- Inland Revenue providing essential COVID support for businessesInland Revenue is seeing increased demand for Resurgence Support Payments and other assistance schemes that it administers, but is processing applications quickly, Revenue Minister David Parker said today. David Parker said the Resurgence Support Payment, the Small Business Cashflow (loan) Scheme and the Wage Subsidy are available at the same ...5 days ago
- New Zealand marks 20th anniversary of 9/11 attacksNew Zealand is expressing unity with all victims, families and loved ones affected by the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks, and all terrorist attacks around the world since, including in New Zealand. “Saturday marks twenty years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States, which killed nearly 3,000 people ...6 days ago
- Speech to SPREP Environment MinistersTalofa Honourable Ulu of Tokelau Faipule Kelihiano Kalolo Tēnā koutou katoa and warm Pacific greetings from Aotearoa to your excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. The new science released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on 8 August paints an alarming picture of the projected impacts of climate change on the ...6 days ago
- Additional Resurgence Support Payments to support businessBusinesses affected by higher Alert Levels will be able to apply for further Resurgence Support Payments (RSP). “The Government’s RSP was initially intended as a one-off payment to help businesses with their fixed costs, such as rent. Ministers have agreed to provide additional payments to recognise the effects of an ...6 days ago
- More Dawn Raids scholarships announcedDetails of the ‘Manaaki New Zealand Short Term Training Scholarships’, a goodwill gesture that follows the Government’s apology for the Dawn Raids of the 1970s, were released today by Pacific Peoples Minister Aupito William Sio. “These scholarships that are targeted to the Pacific will support the kaupapa of the Dawn Raids’ ...6 days ago
- One-way quarantine-free travel for RSE workers starting in OctoberOne-way quarantine-free travel for Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) workers from Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu starts in October New requirement for RSE workers to have received their first vaccination pre-departure, undertake Day 0 and Day 5 tests, and complete a self-isolation period of seven days, pending a negative Day 5 ...6 days ago
- Govt boosts Pacific suicide prevention supportApplications have opened for the Pacific Suicide Prevention Community Fund as the Government acts to boost support amid the COVID delta outbreak. “We know strong and connected families and communities are the most important protective factor against suicide and this $900,000 fund will help to support this work,” Health Minister ...6 days ago
- Govt parks the expiry of licenses, WoFs and regosAs a result of the Delta outbreak, driver licences, Warrants of Fitness (WoFs), Certificates of Fitness (CoFs), vehicle licences (‘regos’) and licence endorsements that expired on or after 21 July 2021 will be valid until 30 November 2021, Transport Minister Michael Wood has announced today. “While this extension won’t officially ...7 days ago
- COVID-19 community fund to provide support for vulnerable women and girlsMinister for Women Jan Tinetti today announced a $2 million community fund that will provide support for women and girls adversely affected by COVID-19. “We know that women, particularly those who are already vulnerable, are disproportionally affected by the kind of economic disruption caused by COVID-19,” Jan Tinetti said. ...1 week ago
- Next phase of support for Fiji’s COVID-19 response announcedA further NZ$12 million of support for Fiji’s COVID-19 response has been announced by Foreign Minister Hon Nanaia Mahuta today. The package builds on previous tranches of assistance Aotearoa New Zealand has provided to Fiji, totalling over NZ$50 million. “Fiji remains in a very challenging position in their response to ...1 week ago
- Robotic asparagus harvester aimed at addressing industry challengesThe Government is backing a $5 million project to develop a commercial-scale autonomous robotic asparagus harvester, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced today. The Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures fund (SFF Futures) is contributing $2.6 million to the project. Project partner Robotics Plus Limited (RPL) will build on a prototype asparagus ...1 week ago
- Additional Pfizer vaccines to arrive tomorrowMore than a quarter of a million additional doses of the Pfizer vaccine are on their way from Spain to New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. The additional doses will arrive in Auckland on Friday morning to help meet the current surge in demand for vaccination. “It’s been ...1 week ago
- Young people to have their voices heard in Youth Parliament 2022The dates and details for Youth Parliament 2022 have been announced today by Minister for Youth Priyanca Radhakrishnan, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Youth Parliament is an opportunity for 141 young people from across Aotearoa New Zealand to experience the political process and learn how government works. ...1 week ago
- Boosting support for tertiary students affected by COVID-19Students facing a hard time as a result of COVID-19 restrictions will continue to be supported,” Education Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed today. The Government is putting a further $20 million into the Hardship Fund for Learners, which will help around 15,000 students to stay connected to their studies and learning. ...1 week ago
- COVID-19: Immediate relief available for Māori and iwi organisationsThe Government has reprioritised up to $5 million to provide immediate relief to vulnerable whānau Māori and communities during the current COVID-19 outbreak Minister for Māori Development Willie Jackson announced today. The COVID-19 2021 Whānau Recovery Fund will support community-driven, local responses to gaps in access and provision of critical ...1 week ago
- New beef genetics programme to deliver cows with smaller environmental hoof-printThe Government is backing a genetics programme to lower the beef sector’s greenhouse gas emissions by delivering cows with a smaller environmental hoof-print, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced today. Informing New Zealand Beef is a seven-year partnership with Beef + Lamb New Zealand that is expected to result in more ...1 week ago
- Appointments to the New Zealand Qualifications AuthorityEducation Minister Chris Hipkins today announced new appointments to the board of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA). Former Associate Minister of Education, Hon Tracey Martin, has been appointed as the new Chair for NZQA, replacing the outgoing Acting and Deputy Chair Professor Neil Quigley after an 11-year tenure on ...1 week ago
- Govt supports residential house building by allowing manufacture of building suppliesThe Government has agreed to allow some building product manufacturing to take place in Auckland during Covid lockdown to support continued residential construction activity across New Zealand. “There are supply chain issues that arise from Alert Level 4 as building products that are manufactured domestically are mostly manufactured in Auckland. ...1 week ago
- Government invests in scientific research to boost economy, address climate change and enhance wellb...Research, Science and Innovation Minister Hon Dr Megan Woods has today announced the recipients of this year’s Endeavour Fund to help tackle the big issues that New Zealanders care about, like boosting economic performance, climate change, transport infrastructure and wellbeing. In total, 69 new scientific research projects were awarded over ...1 week ago
- Transport to drive economic recoveryThe Government is investing a record amount in transport services and infrastructure to get New Zealand moving, reduce emissions and support the economic recovery, Transport Minister Michael Wood announced today. The 2021-24 National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) was released today which outlines the planned investments Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency ...1 week ago
- Government congratulates NZ Paralympic teamThe Government has congratulated New Zealand’s Paralympic Team following an outstanding showing at the Tokyo Paralympic Games. “Our New Zealand Paralympian athletes have once again shown incredible talent, tenacity and determination at the Tokyo Paralympic Games winning 12 medals, with every athlete who represented New Zealand making us so proud,” ...1 week ago
- Aotearoa mourns passing of creative icon Billy AppleArts, Culture and Heritage Minister Carmel Sepuloni has expressed her condolences at the passing of Billy Apple, one of New Zealand’s most influential artists. “Today we’ve lost a giant of New Zealand art. Billy was a creative visionary, an inspiration and a friend to so many,” Carmel Sepuloni said. “Billy ...1 week ago
- Government attempted to deport terroristThe lifting of final suppression orders relating to the Auckland terrorist shows Immigration New Zealand had been attempting for years to deport him and also sought to detain him while deportation was considered in order to keep him out of the community. “The individual arrived in New Zealand in October ...2 weeks ago
- Prime Minister’s update on the 3 September Auckland terrorist attack***Check against delivery*** I want to begin with an update on the status of our victims from yesterday’s attack. We’re aware now that there were a total of seven people injured. There are five people in hospital, three are in a critical condition. The remaining victims have been treated and are ...2 weeks ago
- Tonga’s language week goes virtual This year’s Tonga Language week is going to be a virtual affair because of the nationwide lockdowns for Covid 19, said the Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio. “We have been working closely with the Tongan community ahead of Uike Lea Faka-Tonga, and they have selected the theme Fakakoloa ...2 weeks ago
- Resurgence Support Payment amended to include new businessesThe Government’s Resurgence Support Payment (RSP) has been updated to better support newly established businesses. The RSP is a one-off payment that helps businesses with costs like rent or fixed costs during higher alert levels. When this COVID-19 response scheme was first established last year the criteria was included that ...2 weeks ago
- New Zealand a winner in AUKUS agreement, but risks remain – experts
New Zealand needs to be careful not to be left behind as some of its close partners agree to share defence resources, but politically and on trade the move is good for Aotearoa, politicians and experts say. ...3 hours ago - Just 4.5% jobless during lockdowns? The unemployment rate is now meaningless
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jeff Borland, Professor of Economics, The University of Melbourne Australia’s labour force statistics for August again make the case for giving up on the rate of unemployment as an indicator of the state of the labour market. In June the official unemployment ...3 hours ago - COVID in Wilcannia: a national disgrace we all saw comingSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Green, Professor in Indigenous Australian Studies and GCWLCH Co-ordinator, Charles Sturt University The town of Wilcannia in the far outback of New South Wales on the banks of the Darling river. shutterstock The COVID-19 crisis in Wilcannia demonstrates how entrenched neglect, ...5 hours ago
- How do nuclear-powered submarines work? A nuclear scientist explainsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By AJ Mitchell, Research fellow, Australian National University US Navy/Wikimedia Commons The Australian government has just declared an historic defence agreement with the United States and United Kingdom that will see a new fleet of nuclear-powered submarines patrol our shores and ...5 hours ago
- Biden announces COVID vaccine mandate for 100 million Americans. Australia shouldn’t follow just y...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Hannah, Lecturer in Public Policy, The University of Western Australia On Friday, US President Joe Biden announced a sweeping new vaccine mandate for employers covering around 100 million adults. Given the urgent need to increase Australia’s vaccination rate, it may be ...5 hours ago
- Business is Boring: The former Apple leader helping New Zealand companies go global
Simon Pound talks to Vignesh Kumar, a partner in venture capital fund Global from Day 1, about helping local companies scale for global success. Follow Business is Boring on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favourite podcast provider.Local venture capital fund Global from Day 1 recently announced the close of its third ...5 hours ago - PODCAST: USA-Aust Submarine Nukes + China + USA move to occupy each other’s vacuumA View from Afar – In this week’s podcast, Paul G. Buchanan and Selwyn Manning discuss: Geopolitics and how the global order is changing fast after the United States withdrawal from Afghanistan. And overnight the US and Australia announced the nuclearisation of Australia’s submarine fleet. In particular, Paul G. Buchanan ...6 hours ago
- Minister to speak on climate change at Hui
Minister for Climate Change James Shaw will deliver the keynote address at this year’s Strengthening Communities Hui on Friday, September 17. The annual conference brings together three networks: Environment Hubs Aotearoa, the Community Energy Network ...6 hours ago - The AUKUS pact, born in secrecy, will have huge implications for Australia and the regionSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patricia A. O’Brien, Visiting Fellow, Department of Pacific Affairs, Australian National University, and Adjunct Professor, Asian Studies Program, Georgetown University Today it was announced the US, Australia and the UK are forming a new security partnership to be known as AUKUS. ...6 hours ago
- Wondering what to do with kids in lockdown school holidays? Ideas from a happiness expertSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Narelle Lemon, Associate Professor in Education, Swinburne University of Technology Shutterstock School holidays are upon us again. In pre-pandemic days, many parents and carers would be busily planning holidays interstate or overseas, booking in play dates, organising day trips or ...6 hours ago
- Colonial border between PNG and West Papua ‘will fall like Berlin Wall’Asia Pacific Report newsdesk A West Papuan group seeking self-determination has greeted Papua New Guinea on its 46th anniversary of independence, predicting that one day the artificial colonial border separating the two would “fall like the Berlin Wall”. “Happy 46th independence anniversary to Papua New Guinea. We send a message ...6 hours ago
- PNG controller issues new measures as covid-19 remains threatBy Grace Auka Salmang in Port Moresby Police Commissioner and Controller of the PNG National Pandemic Response David Manning has authorised the release of new measures to address the covid-19 pandemic in the country on the eve of the 46th Independence Day. Manning said these new measures, which came into ...6 hours ago
- Afghanistan media: ‘You can’t put that genie back in the bottle’By Colin Peacock, RNZ Mediawatch presenter Twenty years after the 9/11 attacks prompted the US to invade Afghanistan, the Taliban announced they have taken the whole country again last week. Journalists who remain there are at risk in spite of assurances media freedom will be respected. Will proper journalism be ...6 hours ago
- Allan spends for the future, Little hires more advisers and Shaw sets out a time line for emissions ...
