It seems there are different opinions regarding what people can and cannot do during this next month. Are we to stay at home, are we in isolation or is it even a curfew as the Stuff editorial called it this morning. My view, there is no curfew. There is nothing meaning I have to be home at a certain time of day or the like, what I am doing is isolating myself from other people to limit the spread of the corona virus. If I go for a 4 hour walk through my city and avoid other people that is fine, main point is isolation. If I chose to grab a fishing line and spend the day on the banks of a quiet river fishing with no one else around me thats fine as well. Just avoid other people. I understand the need for police to have the ability to ensure people are isolating, eg if I organised a game of football with mates at the local park that would not be isolation, as well as monitor security of property and assets, no issue with that. I would not expect any one to raise significant concerns about me fishing for half a day in isolation though, should I choose to do such. Common sense should prevail.
It does seem like the cops have a different view as yours was my view as well. Even cops pulling over ppl to ask what they're doing seems a bit much, I'm not under house arrest. This will only work if we still have some freedom to move, I live alone, share a couple kids, we need fresh air.
" If I go for a 4 hour walk through my city and avoid other people that is fine, main point is isolation. If I chose to grab a fishing line and spend the day on the banks of a quiet river fishing with no one else around me thats fine as well."
Second example – fair enough. That would probably be isolated even in normal times (assuming it's a rural river).
First example – not really. If a 4 hour walk in a city is OK because the streets are deserted, then it is OK for all of us, and so the city streets are no longer deserted. Occasional contact would build up, people linger, touch things etc.
Some exercise and fresh air is necessary. Butit's a very small sacrifice to limit it.
Yes, the walks, bike rides etc are supposed to be local. But it is not clear what local is. For instance I live in Bayswater, a peninsula with about 400 households. Is that my local, or is it Bayswater/Devonport, where the supermarket is?
Quite a few people swimming and kayaking in Ngataringa Bay, which is fine. The Bay is only used by local residents and is relatively enclosed, so very safe.
I have concluded 'local' means anywhere between Takapuna North and Devonport.
That will enable me to pick up my fortnightly supply of snapper from the Takapuna fish shop (fresher than the supermarkets), shop spasmodically at either Hauraki Countdown or Devonport New World whichever takes my fancy. I can take my car for a walk around the streets inadvertently ending up on Maungauika (North Head) or other such places…
I live alone, am 70 years old, and have a throat infection. I am in Mt Eden, and my only relative in Auckland is a nephew on the North Shore. He is planning to buy some groceries for me and do a contactless delivery.
I thought this was OK as long as he doesn't come inside, and we maintain the 2 meter distance between us when he delivers stuff.
We decided I'll email him my shopping list which he will also have a copy of to present to any cops that pull him over while driving to my place.
Ah. OK. I most likely have strep throat (bacterial infection – white spots on my tonsils). Because we are in unusual times, the GP prescribed antibiotics over the phone on Monday, and told me to self-isolate, just in case it's mild Covid-19.
At the same time she booked me in for a flu jab next Tuesday, to a session for "well people". Sick people attend during a different session. So I think she expects me to be recovered by Tuesday, unless I notify them otherwise.
Taking my morning beverage out on my son's front doorstep earlier I was invited to participate in an informal neighbourhood gathering. Standing in driveways speaking loud enough to be heard.
One neighbour (looks well into her eighties) went for her schedule flu shot yesterday. The nurse came out to their car to stick 'em.
Comvita propolis lozenges and lysosomal vitamin C for tonsillitis. I am blessed with enormous tonsils and hitherto have only ever had infections in one of them at a time. Barbed wire in the throat and generally feeling like garbage.
The last time I was afflicted it was cheaper to buy the vitamin c( the lysosomal stuff is truly disgusting) than go to an after hours clinic. The comvita lozenges are always in my first aid kit.
BTW. Friends living in Wuhan continued their marathon running practise for the first few weeks of their lockdown. Now running in their apartment. 7kms he did the other day.
They were also saying that hospitals are using high dose vitamin C IV for patients combined with traditional Chinese medicine. They also are vigorously encouraging mask wearing and hand washing and decontamination when returning home from work.
Interesting. I will phone my GPs' reception before my appointment on Tuesday, and ask whether to wait in the car park.