The reassuring headline on a press statement from the Minister of Conservation said Projects create benefits into the future. Ah – a forward-looking government, obviously. The spending of $12,997,000 of public money on the projects listed in the press statement, accordingly, has been calculated to generate future benefits. But come ...7 hours ago - The women in weed on the lack of women… in weedWomen are best placed to get involved with medicinal cannabis. So why are there not enough of them in New Zealand’s fledgling industry?Women worldwide command a buying power worth tens of trillions of dollars, influencing more than half of global household spending and twice as likely as men to pick ...7 hours ago
- Talley’s shifts blame for illegal bottom trawl onto skipperCourt papers have revealed that Talley’s deepwater fishing division, Amaltal, has shifted the blame for illegally bottom trawling in the Hikurangi Marine Reserve off Kaikōura, a year after the company was found guilty of the breach. The Amaltal ...8 hours ago
- Overlooked and undervalued, New Zealand’s community caregivers have become the ‘invisible’ ess...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katherine Ravenswood, Associate Professor in Employment Relations, Auckland University of Technology Shutterstock As Auckland enters it’s fifth week in level 4 lockdown and the rest of New Zealand stays at level 2, spare a thought for the nation’s invisible network ...8 hours ago
- 'I'm gutted, I didn't want to do it' – Shaw on climate plan delayThe Climate Minister says lockdown disruptions have caused delays to NZ's Emissions Reduction Plan, but a climate campaigner says slow government response is to blame. ...8 hours ago
- A call for action to stop sexual violence...8 hours ago
- Pregnant male seahorses support up to 1,000 growing babies by forming a placentaSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Suzanne Dudley, Postdoctoral Fellow, Macquarie University Shutterstock Supplying oxygen to their growing offspring and removing carbon dioxide is a major challenge for every pregnant animal. Humans deal with this problem by developing a placenta, but in seahorses — where ...8 hours ago
- Māori Council calls in police over bank funds
A dispute between current and past elected officials of the Māori Council has now extended to a complaint to police about use of bank accounts, reports Aaron Smale The Māori Council has made a formal complaint to the police about tens of thousands of dollars paid out of its accounts after ...8 hours ago - Ardern govt surprised by news of Aussie decision to buy nuclear subs and form new security partnersh...
What do you do when your neighbour goes nuclear? The Ardern government will be tackling that question after being taken aback by news the Australians are to buy US nuclear attack submarines and will form a new trilateral security partnership to be called AUKUS. Our Beehive connections tell us PM ...8 hours ago - Forest & Bird beating a hollow and expensive drumForest & Bird’s opposition to new consenting pathways for quarries is a call to burn more fuel and add cost to every new home, says the Aggregate and Quarry Association. ...8 hours ago
- Conversion therapy ban bill: Submitters call for stronger lawThe proposed law banning conversion therapy practices is not strong enough, some submitters have argued, and needs work to ensure it will do what it aims to. ...9 hours ago
- Covid-19 briefing: Gathering limits could increase under level twoIf Auckland does move down an alert level next week, the rest of the country will also see some easing of the alert level 2 rules, according to the prime minister. Watch the latest government update here. ...9 hours ago
- Why nuclear submarines are a smart military move for Australia — and could deter China furtherSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Blaxland, Professor, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University The Morrison government has decided it’s best for Australia to accelerate the production of a more capable, integrated, nuclear-powered submarine platform with the US and the UK. This will more ...9 hours ago
- ‘It’s a quarantine lifestyle’: Apprentice winner Vanessa Goodson on testing positive for Covid...Vanessa ‘OMGNess’ Goodson, winner of The Apprentice Aotearoa, tells Alex Casey about her Covid-19 experience, and why she is using her large Instagram platform to share the realities of life in quarantine. Her one regret is not bringing her balloon pump into quarantine with her. “I so could have done my ...9 hours ago
- Vaccinations need to reach 90% of First Nations adults and teens to protect vulnerable communitiesSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Komesaroff, Professor of Medicine, Monash University While some Australians are awaiting the nation reopening after lockdowns with hope and optimism, others are approaching it with dread. This is because a blanket lifting of restrictions when the vaccination rate reaches 70% will ...10 hours ago
- ExportNZ Welcomes Exporter MIQ PilotExportNZ’s Executive Director, Catherine Beard, welcomed the announcement that there will be some MIQ rooms set aside for urgent exporter travel. "We have been talking and writing to MBIE officials and Ministers for months about setting ...10 hours ago
- Governments treatment of climate change inducing anxietyParents for Climate Aotearoa (P4CA) with a weary heart welcome the global study into climate anxiety in children and young people. The survey illustrates the depth of anxiety many young people are feeling about climate change. Nearly 60% of young ...10 hours ago
- Covid-19: Jacinda Ardern, Ashley Bloomfield give updatePrime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield are giving an update on Covid-19 case numbers and the response. ...10 hours ago
- Anti-forestry drive destructive to environment and economyForesters are calling a proposed anti-forestry coalition of local bodies a prejudiced step backwards in time and destructive for their communities both environmentally and economically. ...10 hours ago
- Rangi McLean: ‘Ehara ko au te tangata ka tuku i te Rewharewha kia rērere anō’Hei tā te heamana o te marae o Manurewa, nā te pānga nui o ngā mate urutā ki ngā hapori Māori o mua tau i mārama ai tōna hiahia nui – kia kaua rawa anō. Translated by Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori. Read this story in English.Nō te rongo ...10 hours ago
- Manurewa marae and Covid-19: ‘We ignored Billy TK and got on with it’Manurewa marae chairman Rangi McLean says the lessons of past pandemics that devastated Māori communities made his goal clear – ignore the noise and ensure it never happens again. Read the te reo Māori version of this story here.When Rangi McLean, chairman of the Manurewa marae in Manukau, first heard of ...10 hours ago
- Te Rito Maioha disappointed about pay parity pathwayTe Rito Maioha Early Childhood New Zealand is concerned about the announcement which will see some ECE teachers | kaiako waiting longer to take a step closer to pay parity with their kindergarten colleagues. ...10 hours ago
- The Spinoff Covid tracker: 14 live graphs that tell the story of delta in AotearoaEverything you need to know about how the Covid-19 pandemic is tracking in New Zealand, through regularly updated data visualisations.The Spinoff Covid tracker brings together all the relevant Covid data – cases, tests, vaccination and mobility – in one place.The aim of this page is to show the numbers in ...11 hours ago
- Need for continued government support and focus on equalityThe Council of Trade Unions welcomes today’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data showing New Zealand is on the right path to economic recovery from COVID-19. ...11 hours ago
- Parents, take the school holidays pressure off yourself. Let the kids embrace the boredomSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Monica Thielking, Associate Professor, Chair of the Department of Psychological Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology Shutterstock If you’re a parent feeling a modicum of dread about the upcoming school holidays, you’re not alone. Many parents will be working from home ...11 hours ago
- Afghanistan: Pressure stays on NZ government to take actionDozens of organisations and individuals have put their name to an open letter calling on New Zealand to give refuge to all Afghan nationals who helped defence forces, and take more refugees. ...12 hours ago
- ‘Mud farming’ clear evidence of too many cows – GreenpeaceGreenpeace Aotearoa is launching a new petition calling for an end to mud farming - intensive winter grazing. The petition comes as new images of cows belly-deep in mud this winter provide further evidence that the country is trying - and failing ...12 hours ago
- Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – September 16 2021Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage. You can sign up to NZ Politics Daily as well as New Zealand Political Roundup columns for free here. Today’s content National Party Josh Van Veen (Democracy Project): The ...12 hours ago
- An ecstatic review of the new essay collection by Nina Mingya PowlesBooks editor Catherine Woulfe reads Small Bodies of Water. September, Tāmaki Makaurau, spring. The season of kōwhai and magnolias and mānuka. Absolutely not the right time for feijoas, they fruit at Easter. And yet this morning my toddler ran across the lawn to me chanting BEEJOA BEEJOA. She thrust her hand ...12 hours ago
- Backpedaling of ECE pay parity commitment will hurt teachersMore than 5000 ECE teachers will lose access to pay increases they were eligible for next year because of backpedaling on pay parity by Education Minister Chris Hipkins, their union NZEI Te Riu Roa says. ...13 hours ago
- New Conservative Rejects Anti-Democratic Name ChangesNew Conservative says there is no demand from the New Zealand public for a renaming of our country and place names. Recent polling from Hobson’s Pledge shows that 64% of New Zealanders oppose such a change. ...13 hours ago
- Air NZ's route to a zero carbon fleet is a long haul, not a short hop
The national carrier plans to keep flying fossil-fuelled jets until at least 2050 ...13 hours ago - How the Breakfast team became the Destiny’s Child of TikTok dancesTVNZ’s Breakfast team has embraced viral dances in lockdown, and people are loving it. Stewart Sowman-Lund talks to Matty McLean about the birth of Breakfast’s Child. The Breakfast team established early on that Jenny was the Beyoncé of the group. “We just follow her lead,” Matty McLean says. “Now, Jenny-May and ...14 hours ago
- Dunne Speaks: Proud to call Aotearoa homeTe Paati Māori continues to provide a breath of fresh air in the political space, otherwise thoroughly choked by Covid19. Its call this week this week for a referendum on changing the country’s name to Aotearoa by 2026 is timely and a welcome diversion ...14 hours ago
- There she blows: the internal ‘magma filter’ that prompts ocean island volcanoes to eruptSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Teresa Ubide, Senior Lecturer in Igneous Petrology/Volcanology, The University of Queensland Laura Becerril, Author provided The volcanoes we see on Earth’s surface are just the tip of the iceberg. Beneath the surface, they are fed by a complex network of ...14 hours ago
- Vaccine passports are coming. But are they ethical?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julian Savulescu, Visiting Professor in Biomedical Ethics, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute; Distinguished Visiting Professor in Law, University of Melbourne; Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics, University of Oxford The main way to control the pandemic, as we have all painfully found out, has ...14 hours ago
- You’re much less likely to get long COVID if you’ve been vaccinatedSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gail Matthews, Professor and Program Head, Therapeutic Vaccine and Research Program, Kirby Institute, UNSW Increasing COVID-19 vaccination rates as quickly as possible is currently a major focus for Australia. Doing so has clear benefits in reducing new infections and preventing severe disease, ...14 hours ago
- Smoke from the Black Summer fires created an algal bloom bigger than Australia in the Southern OceanSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christina Schallenberg, Research Fellow, University of Tasmania Himawari-8, Author provided In 2019 and 2020, bushfires razed more than 18 million hectares of land in Australia. For weeks, smoke choked major cities, leading to almost 450 deaths, and even circumnavigated the ...14 hours ago
- Jaws of death: how the canine teeth of carnivorous mammals evolved to make them super-killersSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tahlia Pollock, PhD candidate, Monash University Author provided Carnivorous animals come in all shapes and sizes, from the 500-gram quoll to the 500-kilogram polar bear. This disparate group of mammals shares a common feature: canine teeth at the front of their ...14 hours ago
- We analysed data from 29,798 clean-ups around the world to uncover some of the worst litter hotspotsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lauren Roman, Postdoctoral Researcher, Oceans and Atmosphere, CSIRO Shutterstock Coastal litter is a big environmental problem. But how does this litter differ around the world, and why? In the first global analysis of its kind, we set out to answer ...14 hours ago
- I asked historians what find made them go ‘wait, wut?’ Here’s a taste of the hundreds of repli...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Evan Smith, Research Fellow in History, Flinders University ‘That physicians in the Anti-Vaccine Society (England, early 19th C) were concerned that Jenner’s smallpox inoculation gave people bovine-like features.’ – historian’s tweet in reply to author asking about memorable finds. Twitter/Wellcome Often ...14 hours ago
- From pygmies to puppets: what to do with Roald Dahl’s enslaved Oompa-Loompas in modern adaptations...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Cantrell, Lecturer in Writing, Editing, and Publishing, University of Southern Queensland The stage adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has opened in Brisbane. Charlie, like all of Roald Dahl’s novels for children, celebrates courage, resilience and the creative ...14 hours ago
- Live updates, September 16: ‘Judith’s doing a great job’ – senior National MP backs leader d...Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for September 16, by Stewart Sowman-Lund. Help us keep you informed on Covid-19 – click here to learn how you can join The Spinoff Members. Get in touch at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz. 8.00am: ‘Judith’s doing a great job’ – senior National MP backs leader despite crushing ...15 hours ago
- Why are some companies more affected by denial of service attacks?A number of New Zealand companies have fallen prey to DDoS attacks lately. But why are they being targeted and why can’t they handle it? As Ben Gracewood explains, they all have one thing in common.If you’re a Kiwibank customer, have been trying to track a parcel with CourierPost or ...15 hours ago
- Trees worth more than cows as carbon price soarsNew Zealand’s carbon market is acting odd and some worry it could push the conversion of more farms into pine forests, Justin Giovannetti writes in The Bulletin.New Zealand’s carbon price is at a record high, which means planting pine trees will now fetch farmers more money than raising sheep and ...15 hours ago
- Weight Of Sixty-one Organisations, Individuals And Community Members Call For Urgent Action For Afgh...September 16, 2021 - An open letter to Hon Nanaia Mahuta, Minister of Foreign Affairs was submitted today with signatures from 61 organisations, individuals and Afghan community members calling for urgent action for Afghanistan. In the open letter, ...17 hours ago
- Newsroom daily crossword, Thursday 16 September17 hours ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 16 September17 hours ago
- Our obligation to the people of AfghanistanAn open letter signed by more than 60 civil society organisations and individuals calls for the government to urgently increase its efforts when it comes to the crisis in Afghanistan. The letter, below, is introduced here by Rebecca Kingi of World Vision and Jo Spratt of Oxfam Aotearoa.New Zealand has ...18 hours ago
- The pettiness destroying Judith Collins' leadership
Former minister Peter Dunne says Judith Collins' personalised attacks and National's ineffectiveness over the Covid response make it hard to take the Opposition party seriously ...18 hours ago - Book of the Week: A master of the short story
Kiran Dass reviews a collection of stories detailing the quiet unease of NZ domestic life Earlier this year, the 2021 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards judges Claire Finlayson, Paul Little and myself awarded a collection of short stories, Bug Week by Whanganui writer Airini Beautrais, the top fiction prize in ...18 hours ago - The A2 milkshake
The A2 Milk Company was the darling of the stock exchange, but Covid-inspired events have seen its fortunes tumble. It used to be the darling of the share market, racing from 75 cents before sales of its infant milk powder took off, peaking at more than $21 last year. But ...18 hours ago - Vaccines in the workplace new territory for employment law
The unions and business community is split on the issue. ...18 hours ago - Access to justice or protecting the big end of town?
A Law Commission review into class actions has exposed the battle between supporters of third party litigation funding, and the corporates (and their insurance companies) which would really prefer it if class actions just went away. ...18 hours ago - Climate plan delay shows govt-as-usual not up to task
The Government's decision to delay the release of its climate change plan highlights the need for a new way of doing business amidst the climate emergency, Marc Daalder writes Comment: James Shaw's announcement on Wednesday that the Government will take an extra five months to release its climate change plan will ...18 hours ago - How a Kiwi bot can combat attacks on athletes
Female athletes are more likely to be the targets of vitriolic online abuse. But two Kiwi women have created a bot to call out the sports trolls, Ashley Stanley discovers. Jump on any athlete or sports team’s social media accounts after a competition, and you'll find a stream of comments ...18 hours ago - Quarantine: No tests and out after 10 days
While 14 days of isolation has been the common prescription for Covid by the Government since the beginning of the pandemic, some quarantine facilities in Auckland are letting their charges out a few days earlier Of the more than 10,000 tests taken in Auckland over the last 24 hours, it seems ...18 hours ago - 'Paranoid storm' and a poll from hell cloud Collins' leadership
Scathing criticism from a former staffer won't sink Judith Collins alone - but coupled with a dire poll and caucus unease, her leadership is already taking on water Sam Sachdeva writes Media veteran Janet Wilson spent several months as the National Party’s chief press secretary during its doomed 2020 election ...18 hours ago - Siouxsie Wiles & Toby Morris: Do I really need a Covid-19 vaccine, even if I’m fit and healthy...Vaccination is our most powerful defence against Covid-19. Siouxsie Wiles and Toby Morris address recent concerns, and explain how it works like a real-life cheat code.The Spinoff’s ongoing Covid coverage depends on support from members. Learn more here.Over the last few weeks, I’ve been doing lots of webinars, talking to ...22 hours ago
- Christian Porter’s ministerial future on the line as Morrison seeks advice on ‘blind trust’Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Christian Porter’s ministerial future is again on the line, with Scott Morrison seeking advice on whether his receiving money for his legal bills from a “blind trust” breaches the ministerial standards code. Morrison discussed the ...24 hours ago
- Rob Fyfe wants 'ambitious' vaccine target from governmentGovernment Covid-19 business adviser Rob Fyfe says he wants the government to set a clear target for vaccination numbers. ...1 day ago
- Celebrity Treasure Island power rankings: To the victor go the oilsIt’s week two of Celebrity Treasure Island, and the games are just beginning. Welcome back to Celebrity Treasure Island, a blessed world where the poo cave echoes with the dreams of the brave, the possums cackle through the night, and our brave celebrities push themselves to their limits to raise ...1 day ago
This is big news! Mr Potato Head is going gender neutral!
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/a-mister-no-more-mr-potato-head-goes-gender-neutral/G76OXQM5422ZUNZGDAOQOXN7FE/
Just remembering the part in Toy Story where the toys are joking that Tommy has unboxed a Mrs Potato Head.
I don't see what problem this is supposed to solve.
Is a ban effective when the poster who gets handed the ban only finds out about it after the ban is over?
"I don't see what problem this is supposed to solve." Do you mean problem that Mr Potato head is no longer a Mr?
It appears that Bridges wants to debate gangs with Coster and not with the minister of police.
Is this going to be the tactic that National now use going after the top public servants?
Well the civil servants aren't allowed to fight back – probably the only fight National might manage to "win" – though even that is in doubt.
Is the Minister of Police on leave? Do we even have a Minister of Police? Who might that be? Can somebody please tell Simon Bridges and the National Party for that matter on whom to aim his callous attacks? Is he trying to seed discord between the Minister and the Commissioner?
Is the Minister of Police on leave?
I would put this question to Bridges.
Spot on.
Leaked documents exposes UK government propaganda campaign against Russia.
"After The Grayzone's Max Blumenthal reported on newly leaked documents exposing a massive UK government propaganda campaign against Russia, Twitter added an unprecedented warning label that the material "may have been obtained through hacking." Although Twitter may have intended to restrict the article, the warning had the opposite effect: it quickly went viral."