I included vitamin C in my next grocery order – mainly because of problem of keeping up supplies of fresh fruit and veggies. I've also ordered some frozen veggies as back-up, but think they have diminished vitamin C content.
I waited a week with my sore throat before ringing my GP. It didn't clear. Also, the white spots on tonsils usually means strep throat & requires antibiotics.
Great about the doorstep communications in your street. I just got a phone call from my GPs' receptionist.
They have run out of flu jab stock, and the ETA for next batch is about mid to end April. Those already booked in will be top of the list when they arrive, and they will let me know.
Had a good chat with receptionist. Flu shots in car parks are only for those who have someone with them, because there's a 5 minute wait time before the person jabbed can drive. Otherwise, the jab is given in the surgery, and the jabee must wait there for 5 minutes before leaving.
She said I could phone them when I arrive in the car park, and they will come out and get me when the nurse is ready.
I think that be a too big for "local". It is beyond what just about anyone would do for a walk. Takapuna North to Devonport is over 10km, and encompasses around 30,000 people.
I reckon the biggest you could do is Bayswater/Devonport, or Hauraki/Takapuna. Both areas are well under half the size of Takapuna North to Devonport. Both have supermarkets within them. So whichever of those areas you live in, you would have to stay within that area. At least that is my view. And there may well be a view that Bayswater/Devonport is too big, except for the fact the supermarket is in Devonport.
I was being tongue in cheek Wayne. Carving out a nice big slice of "local" to accommodate my personal inclinations. Since the Takapuna Fish shop is likely closed I'm happy to reduce the size to Devonport/Bayswater. 🙂
I live in Belmont and have a nephew a stones throw away in Bayswater who I can call upon at any time.
For what it is worth, Anne, I personally have found those Strepsil lozenges pretty damned useless (to quote Blinglish..) I always get best fix by regular, deep gargling with salt and water – much more effective, much quicker cure. (Just avoid swallowing…)
If a 4 hour walk in a city is OK because the streets are deserted, then it is OK for all of us, and so the city streets are no longer deserted. Occasional contact would build up, people linger, touch things etc.
Yes, I think that is what the police are concerned about. Once they are certain everyone is on the same page and knows they have to stick with it, then we can expect the police to step back. If they're still 'over zealous' in two weeks time, then we can let them know to keep their sticky beaks out of our business. 😉
Don't think anyone is suggesting we do otherwise Fireblade. But we do have to get some fresh air from time to time. Car batteries will go flat if they don't get an occasional little workout. Basics will need to be purchased from time to time. For instance, I have an appointment for my flu jab this arvo and I intend to use the occasion to give my car a wee run around the local streets there and back.
None of that is fucking with people's lives. And I wear a good sized mask.
I picked up the last 4 from a chemist in Devonport. There's no brand name or type on it. It has a clear perspex piece at the top so the eyes are protected too.
In her presser this arvo, the PM said there's a company in NZ that makes n95 masks. These are recommended protection for Covid-19, but not the same as the surgical ones used by doctors, etc.
The government is taking over organising distribution of the n95 masks so the company can focus on producing as many as possible.
My sister-in-law is an infectious diseases specialist at Waikato Hospital. I know what they are planning for and what they expect to happen. It is truly horrifying. Stay home.
Well done the USA! Bigger population than Italy but way smaller than China. With he who shall not be mentioned in charge. A true catastrophe awaits. He is such a great Christian he is even giving up the nations gparents for lent. 😕
And trump did a presser bragging they are doing more tests than South Korea, like it's a competition.
Mum reminded me the reason trump was calling it a hoax the other week is because of the mighty dollar and he is only concerned that the virus will cause him to lose hotel revenue.
Mum reminded me the reason trump was calling it a hoax the other week is because of the mighty dollar and he is only concerned that the virus will cause him to lose hotel revenue.
Yep. For Trump, the measure of his success, is the performance of the share market. He was having nightmares over the past week as every day brought new record lows. It is for that reason, and that alone, that he has urged the agreement of the new trillion dollar rescue package, and the reason why he talks about return to work by Easter, despite the fact that the US is now in a full blown pandemic. That has seemingly calmed the dealers nerves. But it wont stop the spread of COVID-19, and I would think that as the virus continues to rage even further into the American population, the true reality of what this most incompetent administration has left undone, will be obvious even to the most rednecked Trumpkin.