And of course butter wouldn't melt in that nice Mr Putin's mouth.
"And of course butter wouldn't melt in that nice Mr Putin's mouth."…are you just an actual idiot or are you just trolling? Let us just settle this once and for all…you go find one time when I have said anything that is in support of Putin or his government, if you can then I shut up about all this anti Russian/Putin propaganda…if you can't, then you stop pushing western anti Russian/Putin propaganda on this site…or if you are not willing to put your money where your mouth is, knowing full well that you are going to lose that challenge (just as your fellow Russiagate friends have already lost similar challenges ) then how about countering the actual substance of the leaked documents….if not any of the above, then how about you just don't comment to me in future.
I am in fact very concerned by your incessant spreading of material in support of this murderous and invasive regime. As you put it:
are you just an actual idiot?
Never mind the western propaganda – there is nothing to admire or support in Putin's Russia.
So what's your deal? Why circulate Putin's side of every story? Isn't a genocide and the poisonings and assassinations of multiple political opponents and journalists enough to make you reflect even briefly on your invariable choice to repeat his disinformation campaigns?
Aside from your pathetic groveling to Russia you certainly give the impression of being progressive.
How do you reconcile this behaviour? Are you simply a romantic, endlessly open to these risible conspiracy theories? Like the Covidiots?
"there is nothing to admire or support in Putin's Russia."
That is a little bit harsh Stuart. I think there are some things. Alexei Navalny for example. He may not be perfect but, by returning to Russia as he has done, he is certainly displaying incredible courage and deserves our admiration for that.
Admiration of Navalny must be tempered by the history that has made Amnesty drop his cause like a hot potato.
Hillarious, did you know the same group of journalists are behind both this story and the one your claiming is Russian disinformation.
You know what's really hilarious? Self-styled progressives with a crush on a murderous authoritarian kleptocrat.
Please do link to my statements supporting Putin. LPrent will definitely want to look into however people are impersonating logins.
"So what's your deal? Why circulate Putin's side of every story? Isn't a genocide and the poisonings and assassinations of multiple political opponents and journalists enough to make you reflect even briefly on your invariable choice to repeat his disinformation campaigns?"
This seems a very ethnocentric sort of comment. But, without wishing to condone the assassinations, etc, I should point out that Russia is a very different country from Britain, and one that has not enjoyed the many centuries of democratic development that the latter has enjoyed.
a very ethnocentric sort of comment
There are, you know, some truths to be derived from culture.
One of them is that organized crime has culturally bound tropes – Japanese criminals during their world cup were disproportionately involved in minor frauds like ticket scalping, and German and English offenders were overrepresented in brawling. Cocaine is a staple of Central American crime gangs, petrol thefts or swindles are characteristic of Russian crime gangs, and kidnapping of the original Sicilian mafia.
Murders of journalists and opposition party members are almost routine in Russia; thus far NZ political culture has not added them to its repertoire.
" genocide and the poisonings and assassinations of multiple political opponents and journalists "
You need to provide some evidence of this or one may think you are " simply a romantic, endlessly open to these risible conspiracy theories"
I have provided you with such evidence before, but you have chosen to ignore it. But, lest your double standards sway casual observers:
Murdered Russian journalists.
Murdered Russian opposition figures.
The Herald list is by no means exhaustive.
Is it not obvious to you how biased you are?
Obviously not
I'm suppose to except your articles from granny Herald and wikipedia while you refuse to read RT articles.
You do know what the 'wiki' in wikipedia means don't you?
I just cant be bothered with you.
You do know what the 'wiki' in wikipedia means don't you?
Yes. But when we're discussing state sanctioned murder, I expected that you would have enough grace not to try to split hairs. Evidently not.
Metaphorically speaking, ethnocentricity is a form of blindness.
Incidentally, I see the British have now passed a law authorising their agents to commit crimes without having to face prosecution.
Metaphorically speaking, ethnocentricity is a form of blindness.
Yes of course – we must immediately embrace the culture of murderous authoritarians instead of defending the principles to which our society aspires. Does your moral relativism extend to Xi and the Uyghurs, or is China a bridge too far for you?
Should we punish innocent Russian citizens by declaring war on Russia, imposing trade sanctions, or whatever, simply because we disapprove of its government's alleged crimes. Or are the people to be considered simply as collateral damage.
The "Russians", whom you seem to be obsessed with badmouthing, haven't committed any crimes.
Should we punish innocent Russian citizens…
Do you know, I haven't decided what should be done about Russia. But what we should not do, is pretend that a routinely dishonest and murderous regime is not dishonest and murderous.
" there is nothing to admire or support in Putin's Russia."
I think you may be a little obsessed with Putin.
Why is that?
He represents a fatal danger to the progressive enterprise.
He has no progressive merits, but readily suborns shallow, weak-minded people to his cause, who then proceed to choke Left discourse with apologies for his most recent atrocities.
Its not Romantasism..its a desire for truth…
For my part ..the problem with the Anti Putin rhetoric is that it dominates western media for absolutely no practicable purpose,…leaving the stories, the issues and the political intrigue we should be occupied with entirely sidelined.
Just one aspect of this is the narrative around Russias supposed involvement/meddling in foreign elections. Sure, I have no doubt they do some of that, as do Western nations intervein in Russian politics…but just imagine if we had had daily updates from RNZ on the corruption and manipulations of the American political process by Americans(and not just Trump Bad) rather than the existential threat of Putin.
Same with our coverage of UK politics…our news sources on a daily basis told us we are interested in skripal poisoning and Russian interference ..though apparently not the actual workings of the UK election. (..beyond some coverage Corbyn being an appalling prospect)
And in all of these examples…our apparent interest seems to conveniently wain just around the time officials have to conced there is a total absence of viable, significant legal evidence to suport their terribly exciting narrative.
Meantime us Western nations are left with our two major influencers (ie UK and America) in absolute self inflicted disarray, ill equipped to deal with the actual threats to peacful life on the planet
I put it to you that our Democratic process would be far better served critiquing our Wester partners than obssesing about the existentialist threat of a sidelined nation such as Russia.
This clip has been posted many times before..but I shall do it again ..remember this is something we would have laughed at a few years ago ..and I know this was about "policy"…yet here we are ..in effect…still worrying about this supposed terrible threat to our way of Life!!
https://teara.govt.nz/en/interactive/35759/dancing-cossacks-1975
It says much for the relevance of your argument that you have to go back to 1975 for your example of anti-Russian propaganda. Perhaps it is not as significant a trend as you assert.
The fact is that Russia indulges in activities that are newsworthy. So does Kim Jong Eun. When that leader executes someone with an antiaircraft weapon, or Putin has someone assassinated, or funds trolls to support extremists in other countries, it tends to get reported. Moreover, Russian intelligence, being used to operating in countries with limited forensic resources and significant endemic corruption is readily detected when it carries out operations elsewhere.
Umm, Stuart the youtube link is discussing the very latest examples of UK governments anti-Russia propaganda.
We must be wary of such dubious sources. Putin's Russia has a lot of astroturfing form: Duped by Russia, freelancers ensnared in disinformation campaign by promise of easy money | Reuters
Reuters is one of the organisations implicated as involved by the leaks.
Oh of course – of course Russia seeks to impugn the most prestigious and professional news organization on the planet – its very existence threatens every dishonest narrative they publish.
The only reliable source must be those RT folk eh – no-one ever caught them lying through their teeth, or requiring a dishonest political line. Liz Wahl – Wikipedia
So your saying the leaked documents have been fabricated then?
@ Nic – I have no idea what documents you are referring to.
And I'm not about to wade through an hour of RT tripe to find out.
Yes, well clearly your self inflicted ignorance is getting in the way of your ability to justify the position your defending.
Yes, it's a great handicap – but not on a par with the mindless regurgitation that characterizes Putin dupes.
Do you have an actual case to make?
If so, present your evidence.
Your inability to deal with the claim about Reuters doesn't invalidate those claims.
Your refusal to produce evidence suggests that you have no confidence in its validity – or that you are persuadable sans evidence.
Well yes, but you have already refused to look at any of the article, video or even their summaries and related materials, so I can't really help you with that.
you have already refused to look at any of the article, video or even their summaries and related materials
I have refused to trawl through an hour of RT bullshit – and you and your fellow dupes have declined to provide anything else – no doubt due to the paucity and flimsiness of your case.
Um…thats entirely my point…we haven't moved on since 1975…
but anyway…google 'DEMOCRATS MUELLER PROTESTS" (heaps, right?) now google this mix or variation thereof … 'DEMOCRATS TAX CUTS FOR RICH & CORPORATIONS COVID-19 RELIEF BILL PROTEST" (clue…never happened, though you might get some old shots of Bernie and Warren from way back))…
Thats your example ..people on the streets with their leaders basicaly against Putin…not against political corruption by their own leaders..
Though this could lead to a conversation about the American (and world wide)protests that do happen, but don't get covered for obvious reasons…but I'll save that for another day ..with Biden and co. in charge I'm sure that will be a major topic….
Siobhan, you do realise that the results given by a Google search differ for individuals, dependent upon their recent internet and search history?
Your results my be completely different to Stuart's.
BTW the Covid Stimulus relief package is still making its way through congress, and recent polling shows that the majority of Americans support what's in it – so why would there be protesting?
For your info: here is an explainer of what Democrats propose. You need to understand however that this will not be an easy package to pass through the Senate given that Republicans will not vote for it. Just one Democrat Senator could sink this Bill. Looking at you Joe Manchin.
This is a common tactic of yours Stuart isn't it.
You wont/can't debate the issue of UK government propaganda campaign against Russia so you make childish statement to deflect from the issue.
Read the article and present a concise argument against it, if you can.
The film clip Adrian supplied is over an hour long, but it is the work of one Blumenthal, a paid regular contributor to RT, the propaganda arm of the Russian state. He's not worth anyone's time.
If you would care to present a brief summary of his allegations, I will happily check them out.
Of course he will not address the actual evidence of BBC,Reuters,Bellingcat being an active part of a coordinated British government covert operation to undermine Russia's sovereignty…so in other words, our Russiagate friends are outraged when Russia is accused if interfering in US/UK domestic affairs (though that has yet to be proven that this even happened on the scale Russia is accused of), yet when there is actual proof of the UK doing exactly that to Russia, suddenly it is fine..the hypocrisy of you lot is jaw dropping.
As I have said many times, after watching and observing you guys for a while, it becomes very easy to see just how easy it was to recruit the proverbial 'camp guards'
If an RT shill said they weren't gulags they were butlins-style holiday camps filled with fun activities, you'd be singing the praises of Putin's outdoor recreation program.