“I don’t understand why we would cause that harm to a business and all their workers and their livelihoods for the sake of some sort of message convenience.
“I think that would be quite reckless.”
Australia’s newly appointed Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Dr Nick Coatsworth, backed up the Prime Minister on the ABC this morning.
“To say that we’ve gone light and slow would be completely inaccurate,” Dr Coatsworth said.
“The measures that we’ve got in at the moment are unprecedented. The impact they’re going to have on individual families is unprecedented.”
Scomo is like Boris Johnson and Trump. Everybody else ( states etc) do the heavy lifting closing as much as they have the authority to do then they come in after the event.
Woken up this morning to a Tui calling out, then on an olive tree the return of some Kererū.
I know that the pūriri berries are available, but with all this peace, Tui and Kererū have already returned (or are more noticeable) same when went for a walk last night.
Were they already there and we couldn't hear them fot the noise and the rush? I too heard a tui today but I quite often do being retired and on the edge of town. In Cook's journals were references to the noise of our birdlife as he sailed offshore! Maybe they had better hearing then, too, and a quiet ship but events like our lockdown might point out to us some of the things we do miss in the noise and rush of 'normal' life.
Economists are predicting that hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders could be left without jobs due to the impact of the lockdown and coronavirus.
Senior economists are predicting unemployment to reach 15 per cent, with one warning it could even hit 30 per cent as Covid-19 brings the economy to a shuddering halt.
Another said the sudden stop to most sectors would make the pandemic far more economically-damaging than even the Global Financial Crisis, while another one described Covid-19's economic impact as "an everywhere, everything, everyone all at once shock"..
State jobless filings are growing geometrically, a signal of how the national numbers will change when we have them. Last Monday, Colorado had 400 people apply for unemployment insurance. This Tuesday: 6,800. California has seen its daily filings jump from 2,000 to 80,000. Oregon went from 800 to 18,000. In Connecticut, nearly 2 percent of the state’s workers declared that they were newly jobless on a single day. Many other states are reporting the same kinds of figures.
These numbers are subject to sharp changes; things like large plant closures lead them to jump and fall and jump and fall. But for them to rise so precipitously, across all of the states? To stay high? That is new. The economy is not tipping into a jobs crisis. It is exploding into one. Given the trajectory of state reports, it is certain that the country will set a record for new jobless claims next week, not only in raw numbers but also in the share of workers laid off. The total is expected to be in the range of 1.5 million to 2.5 million, and to climb from there.
I do hope that when the Government has bailed out everyone they deem 'solvent enough' to be 'bail out worthy' someone will tell them that no one can survive on the wage subsidy and no one can survive on unemployment figures. And maybe now its time to help HE TANGATA, and i hope they have a few more ideas then just throwing 20$ bills at the poor and the poor working class in the hope that that will shut us up for a week or several. And i hope that they are not deducting Student loans either from their hand outs to the people.
He aha te mea nui o te ao, he tangata he tangata he tangata.
please explain to me how people can manage the bills and food on 350 – 580 per week, over several weeks.
while people won't be starving they also won't be 'surviving' i.e. managing to keep up all he payments.
And please don't come with the refrain of 'please negotiate' with your suppliers, because everyone who is currently on this wage subsidy will be negotiating, like the good little trooper they are.
As for have no options ot spend? There are people that will order in their groceries, their medication, and as i said, you still have all your bills to pay in full as non of these companies such as spark / electricity companies/line companies/water care etc have dropped any of their prices.
so yeah, you do the math and you ask yourself how long you can do this before you can't do it anymore.
So feel free to tell me where i am blatantly wrong. As far as it goes, i have been on this for a while now and i have not once said something that was 'blatantly' wrong.
if you consider 'surviving' as keeping what you have and hopefully have a job, then maybe you are correct.
if you consider surviving as the action of paying your bills, not accruing anymore debt, not defaulting on rent payments/ mortgage payments and loosing your belongings in the long term then i am correct.
so no i am not 'blatantly' wrong. Nor are you 'absolutely correct'.
But i am liking the comments of "Doing good. Everything (me) is gonna be OK."