And posting hour long videos of a dude in a room telling the camera how awesome the camps are.
Aaahh..McFlock head camp guard..and who of course and as per usual doesn't address the actual issue…
The actual issue is between you and your medical professionals, in my opinion.
A pile of mid fifties war comics just arrived in the shop, was flicking through them at lunch..man these thing are hard core cold war propaganda…would suit you and your fellow dumb headed cold war warriors perfectly,.
And here I was thinking that human kind was evolving upwards ever so slowly, you just blew that theory out the door, well done.
I can just see you and your up standing pals doing your civic duty and reporting fellow citizens to the authorities..yeah right up your ally, as I said you are born camp guard.
Turns out you and Ayn Rand have more in common than you probably thought…it comes as no surprise to me though.
I mean, you could actually use something other than an hour-long rant as supporting evidence for an explicit claim that you, yourself, make with your own words.
Heck, one day you might manage to make a comment that is:
To be fair, a lot of your comments don't have videos.
Well I would rather be on mushrooms every now and then, than be some sort of crazy old cold war warrior who obviously has never been bothered with an original thought in their entire life time.
Long on pejoratives – short on evidence.
When was the last time you had a thought that hadn't been facilitated by RT?
Nobody on RT would be so dumb as to imply that 'The Standard' is a butlins style holiday camp.
I worked at a Pontins in Brixham for a few years.
Gulag/Holiday park – Same difference lol
Summarize your claim – I'm not giving RT 10 minutes of my life, much less an hour.
The confession of a closed mind. All credit to you for your willingness to admit it.
You've yet to present any evidence of anything whatsoever – whatever suits your laughable "Putin is Jesus" thesis I suppose.
But this is supposed to be a forum for serious political discussion. You claim you have evidence of something? Present it.
Don't expect me to spend hours trawling the intellectual sewer that is RT.
I have never made any claims regarding Putin, so I don't see why I should provide "evidence". I accept that Putin is pretty ruthless when it comes to retaining power, but I also see this as rather beside the point.
I don't see why I should provide "evidence".
Quite – rational discussion is for the sheeple eh.
Standing alone is fine, unless one is some crazy obsessive.
I'm always surprised that no one brings up the undisputed fact of the United States "intervention" in the 1996 Russian elections…and the American lead IMF loan of US$10.2 billion that Boris and his mates squandered ..quite blatantly…and this is just one aspect of that involvement that is so undeniable it is allowed to exist on Wikipedia …. the idea that anything the UK or America does now is "okay", as if its the first retaliatory blow against an interfering regime in some new battle..is quite ridiculous.
(and yes, that was American lead interference …but as everyone knows ..the UK is the money laundering hub for Russian elites and needs to be careful how it deals with and investigates Russian interference and, equaly manages its own covert operations.)
I understand your reluctance Adrian, to get into the factual (or otherwise) basis of your claim. It must be so deflating watching RT's tawdry lies shrivel in the sunlight.
Good one Putin get some of his own back.
@Tricledrown..see my comment to Stuart Munro above..that goes for you too…put up or shut up.
Last night I suppose Simon Bridges got about his business doing what he usually does.
Cops all over the country were too. Like in Papatoetoe, many of them over quite some hours. Will he find something to complain about with their 'nuanced' policing?
The Minister of Housing will be very happy.
Auckland has risen from number 6 in this Housing survey in 2020 up to number 4 in 2021 report. Go team! Why, with the great strides being made by the current Government we will get up to Number 1 before this term is up. I'm sure that Megan Woods is in raptures.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/housing-affordability/124367729/auckland-fourth-least-affordable-city-for-housing-among-world-cities–2021-demographia-report
Well John Key wanted to make NZ an Island for the very rich and i guess he has achieved that.
Oh, we are not to mention that the unaffordability of housing in NZ has been borne and has been fostered by the various National and Labour governments? My bad.
The rich love exclusivity; it makes them feel … rich.
"we are not to mention".
Why on earth shouldn't you mention it? As far as I know Andrew Little hasn't put his hate speech laws through yet so you can't be prosecuted for saying something that causes unhappiness in one of our Lords and Masters.
So go to it, while you can.
I just fixed your comment honey, if you want to put blame about the fact that Kiwis can't afford houses – be it to sell or to rent then you must put the blame on both parties.
The National party for selling statehouses, their refusal to build state houses and such and the timidity of Labour to put a CGT, and other reforms.
So yeah, you should have mentioned both parties. Bye now.
Of course previous Governments headed by both major parties have stuffed up. However for the last three and a half years we have had a Labour led Government. The article I linked to covered the way things have got even worse this year than they were last year.
National have not been in Government recently so you can't really expect them to do much about the situation. And John Key resigned as Prime Minister on 6 December 2016. Are you really suggesting he is responsible for things that are happening four and a quarter years later?
"are you really suggesting he is responsible for things that are happening four and a quarter years later"? yes, those many thousands of new New Zealanders he let in to try and prop up his version of responsible economic management will continue to put severe pressure on all of our infrastructure(not just housing) for many years to come. just as the deregulation in the building industry in the nineties has led to 25 yrs of problems with leaky homes. just as max bradfords disasterous phuckups while trying to reform the electricity industry 25 yrs ago ,still are causing long term damage. perhaps you need to do less trolling and more reading and learning.
Yes , no doubt about that one, at the time and now four and a half years later.
Lol…many people on this site will be blaming John Key (alias the devil) still in 10 years time!
That's 'Sir John Key' to you, Jimmy.
Whatever happened to "Nothing to hide, nothing to fear"?
Senior National Party figure accused of using secret alter ego 'Merv' to derail Auckland Central candidate
is there a time limit on phuckups and their effects? or do you want to push the reset button?
Yeah, take a leaf out of Alwyn’s book and let rip. FYI, Andrew Little has got no say over TS.
"Andrew Little has got no say over TS.".
Not yet baby, not yet. That is why I suggested that she say whatever she wants to.
However not having any say now doesn't affect the fact that he would like to have control in the future, when he can decide that anything he doesn't like being said is hate speech and can be punished. After all, when your skin is as thin as his seems to be he can be hurt by anything that isn't totally admiring of anything he does.
https://www.odt.co.nz/star-news/star-opinion/strengthening-hate-speech-laws-or-attacking-free-speech
Oh look, another 'alwyn fact' – keep up the good work, while you still can
Edit: Maybe Newman’s opinion pieces are on Little’s ‘little list‘. They never would be missed.
https://www.nzcpr.com/author/mn/
It's because of Covid returnees, [RL: Abuse deleted]
Partially yes, but frankly it was bad before covid.
And how bout Rotorua? Where houses now also cost over a million? And Taupo, which can't attract enough trades people for lack of housing? And Tauranga? Where expensive houses are literally build on sand?
Our housing crisis is bad not because of people coming home, our housing crisis is bad because Government is missing in action at best, at worst they are refusing to implement meaningful policy and legislation that would allow for a cooling of the housing market.
But so long as banks are ok to offer mortgages at 2.99% and less for a loan over 500.000 grand speculators who have cash flush or equitiy will buy and buy and buy.
Btw, there is borded up empty houses where i live. The landlord can't be bothered to rent, he will sell for Captial Gain…….untaxed in a few month.
Regarding the borded up houses – It may cost him a considerable amount of money to rent them as he would probably need to upgrade the insulation, install heat pumps / air con units and various other requirements to meet the new rental standards. This is an unintended consequence of the new rental laws. He may or may not have the funds to do that, so better to leave empty.
that is the saddest excuse i have ever heard. The house was rented before it was borded up.
So what you are saying is he extracted as much revenue as he could without having to bring the house up to any standards, and now he waits a few more month before unloading it on a buyer.
Slumlandlord, and i have no pity with him. Never mind there is a borded up house in the road and we have homeless up and down the country.
Btw, i bought a rental property to live in, it cost me 3 grand to put roof insulation in, two hundred bucks for a fan/light/heat in bathroom, and 4 grand for a small heat pump.
If a landlord does not have the money to spend 5 – 8 grand to get the house to the min standard required to rent it out, while being able to extract at the median 460.00 per week nigh on 2 grand per month, or around 22.000 grand per year, then the dude needs to get out of business.
Like I said, it's an unintended consequence. A lot of landlords have mortgage payments higher than the rent they receive. They may be "equity rich" but are cash poor. And it would not surprise me that some do not have a spare $7k sitting around to bring the property up to the renting standard. Ironically, it would be fine for them to live in themselves without heat pump etc. or spending on it. But I agree that maybe its time for this particular landlord to get out of the renting market and sell the property (which as you said may be the intention).
if they are equity rich, and have a rental that is currently rented, then any bank will happily loan them the 5 – 8 grand needed. Besides they knew now for about 4 years that this date was coming.
This is still the dumbest excuse. Sorry, i am letting my property fall even further into disrepair by not doing anything cause i am broke as fuck, but in a few month when the value has gone up another few thousand dollars (according to the paper that i received from the council in my area house prices have doubled in the last three years) i will sell, cause money for nothing and stuff for free. Right?
Seriously, that should not even count as an excuse. No the house stays empty because a. he don't want to upgrade, and b. he wants to sell. For a handful of more dollars.
absolute bollocks. poor landlord cant raise $7 grand on a property worth anywhere from 300,000 upwards, to be able to earn 15 grand upwards. sounds like a tui ad.
I know, right – I have relatives building an extension enabled by their inflating property valuation.
A lot of landlords have mortgage payments higher than the rent they receive.
It is not the tenant's job to pay his landlord's mortgage. It's not the tenant who will own the house after the final mortgage payment is made. The landlord is already benefiting from the rort that interest deductibility represents. If he can't make ends meet from his business he should cut his losses a sell up; and perhaps in the process, liberate another house for some first home buyer.
Could the landlord downsize?
Probably would charge the same rent so the tenant always pays the mortgage.
I think you are missing the point. By offering accommodation a landlord is providing a service. and he should charge whatever that accommodation is worth. But whether or not that charge is sufficient to cover mortgage payments as well has his normal outgoings is irrelevant.
Perhaps you might to do another little calculation. How much did the property cost? Does a property of that price where you live cost $460 to rent? If not recalculate the theoretical rental.
How many weeks/year can you actually rent the property? It is unlikely to be 52.
What does an agent charge to look after the rental? Deduct that from the $22,000
What are the rates on the property? Deduct that from the $22,000.
What is the Insurance on the property? Deduct that from the $22,000.