I haven't said that for some it will be sustainable, but I am 100% correct in saying your assertion "no one can survive on the wage subsidy" is blatantly untrue as I am living proof of it being done on less. I have done this for a number of years with no debts other than a mortgage.
as i said, we are disagreing on the meaning of 'surviving.
so let me rephrase this, while no one will outright starve on this subsidy, many will not survive.
feel better now? And please feel free to discuss the actual point i made. Namely that people will not be able to keep up with payments, that many will not go back to jobs, and that they will have no means to pay back any debt accrued under lock down and the very potential extention of lock down period once we realise taht 4 weeks may not be enough. And that many many people will lose what little they have. And how to deal with a potential wave of unemployed and unhoused people to add to our current unemployed and unhoused people.
Despite the long post that says nothing, you're assertions that "Because no one can 'survive' on this without defaulting and declaring bankrputcy in the coming month" and "no one can survive on the wage subsidy" are still blatantly not true.
Given that I take home, after deductions, a mere $380pw in wages and get a $70 accommodation supplement, I pay my mortgage, my rates, my utilities, petrol, wof, reggo and internet with mobile and home line included, and have done for a number of years.
Now while this doesn't play nicely with your apocalyptic narrative, there are many many people like me, and the beneficiaries on even less, who are managing and not destitute. It's not easy, compromises have to be made, like I don't buy boutique chocolates for example, but I bought a 4k car on payments without forgoing the basics.
People with big mortgages will get the mortgage holiday for 6 months, which I won't, so that biggest chunk won't come out of the wage guarantee payment. It will be hard, really hard for some over extended and living beyond their means, and will no doubt result in some going under financially, but to be so finite in saying people won't survive is not only alarmist, but a joke slogan to those who cope and manage with low incomes on a weekly basis.
TA if you have to maintain a household and kids than no. If you are single person sharing a flat or rent in a rural town and study via online options, its possible.
Its a matter of degree and what responsibility has to be met.
please explain to me how people can manage the bills and food on 350 – 580 per week, over several weeks.
Crap, innit? But if you talk to an unemployed person near you, they might be kind enough to tell you how they have survived for months or years at the lower end of your weekly income band.
But that is the point, they don't, they hang on. And for once i will also add that our abysmal suicide levels may actually due to this.
I have argued many many times that we need better benefits, lower rents, more regulation in the housing market, that we need a CGT and tha we need to raise taxes on the higher end, and even now, we still refuse to do that. I have not been kind to he current government for a while now, and one reason is that they literally did nothing of substance but are simply handing out band aids that don't stick well enough to cover the oozing wounds.
I have friends who are in that boat, and like the Ex – Co Leader from the Greens Metiria Turei admitted non of them survives without 'cheating'. Be that working on the low end, prostitution, or outright lying to Winz, or if they have family that still can support them.
And if you read the article in the Herald today ( i linked to hat earlier) we can expect a huge number of jobs to be gone for a long long time. there might be a pandemic economy for a while but i would venture that non of that will really benefit people at the lower end.
so really, this should be discussed, and maybe now that it actually affects people that usually have no issue making and spending money, it will affect how we measure the cost of living for unemployed and beneficiaries. Because no one can 'survive' on this without defaulting and declaring bankrputcy in the coming month (plural) to come.
I am not the only one saying this. So really, many many will not 'survive' this. I have a comment in moderation (i have no idea how to unlink links – with the defintion of Merriam Webster and hopefully you will be able to agree with their many meanings of 'surviving') https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surviving
Economists are predicting that hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders could be left without jobs due to the impact of the lockdown and coronavirus.
Senior economists are predicting unemployment to reach 15 per cent, with one warning it could even hit 30 per cent as Covid-19 brings the economy to a shuddering halt.
Another said the sudden stop to most sectors would make the pandemic far more economically-damaging than even the Global Financial Crisis, while another one described Covid-19's economic impact as "an everywhere, everything, everyone all at once shock"..
My friend too is a beneficiary, and she is 'not surviving'. She is simply not dying in a ditch. There is a difference between the two.
And fwiw, i don't think that anyone on unemployemnt or the benefit gets anywhere near enough to 'survive'. And i also have been on record for this on the Standard.
As i often say, Benefits and Unemployment money in NZ is too much to die of and too little to live of.
You said "Because no one can 'survive' on this without defaulting and declaring bankrputcy in the coming month" and "no one can survive on the wage subsidy". I've shown that to be a fatalistic untruth, as many people already live on less per week.
i am happy with what i said. I linked to the thesaurus of the Merriam Webster Dictionary and they agree with me.
So thanks for your concern, but yeah, nah nah. And people will not be able 'to survive'.
Luckily it seems that the Banks are finally coming to play and allow for a full mortgage holiday for people to apply for. And if that is so, i hope that the government will use their emergency powers to simply declare eviction illegal during the time of the pandemic.
And i do hope that the government will come around to increase benefits and unemployment benefits so that you too (and everyone on a benefit) can do more then just hang on by a thread (another way of saying 'survive'') but actually 'survive'.
and that is all i have to say to that. You can continue to be pedantic if it helps you get through the day.
It's not pedantry. Having already given my income details up thread, I'll happily put my experience as a low wage earner and what passes for surviving means over whatever dictionary definition you need to call on to back up what can only describe as an untruthful, panic induced absolute.
Look. I know cafes and what not are closed, but I wonder how many people – those now on an employer administered wage subsidy – grasp 'the reality as was' for thousands, of a 'flat white' from a cafe being a treat and not a convenience?
Or put another way. I wonder how many people will read this comment and reflect that the thought had never crossed their mind?
Suicide rates will most assuredly rise. But I suspect the biggest rise will occur in formerly cloistered sections of the population.
Most people will also have an Accommodation Supplement on top of those low wage figures if they have high rent or mortgage. And if they have children will also have Working for Families.
Tell me Wayne. The cap on Accommodation Supplement – what is it again? Remind everyone here, lest they think it is any way a serious measure intended to mitigate the financial stress of high rents.
And Working for Families extended to unemployed people did it? okay. How much does an unemployed person receive from that quarter?
Nah, thats regular price for cauliflower – its not in the season, so its hot house, all the farmer markets are closed, a lot of the small food supply shops are closed, and this is now what people have to pay.
as for reporting? The government has emergency powers and could regulate.
I mean we are all already spending our time negotiating with our suppliers and financial advisors and now we should report stupid food prices? these are the stupid food prices that we have on any regular day.
i am not a fan of the Mad Butcher, but for many families that is the only meat they buy because its cheap. And the mad butcher is not considered ‘essential’. Go figure.
Yeah, all those millenials frittering away vast sums on smashed avocado toast and barista coffee should come out of this with their first home deposits all sorted and ready to go!
Yeah I've seen that one too. In such circumstances a little humour is a valuable thing. We are very lucky to be living here with a responsible govt. I pass on my hopes and wishes to my on-line friends in the US, because they fear for their lives right now.
The Penguin lookalike and part time paedophile impersonator is also calling for the re-opening of butcher's shops. I note that the CEO of the Mad Butcher has admitted that the chain tried to exploit the situation:
"Based on the fact that we got told we were essential services, everybody was panic-buying up until that time and we panic-bought as well from our supplier. Our sales were up 60 per cent week-on-week, so we panic-bought as well because we had to keep serving all these customers."
actually i would call that 'stocking up'. And yes, they should be essential services as many on the low incomes only shop at the local mad butchers. They can't afford the regular $ 20 – 25 kg for fatty mince at countdown or new world or pak n save.
In her press stand up yesterday, Ardern was asked about keeping open butchers and fruit and veg shops, and pointing out they have a lot of stock that will go to waste.
Ardern said that no food in NZ needs to go to waste. They can find and supply people who need it without opening the shops to the general public.
Think about it – kidscan, people in quarantine or self isolated as they arrive in the country etc. I'd have thought the govt would ensure shops are paid something for their unused food stocks. They just need to get in touch with the relevant govt dept or authorities.
PS: Ardern said opening up all these small shops would have an increase in people walking around in different locations and they are trying to limit that.
Also, it must be easy to monitor and regulate the general public’s use of supermarkets than across a load of small shops.