What is the Interest you would have to pay for a mortgage on a sum equal to the entire cost of the property? Deduct that from the $22,000
What is the annual maintenance you will have to do? Deduct that from the $22,000.
Still making a real profit?
It's a wonder anyone even bothers – maybe land lords are in it for charity?
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/426054/landlords-expected-to-act-quickly-after-rent-freeze-ends
He should not be deducting interest. Interest is part of the cost of owning the property, not a part of the rental process. It is the renting out of the property that earns taxable income. Interest does not contribute to that.
Interest is the payment you have to make in order to own the property and without that you would have nothing to rent out. I wasn't counting any part of the capital amount of an assumed mortgage as that is going to provide you with something of value even if you don't get any rental income.
The Tax Department certainly allows you to deduct them from your rental income.
The following expenses can be deducted from your rental income.
https://www.propertytaxreturns.co.nz/property-tax-returns-faqs/
There are others but I was just giving an illustration.
Interest is the payment you have to make in order to own the property and without that you would have nothing to rent out.
In that case the problem would not arise.
The Tax Department certainly allows you to deduct them from your rental interest.
I do know what the Income Tax Act provides, but I believe that interest deductibility is an anomaly which should be removed from that act.
I see that someone seems to agree with me regarding interest deductibility:
There could be a change soon so that “rental property investors can’t claim interest on the mortgage as a taxable expense”, Hickey said.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/government-doesnt-want-push-house-prices-down-fearing-loss-votes-bernard-hickey
It would be an interesting world if rents were based on the size of the landlord's mortgage.
If a business borrows $500k from a bank, goes out and buys $500k of earth moving equipment and rents out those earth moving machines out, the interest on the loan to buy the equipment is deductible. Is that really any different to borrowing $500k to buy a property, and renting it out?
Of course not. There would be no problems with the same business borrowing/buying/leasing a second set of earth moving equipment and a third……
The narrative has been framed though that a business whose business is the acquisition, borrowing and leasing (renting) of residential property is worthy of opprobrium.
There is something wrong with the mindset that says it is a feasible/laudable idea for a first home owner to go head to head with home owners who are moving up the ladder and perhaps moving closer to town, and businesses who buy to rent in the desirable inner city suburbs of any city. Never has been.
Of course in the Wellington scene as an example it would be great for a first home owner to aspire to live in Wadestowns, Oriental Bays and other 'leafy' suburbs. It is not realistic though.
There are suburbs further out where a more realistic selection can seen. And these may be areas where a first home aspiree may not go head to head with existing home owners moving up closer to town or renting businesses.
Thankfully there are purpose built apartment dwellings being built close to the city that can fulfill a need for first home owners. These may not have an ensuite for every bedroom or a separate media room but they are warm, comfortable places to get a foot on the ladder.
as you have listed yourself below
interest – deductable – thus cost nil
rates – deductible – thus cost nil
insurance – deductible =- thus cost nil
property manager – deductible – thus cost nil
'renovations' – for the most part deductible – thus cost nil
and all of this is generally described as cost of doing buisiness.
Now what is charged to the tenant?
460 – in my sample, now that is the median rent in rotorua so really i am lowballing it. The boarded up property is a three bedder on a full section so would easy rent 500+. Never mind.
All the above mentioned costs are included in the rent. So let me spell this in plain english, the landlord does not pay any of the above mentioned costs, the tenant do.
And in the end of the year tax accounts all of the above listed costs will be deducted as an expense on any tax burden he/she may have.
As said before, if they can't make money out of rentals in NZ – the only most unregulated business in NZ – they should not be in the business.
I am currently saving per medium rent in Rotorua 260 NZD every week by not paying rent but a mortgage. Or if i rent this property for the median rent, I make about 110 profit before tax every week. And i get to keep the property and sell it for double the price i paid 3 years ago. Tax free.
Go cry a river about the hard done by landlord elsewhere.
You do not really have a head for business Sabine. Yes the mortgage interest is deductible to the landlord as is the other costs etc. But the tax rate is probably around 33%. The cost to the landlord is not Nil.
Best you speak to an accountant or financial advisor.
I'm glad I read on after Sabine's comment before I replied. You have saved me the trouble.
It is quite amazing how many people seem to think that deductions come of your tax, rather than off your taxable income.
I wish it was true.
taxable income decides the tax that you will pay.
if you can write of expenses and losses on investment against your taxable income than this will reduce your taxes.
Hence why in NZ we have very rich people only paying tax on 70.000 NZD (which has been given many a write of in the Herald/Stuff, or why dear Gareth Morgan is on record saying he pays no tax at all).
Ask your accountant if you find this to hard to understand.
But you don't get to claim that the costs of doing business is paid for by the landlord/investor when they are a. paid for by the tenant, and then are used to reduce the taxes a landlord may has to pay on the INCOME he made with his business before taxes. Its called double dipping.
So yeah, you are still making shit up as you go along.
Oh really? probably? So you don't even now, but just go for the higher end of taxes?
You do realise that in order to pay that 33% tax rate you have to have a certain income? Below that the tax rate is 22% and 17.5%%.
Just d on't be an accountant Jester. And if you don't have one get one, lest you pay 33% tax on your earnings even if you don't make enough.
Oh and if you have a property that is borded up and empty because you are tired of playing landlord you can even write of that 'loss of income' against your tax balance. 🙂 But you are not an accountant, aren't you?
Yes I am well aware of the lower than 33% tax rates for income under $70k which is why I used the word "probably".
I really have touched a nerve!
You have made me very curious. You say that the tax rates are "to pay that 33% tax rate you have to have a certain income? Below that the tax rate is 22% and 17.5%%."
Can you please tell me the bracket where a 22% rate applies?
What happened to the 10.5% and 30% levels?
Are you really sure about the numbers you are quoting?
Alwyn, I'm not sure about the tax rate of 22% that Sabine is talking about but currently:
Income up to $14k is taxed at 10.5%; then between $14k and $48k its 17.5%; between $48k and $70k its 30% then after $70k its at 33%, which is currently the top rate. But from 1st of April there will be a new 39% rate for income over $180k.
Yes. Those are the rates I, and I hope everyone who puts in a return, uses.
I was merely curious as to how Sabine, who lectures us on what she considers our errors, could dare to do so when she is so spectacularly wrong with her claims.
I certainly hope she isn’t a tax accountant.
If your property is boarded up because you are tired of "playing landlord", then none of your expenses are deductible. And the loss of of income is certainly not deductible.
the Income Tax Act is pretty clear: An expense is deductible if it is incurred for the purpose of gaining taxable income. So, no rents, no deductions.
Yes Mikesh you are correct that if a property is boarded up, it is unavailable to rent and expenses would not be deductible. I think Sabine's accountant was having a bad day.
There are ownership structures available to asset owning businesses where the tax rate is a straight 33%, they don't have the structured PAYE rates available to them.
So if they are a Trust and have income of $10,000 and have claimable deductions of $2000 they pay tax on $8000 at 33%. If they are a business and earn $10,000, have claimable deductions of 2000 they pay tax on $8000 at 28%.
I am not sure that you are quite correct re boarded up houses. You are able to claim deductions going forward if your property is available for renting. If it is boarded up it is arguable that it is 'available for renting'. The provision enables a person to claim expenses, say for maintenance if the aim is to continue renting.
https://www.ird.govt.nz/property/renting-out-residential-property/residential-rental-income-and-paying-tax-on-it/rental-expense-deductions
@ shanreag
Thanks for that information.
The cost to the landlord is what it is. The cost to the business is nil.
AND isn't the property income ring fenced, so losses only apply to the income from the property.
Considerable notice is given to landlords to fit required chattels and loans are available.
There would be a reason for a landlord not being able to take out a loan or not wanting to.
According to some commenters here it is the landlord's unalienable right to do with his property what he wishes, and we should do nothing lest we scare them off their valuable social service.
Even if their valuable social service is either an empty dwelling or one that makes its occupants sick.
Anyone who bitches about rental housing standards is in favour of festering slums. Inadequate housing kills – at least empty homes make the issue obvious.
With wisdom like yours no wonder the problem has got worse🤷♀️
nothing to do with low interest rates flooding of money by the reserve bank, no counter measures for the obvious consequence of this flood of money, labour not wanting to do anything but ask for a review on the tax system etc . But go ahead and think that with labour you 🙈🙊🙉
Of course I was referring to the spike in the last 12 month which was referred to. You may wish to ignore the effects of the flood of returnees, many with lots of cash, but any decent analysis would recognise the difference between this year and last.
This link shows that our net migration spike commenced from Aug 19 peaking Mar 20 pre Covid times.So what was the plan to accomodate these new arrivals to an already stressed situation ? As of Dec 20 returned back to 2014 levels, and I would not be surprised if the 12 month trend dramatically falls in the coming months. I picked u from you r comment that it is "only" immigration that has impacted on property prices – Which many would think as very limited in cause.
"Annual net migration ramped up before border closures and travel restrictions in March 2020 and has been falling away since then,” Mr Islam said.
https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/annual-net-migration-down-in-2020
Having put it in full speech marks, you'd better show where I said "only". Do you not think the peak in April 2020 at 94,846 net is not significant?
That is without considering the many offshore buyers having friends and family buy by proxy with the intention of returning home when they are able.
Your comment only covered this aspect without any mention or reference to any other factors, or even giving the impression that you believe that there are other factors. And that was before your comment was censored
The 94k peak is a 12 month rolling average so it covers May 19 to April 20. Most of which the period was Pre Covid. + Where was the governments policies to cater for this influx so as not to have the dire situation we are now in?
"many offshore buyers having friends and family buy by proxy with the intention of returning home when they are able." And why would NZ citizens/residents use proxy buyers ?
Nah, you're either being ignorant or disingenuous in trying to pretend the 94K peak was nothing to do with Covid.
Of course it was to do with Covid as overseas panic was in full swing in the three months immediately preceding our border closure, particularly in China. The stats you link to clearly show that, and importantly that more than usual were returning citizens and residents.
And if you are going to use full quotation marks, please make sure the person has actually said that verbatim. It is just plain good forumming.
You seem to be developing the habit of having one name in your pseudonym and then finishing your comment with another. I assume they are your family name and your first name.
In order that I can correctly address you can you tell me which is which? Are you known as "Muttonbird Moron" or are you more correctly referred to as "Moron Muttonbird"?
Meh.
So we have 2 burning issues before COVID
housing and tax/supporting those in need.
we have a Progressive government that …. waits and the issues progressively deteriorate . Perhaps that is why our pm describes her govt as progressive🤔
It looks as though Max's friend Jake Millar has run off with some of John Key's money. Oh dear, how sad, the old con-man has been taken in by a young upstart 'entrepreneur'.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018785159/kmart-shopper-waits-nearly-eight-hours-on-phone-for-covid-19-advice
An Aucklander who spent six minutes at a store where a Covid-19 case was working had to wait nearly eight hours on the phone to get advice from Healthline.
Even if this item isn't correct in every detail it illustrates cracks in the Covid management policy widening. Are front-line workers being properly paid and rested? Are investigators really on top of their job keeping up with the urgency needed, that was shown earlier on? NZ can't afford to be complacent. Recently one student was phoned a number of times without success, and a visit to the house wasn't made. In the meantime the virus was being spread.
The standards of effectiveness must be maintained in checking Covid, also the funding must be adequate. The effects on business, and people's ability to make a living, have a life and carry out responsibilities even, must be faciltated by a responsible and not cheese-paring government or private agencies.
At present I am waiting for a reply from the blood test laboratory to whom i made a call yesterday afternoon, which required that a message be left. I am asked to go on-line to make a booking, but I want to ask questions, and I don't want to have my computer as the centre of my life, and so be forced to commit money to have one or an expensive cellphone, tablet etc. Low cost wages and high-cost demands from government doesn't augur well for the future.
Is this an example of withdrawal of responsibility to the citizen and interaction with us, which crops up more regularly unfortunately, with a default position of using a computer for contacts and providing information. Or 'put it on facebook' and that's complied with our requirements for public notification or such.
Devices are coming between interaction from government and business and the people. Don't allow this to continue! Complain bitterly and don't swallow inevitability without a murmur as government withdraws from its traditional role in a democracy. Don't allow convenience to rule the day. First govt will drop this, then that, then it will be up to you, then it will be more efficient if you are always on tap, then there will be a nano-sized device inserted in your earlobe (in different art shapes picturing famous stars etc.)
Well the government could hire call takers, but i guess that is not in the budget.
Automation coming to us no matter how many of us could do the job better and faster.
Heh my first job was as a sales clerk taking incoming calls ….the standard was to answer the phone in three rings or less……..these days well not so much
They need bodies to answer these incoming calls. If you don't have them, it matters not what the policy says. Same goes for Winz btw.
Probably need to ring three times in one day today.
People at the other end need to be trained as well.
Well said GW. The overwhelming attitude that everyone has a computer, broadband and an online bank account or a phone where they can eat up paid minutes on hold and that is sufficient is the default position and using covid to introduce further restrictions is manipulative. Private companies are bad enough but the government needs to pull it's head in.
I am renewing my passport at level 1. In the past I could drop the form in at the wellington office, pay by eftpos and then drop back to collect it.
Now an appointment is required where I sat on hold for about 10 minutes (which is a lot of dough if some one is using pay as you use) and then a time is allocated supposedly because of covid. I was also asked to come by myself – which would be an issue for some people. Heavens knows if I will be able to collect it – which feels a great deal more secure than trusting it to couriers who leave the wrong parcels at my house and don't get signatures even when required. Payment options are also limited.
There is a real accessibility issue for the filing and payment of a lot of government services which needs to be dealt with. They are also tying themselves to technology like email addresses which will become less common.
Yes I get the feeling that email is passe' now. Heaven help us – the technocrats want to replace every useful personal and reliable service.
I think 'they' don't care if things go wrong provided they have had a first flush of profit. They might have to pay some of that back when some egregious error is found. But what-the-hell it will all be profitably replaced in six months, at extra cost to the citizen (ahem consumer) so keep the pressure on to innovate, innovate, innovate. (A hat-tip to the cry of the vacuum cleaners – Exterminate, exterminate, exterminate.)
As a side issue I saw on Stuff news yesterday an article giving an explanation of the Covid-19 exposure categories people fit into, the testing and the isolation required. I was left feeling a bit confused.
The Covid advice line is not meeting the needs of the people in a timely manner when it is essential to do so.
The Covid bloody phone call program prioritised calls wrongly and kept people waiting for hours. One woman's phone showed a call time of seven hours, 44 minutes. How can people organise their lives and their family's health status and comings and goings. The government has made life so unstable for ordinary people, has not mentioned recompense to those pushed around like pawns, and yet appears to consider this is a clever modern system that can't be bettered.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018785350/tech-problems-understaffing-behind-long-healthline-wait-times
They were dealing with huge call volumes – the Health Ministry says after the announcement of a new community case linked to Papatoetoe High School call volumes spiked – most of that day they had had average wait times of under a minute but that jumped to 36 minutes…
The ministry said Healthline had since increased the number of staff they have rostered on by 8 times – and call wait times are now mainly under 20 minutes. (That is a long time still! Is this the best that govt can do with the pandemic continuing so long?)
Another problem caused 92 people between lunchtime Tuesday and midnight Thursday to be cut off after waiting on the phone for two hours. This affected people who were on hold or even mid conversation.
…The ministry said this problem was "being addressed".
However they didn't say they would reimburse the people who had their phone payments diminished while they were waiting. This is what a good, responsible government service, or contractor, would do in this age of deliberate low wages and erratic work hours.
There should be an Expediter group who work shifts, looking to where the known hot spots are, assesses needs, and has staff able to work extra hours at short notice (with extra pay of course) to be called in, perhaps using police helicopters if available to pick up stafff.
A tier to immediately respond is a good idea.
Questions I would ask is do you know which category you fit into, the testing you require and the isolating period?
As for the contact tracing and tracking a 6c note book could have been supplied and used as a reference, adding people who you were out with.
Going to Level 1 from Level 2 was done too quickly.
Containing Covid-19 is about doing the basics well whenever a community case appears and not leaving anything to chance.
Some welcome policy from Kris Faafoi.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/437205/migration-will-not-return-to-pre-covid-levels-when-nz-border-reopens-immigration-minister-warns
Should allow New Zealand’s housing and infrastructure issues to be managed better.
I was wondering if someone else had picked up on this. This is a HUGE change, and it will be fought tooth and nail by affected sectors that have grown addicted to ready access to a stream of easily exploitable, low wage foreign workers. Look out for accusations of racism, bitter mocking from the usual media suspects of Ardern's appeal to inclusivity, scare stories about unpicked crops, fallow fields and the unaffordable cost of restaurant meals with a crippling inability to hire chefs.
More to the point, it shows the government is walking away from the ideology of the globalised, laissez-faire labour market in favour of greater controls on the inflow of foreigners. I see the impact of Labour's Maori caucus in this, it seems they are replacing NZ First as the voice of the working poor on the struggle street of the low wage, unskilled economy – because make no mistake this will push up wages for low skilled locals.
In the absence of any political or societal will to use NZ's wealth to invest in critical infrastructure and then housing, there is no other option than to stem the flow of people.
And, as you point out, a major offensive on cheap imported labour will have the benefit of encouraging employers to upskill local workers rather than ignoring them.
I knew we had a fair bit of cheap labour in NZ, but I'll be the first to admit my middle class ass had no idea exactly how much we were relying on cheap Brazilians to run of tourist centre bars and cafes, how much we relied on cheap, deeply exploited Indians on dubious "study" visas to work in menial tasks, how much we needed cheap labour from the Pacific and Asia to provide labour for our rest homes and pick our crops and clean our toilets and all that sort of thing. We had created and enabled a studiously ignored third world economy where the worst exploiters were from the same ethnic groups and set it to run parallel to, and largely for the benefit of, our comfy Pakeha first world one. It has to stop.
"… for the benefit of our comfy Pakeha first world…"
Might pay to take the racist blinkers off. Maori for decades resisted foreign owned charter fisheries vessels that they employed being subject to NZ laws and conditions of employment. These vessels were repeatedly described as 'slave ships' and a form of colonisation. Not for the benefit of Pakeha, but for the benefit of the coffers of Maori .
And the appalling exploitation you rightly refer to is for the benefit not just of Pakeha, but also of our Chinese, Indian and other immigrants, alongside of course Maori. Wander down to the local Warehouse. Plenty of non-Pakeha sure happy to buy cheap stuff made in Asian sweatshops. Or do you consider it OK to exploit others if the beneficiaries of that exploitation are not white?
Peter CH You are making a sweeping generalisation. Sealord was set up as a business that had to compete with other businesses. A large share in it, maybe half, was sold to I think a Japanese firm that had experience – so half Maori business interests and half foreign. There was a threat from I think Sandfords, a chap Gilchrist from memory, to sue the Nelson Polytechnic when they set up a dedicated course for training Maori seamen. Nelson Poly stepped back from Court costs under this threat.
So there were barriers to overcome by Maori as to what way things would be done. Give them some slack will you. So many pakeha know just how things should be done, it is a surprise that so much of NZ business is owned or been sold to overseas corporations. Where are all you smart people standing tall and successful and determined on NZ ownership, as NZ 'captains of business'??
The foreign involvement predated the Maori interest. There's an explanation here: essentially a large chunk of NZ fisheries had been illegally offshored when Carter Holt Harvey went above a certain percentage of foreign ownership. Instead of confiscating CHH's quota, government cobbled together a deal whereby a Maori entity obtained a company and a large parcel of quota.
Inexperience cost Sealord dearly early on, and neither foreign charters nor locally based catcher contractors did them any favours. A habit of overcapitalisation remains, but the worst of their excesses have mostly ground to a halt. During this time they lost ground, going from NZ's largest fishing company to about number three. Meanwhile the contemporaneous rise of Southern Clams showed that growth and profitability were quite possible in the then market conditions – and without slave crews.
I wouldn't have known either, until I began to see foreign students who have finished a diploma or degree in NZ's tertiary sector (both established academic institutions and the new generation of private providers). I do what little I can to help them escape two equally invidious paths – go into the swamp of low-wage exploitation, or lose their visas and go home. From what I've seen, it all looks a bit like a sophisticated, vertically integrated scam.
They used to call these jobs "kiwi experience' and any migrant into NZ had to content with these jobs. Heck i knew people that worked for free to gain that mythical kiwi experience even if they very educated.
I would assume that the aged care sector would fall apart if it had to employ only locals.
Yes I see this as generally a good call but agree it will be fought hard. Too many employers love it for the power it gives them. I did wonder if the government would ever say this although there seemed to be some foot dragging around visa's.
Will they also look at the 18-30 working holiday visas with about 45 countries with the USA and Canada being eligible for 2 years rather than one and those two countries plus the UK having an uncapped limit plus possibly others
. Also the au pairs where they can be worked for up to 40 hours for a pittance (plus I assume no tax on the free board and lodging).