Y'know…if I'm asymptomatic and go to the supermarket, then I can infect someone who lives many km away from me. Whereas, if only small local stores/shops were open to the public…
<i>Does it matter that much how far away the supermarket is? </i>
Not so much the distance per se, more the catchment population/area. My local shop essentially covers a few thousand people within a few km. The nearest supermarket covers all of Dunedin (and then some).
So, if I spread the virus, I'd have thought he job of tracing contacts becomes somewhat onerous and sketchy if looking at a supermarket with large numbers of people from all around the show, compared to tracing through a fairly discrete population in a fairly well defined or contained geographical area.
edit – as for numbers of workers being exposed – I dunno the numbers. But if supermarkets were treated as ‘warehouses’ to supply outlying shops, then I’m not exactly sure why it ought to be assumed more workers get exposed.
OK. Found the bit in the above video where Ardern talks about this. It starts about 29 mins 44 secs. She says there doesn't need to be any wastage of food and that there are plenty of people who need it. She said that's she's sure they can use food that can no longer be sold across the counter.
She also says, for small towns they need to make sure people have access to the same essential services and foods that other parts of the country do. So in those areas where there are no supermarkets, then special consideration is given to dairies, superettes, etc.
Maybe we're talking at slight cross purposes. I'm not suggesting "all" food outlets be open. However, to minimise contact, make tracing easier and potential flare-ups more contained and local, shut down supermarkets wherever possible. Turn them into "supply hubs" for (designated if need be) local outlets.
What's more cautious and liable to aid containment? A 1000 people coming backwards and forwards from 'all around' to one supermarket, or 100 people going to and fro 10 different dairies? (With the 'back-shop' of the supermarket operating just as before, but the front end open to retailers, not the public)
I'd have thought the latter scenario, where feasible, was the more prudent one.
Good point. I have heard someone, maybe the PM or Bloomfield, say that it's better for only 1 person from each household be the one to go to the supermarket. And also, someone, maybe a supermarket CEO, say it's better to do a fairly big supermarket shop with each visit, rather than keep going back for small amounts of groceries.
Supermarkets seem to have settled down now and are not being over-run with shoppers.
I think it maybe that at them moment the govt is going for simplicity, and as much as possible across the board regulations re-shopping, etc.
They do seem to have some leeway for special circumstances for small communities. They may fine tune it more a they see how things are playing out.
Have never posted on that site but if did or someone does they might like to tell Farrar if he doesn't already know that the National Party change of legislation applies only to those physically detained. Those serving a sentence of home detention of any length and those are often fraudsters are free to vote in an election by attendance at a polling booth they are not removed from the roll – so the whole thing was hypocritical from the outset
I have time for Sabine, and can see she has a point to make.
Adam, what point are you trying to make? 'Women' is plural. 'This' is singular. I agree about Trump, but what your other sentence about respect means I have no idea.
FFS the issue is Biden sexually assaulted Tara Reade
Or did the russians do it? Or trump? Anybody but Biden I guess?
Can you explain why my misspelling is the end of the world In Vino? Because I'm totally confused , do we do arguing over bad spelling now and avoid talking about sexual assault?
Or is it acceptable to have people run for office, to be like this as long as they are not trump?
Because I'm of the school of thought – Fuck all the rapist and men who use power for sexual advantage – be they left wing or right.
As of 24th March there were 4 cases of suspected community transmission. Since then they have talked of clusters – such as the Marist College cluster, but I don't recall any more cases of community transmission mentioned.
Dunno if that's just a shift in messaging, or if they are still maintaining the distinction where community transmission means cases they can't trace to a specific source and there haven't been any new ones.
The MOH link posted by weka has now been updated with the latest data as at 9am today and is the official site for this information.
MOH are expanding/revising the information provided and today has introduced stats for confirmed (and probable) cases by DHB, age and gender. The site now also has a pop-up asking for feedback on the info being provided.
Unfortunately all the "details to come" could hide a lot of community transmission, along with the two instances of "under investigation". I couldn't find the one case of community transmission that has had details published, nor was I able to identify anyone from the Marist cluster.
I'd expect nothing less than a beautiful solution like that from the stable genius. No doubt it's bigly expensive, so it will be reserved for family, friends and followers. In that order.
The Harshness in our prisons is so horrible, that 72% of offenders return to Prison each year. Happily.