It floods the market as our young people are trying for their first jobs and undermines their ability to get that early training. And it's not like we have the same numbers of young people taking advantage of reciprocal arrangements.
And I assume future working tied to student visas will be post grad or undergrad exchanges for state universities.
I would like to see some continuation of access from the islands though but on far better terms and conditions so there is no exploitation. It seems to be a good way of putting some money into small fragile economies from the bottom up rather than top down type overseas aid.
Hope they slug the investor visa too. i don’t see too many factories from these and I think there was a survey that showed most just stuck the money into something secure then took it back at then end of the period.
Plus I would want the income limits lifted to really high ones. Why should the good paying jobs we have be inspire foreign competition.
The first thing which strikes me about this policy is the age of the workers who do seasonal work. Due to tourism and the hospitality industry not being what it used to be, there possibly is an expectation that a person who worked in hospitality now looks for seasonal work or upskills.
I've just found Lawrence Ferlinghetti RIP – poet, ex-Navy, bookseller and Artist. Here he is reading one of his poems I think.
Lawrence Ferlinghetti: The world is a beautiful place
Obituary – https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/lawrence-ferlinghetti-obituary-0vlsllwkl
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/feb/23/lawrence-ferlinghetti-obituary
I guess Bob's the last of the beatniks.
Letter to Larry
On 28 April 1964 (date of the postmark), Bob Dylan wrote a prose-poem letter to Lawrence Ferlinghetti after calling on him a couple of months earlier (20 February 1964) and finding him not home.
deare larry.
have no sports car.
weather., good.
traffic moving slowly thru tunnel.
breeze is from the west an I ahah am goin
t france tomorrow. have t look thru all my pants pockets
an collect things t send t you.
as of now I am in the midst of destroyin all I’ve
done (I’ve even crashed my old typewriter t pieces an have burned my
pens into little tiny plastic statues)
I know I will send you something one of these days.
all I have t do is finish something t send you.
in any case, if I am poisened or framed or kilt orratted on
I will will will you some edgar lee masters?
type (bob dylan written) poems of grand embarassment.
thelonius monk grand style grand (me upright)
the world’s fair begun down there.
I’m gone.
Sailin on (across the sone) son,
sawn. dawn. anyway I’m gone.
I’m up here.
my adress is me-bearsville. just got back from trip t boston area.
sung songs at providence.
amhearst.
arrived in amhearst with 15 friends from cambridge.
left providence with 15 friends from providence.
ditched them on highway tho. (yes I pledge alliegence t the luckyness of havin
some so many friends.)
an here’s t the republic.
up the irish.
ah yes my flag has turned into one color.
who fast?
me fast?
choking?
ha you must be joking. I’m not turnin. burnin. maybe smokin.
not running cunning.
not me.
I aint none of them things.
not me.
yes most deffinately would like t borrow cabin at big sur.
cant say when.
sometime.
wham.
it just hit me.
I do got things of songs an stories for you.
my hangup is tho that I know there will be more.
I want t send the more more then I want t send the got.
yes I guess that’s it.
that’s it in a nutshell pruneskin.
that’s the whole story.
nothin but the truth.
nothin but the nothin.
would’ve liked t spent more time in san francisco.
would like t spend more time in many places.
sometime I will.
someday I will.
tomorrow. yeah tomorrow.
I a, in a strange light alright.
I remember a few years ago.
tramping. bummin.
ridin the rods all wrong.
hitchhiking (pretending stock markets crashin all over me) thru the ever ready
usa. guitar on my back.
my thoughful tool.
yes an the only thing I wished was that someday I’d be able t come back
t these fucked up shootin gallery pay me for my playin coffee houses.
coffee bars.
oh how I used t hope that someday if nothin else. I’d have enuff friends or
know the right people t survive with my head at least as groovy as
theirs … man.
I never got a chance.
I got a motorcycle tho.
but unlike the last ones I had on south dakota an minnesota roads,
this one’s for the fields.
so you see, after all, I’m not really going all that fast.
you cant go too fast in the fields you know.
the only thing that’s wrong is that there’s no fuckin motels.
absolutely no advertising.
I’m the first one hit by the forest fires an god knows that a fallout
shelter’d be insane.
terrible buzzard flies an my front steps all loaded with killed dear
hit by cars … yet I still wave t airplanes
an shit like that (what whit like that?) so I’m not all bad.
all good.
would?
yes I’ve chopped much wood.
I’ll write you later an send clippings from my head.
as for now there’s a horn honkin.
must be for me.
hhhmmmmmmmmm.
or however you spell that.
will be in france for awhile.
someplace where they dont read life magazine.
of course I’ll be back tho.
an will be out in sanfrancisco again.
I have nothin t do.
an no place t go.
faretheewell.
faretheegoodbye.
say hi for me.
say hi t anybody
see you then
comemoratin figitatin
agitatin satined
positivelyated
homogenized. egg creamed. pie in the faced
egg in the eyed
untied. complyed. plywooded. do-gooded. hooded.
lamp shaded understated hated backdated
muscatelled. muscatold musca went wrong someplace
displaced. cock traced
embraced umbraced ohbraced
church laced
straight faced
an all that
yes
see you then
gently
https://www.needsomefun.net/bob-dylan-and-lawrence-ferlinghetti/
101!
Almost disgraceful for a beat poet to live so long
But he was still writing up to 99 years old
Amazing
America is BACK! Biden bombs his first country!
Well, that didn't take too long, now did it?
According to Al Jazerra, the US has dropped bombs on a military base in Syria.
I see the yankee war machine back in action in Syria where they are neither wanted or invited, same as Iraq, yankee go home, but no, they stay like the invaders they are. They along with the other warmonger State, the UK, spread hatred and lies against their Russian and Chineese Capitalist rivals as a smokescreen for their own putrid deeds, I see that seems to work for many on this rightwing site.
Bugger, just got a job, starting next Wednesday.
There goes the way too early semi retirement plan in self imposed exile.
… condolences? 🙂
Only in the dead 'easy life' parts of laziness inspired daydreams. lol
Actually looking forward to it, and not just the money boost from the basic dole pittance.
Outdoor work, West coast fresh air, with coastal and/or mountain views. Could be worse ways of making a living. 🙂
🙂
Meanwhile, despite the angst and gnashing of teeth over Russia and China… in the Middle East things are on the boil again…
https://thegrayzone.com/2017/04/12/isis-us-syria-sharyat-air-base/woops, sorry, wrong one….
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2021/02/26/biden-orders-us-airstrike-against-iran-backed-militia-target-in-eastern-syria/
At least they're moving back from assassinating Iranian generals.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/437247/parnell-locals-threaten-to-glamp-in-protest-at-erebus-memorial
Glamp?
And what do you think of the memorial? Looks as if it has been designed by an accountant fully into materialism. It is all hard edged even with a curve. A good design for a shared pathway for skateboarding and mountain bike racing. The insolence of the young males won't be limited by thoughts of family grief and the tragedy of it all. Utilitarianism rules OK.
Here we go. More misery exported to New Zealand from our 'closest friend'.
Scomo sends 'em, we shoot 'em.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/papatoetoe-police-shooting-dead-man-identified-as-tangaru-noere-turia/SYIZAHIH5COPYEXSPGUXEU2KHM/
Goodness gracious!! Danny Watson shunts Sean Plunket!
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/entertainment/2021/02/danny-watson-to-replace-sean-plunket-on-magic-talk-alongside-leah-panapa.html
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/government-doesnt-want-push-house-prices-down-fearing-loss-votes-bernard-hickey
Hickey holds out little hope
Mr Hickey is speaking out both sides of his mouth.
On one side he's saying that governments don't want to force housing prices down because they will loose votes.
On the other side he's saying that governments should pour heaps of money into urban infrastructure. The unsaid part of this is that infrastructure spend will push up urban housing prices.
im not sure Mr Hickey is 'speaking out of both sides', I suspect he believes his analysis but imo he has miscalculated the underlying reasoning…it isnt a political fear per se but rather an economic one and therefore his prescription fails to account for the outcome.
Pouring money into infrastructure will not automatically increase housing costs if the money available to support housing is reduced, indeed what is supporting the housing inflation currently is the amount of credit (and explicit underwrite by govs) banks have to invest…..it is the ratio of money available to stock and that ratio is not necessarily changed by increasing or decreasing stock.
The problem any government faces is the stability of the financial system as it requires ever increasing credit…..the business cycle was never tamed, rather it was replaced
You're (and Mr Hickey) are repeating the distortions of the property sector in saying that government infrastructure spend doesn't increase 'housing costs'. This is correct from the developer's pov, they don't have to pay for the infrastructure and can offer a housing unit at a reduced price / make more profit, generally the latter.
But from the pov of the surrounding properties capital values go up, often dramatically, because the owners don't have to pay for their portion of the infrastructure in their rates. So overall housing prices get dragged up.
Totally agree about the problems of taming a financial system that's totally dependent on the value of housing. But the real issue isn't the loss of value to individuals if there's a fall in the market, it's the economic chaos that will result if there's a property 'correction'. A dramatic fall in house values (say 20%) won't make them more affordable because the would be a corresponding reduction in liquidity and employment. People will find it even harder get a loan when they haven't got confidence in their income. And that is what destroys governments.
It does more than destroy governments ….the self reinforcing downward spirals it can create cause depressions…..that is the economic fear I reference.
Keynes showed us how to deal with depressions but we risk being permanently removed from the ‘club of advanced nations’ if we move ahead of the major players.
As to infrastructure spends creating property inflation I beg to differ….it depends upon the funding mechanism….history shows that central government can provide the infrastructure without creating the (specific) property inflation we are experiencing….there is no problem with property inflation that matches broader (esp wage) inflation.
I am sorry Daily Review has not resumed.
After the OM topics have been done to death, it is an opportunity for very recent developments to be introduced and it also opens up the conversation for other commenters to take part who may not have the inclination or the time during the day.
I know that DR patronage is a bit up and down but it presents an opportunity for wider coverage of the day's events and is often quite jocular which makes for a nice change.
Noted.
Blimey Charlie, here we go again:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/26/falling-sperm-counts-human-survival
– another story presenting a potential drop in the human population as an unmitigated disaster. When are people going to realise …. ?
A drop is fine, extinction is not.
It's the old story, though – it'll be ignored until it becomes a palpable problem, at which point billions will be thrown at the problem. I don't think it will get to Children of Men levels. Maybe Handmaid's Tale, but we also see other elements of that happening…