It costs a minimum $100, 000 dollars a year to keep each criminal Happy. There is of course, no Punishment in helping the offenders into and out of prison. Wonderful.
It is a terrible indictment on New Zealand housing and social infrastructure that so many men from our poorest communities would rather prison than home.
Prison has failed to prevent further crime in 72% of cases, by your own statement.
In other words as even Bill English admitted, "The prison system is a costly and expensive failure".
Who would have thought that putting mostly not very bright,, disadvantaged and poorly educated youngsters in prison, results in, better educated in crime, angry and unemployable young men coming out, Eh?
National Party cheerleaders in despair can bitch and whine to their bumbling and irrelevant leader using Facebook Messenger. Please note: Soimun's video is subtitled so everyone can understand what he's saying.
He now seems to have sort of belatedly pivoted towards the Danish model for employment but talks about it being a high trust enviroment so we have to trust employers. – Same ones that have been screwing the workforce for years – well good luck with that. Same government who made all their contractors redundant a few days before lock down.
He needs to go a lot further than that – companies over a certain size who want subsidies or to make mass redundancies should have to have their applications co signed by any unions on their premises saying that all steps have been taken to consult and make savings elsewhere ( chop high end payroll) .
As for overseas owned workplaces – a lien over land buildings and other assets if they try to jump ship.
Frankly a phone call from a government minister lecturing them doesn't cut it.
As to the banks and loans. I get that the government doesn't have the resources for this but the rules again need to be tight. These are the banks that couldn't even see a paedophile ring transacting under their noses.
It's a difficult position. Employers didn't get where they are by being honest. The model is that you screw everyone for maximum profit for yourself. That is the very definition of capitalism. Those that can do it, do it.
So when a wage subsidy scheme comes along in unprecedented times the very first thing an employer will do is work out how to maximise it for themselves.
The government will have to adjust constantly to the raiding that most employers will indulge in.
Difficult for whom? Yes I agree that is the mode but it doesn't mean that steps should not be taken to deter this type of behaviour.
But hey over three years labour has done next to nothing to improve the basic lot of waged employees – are they even consulting the trade unions over all this or justt sucking up to the boss class.
These subsidies are in the billions & if Graant had his wits about him he would chuck $50-$100 million towards the unions and they could use it to hire lawyers to chase down the employers that people are complaining about or have questions about before it puts them out of work..
Not on a one by one basis or by expecting people to go individually to employment tribunals but on a class action basis-. plus fund some decent information about peoples rights etc. The game has to change.
I was looking at that "raise the bar" website which seemed to have solid information well presented. Then I looked down the page and realised there was a bank account there. Felt pretty sad that this absolutely useful activity was being funded by donations from the low paid . It sucks at every level.
And still the top end of town is untouched. Every $20 mill of excess top end wages is 400 $50k p.a jobs.
I get to hear these comments in general discussions:
1/ we are in a kind of martial law situation and it is OK.
I think most do not understand what that actually means.When martial law is declared, civil liberties, such as the right to free movement, free speech, protection from unreasonable searches, and habeas corpus laws (protection against illegal confinement, such as holding a person without charges), are suspended.
2/ you cannot leave the house other than go to the nearest supermarket.
3/ having a bb gun is ok and a shot from it will only hurt a little bit (!?)
The cynic in me thinks that the government has very successfully marginalised Soimun by giving him the 'important' title of chairman of a committee which will have little effect on what happens during the epidemic but will keep him happy (and hopefully out of sight and sound).
Muttonbird, you must have had some bad experiences with your employers to hold such an unrealistic view of them. By your reckoning anyone who is an employee & then decides they want to start a business and employee people must then be dishonest.
Not all employers are bad people, most smaller businesses are just people trying to better themselves in life.
Sorry that employment for you has left a bitter taste.
Hard case, who would have thought the leader of national would be tucked away somewhere with his own 0800si.wants2help2 phone number, while nationals most popular leader ever is praising the leader of the opposition.
It sure is an interesting moment in NZ's history for so many reasons.
I suspect he is not suffering though. I believe he is still a director of air NZ plus the ANZ bank and possibly others. Air NZ cut their average director fee from $150k to around $120k – 15% for a part time job.
Mostly I feel though that he is just trying to catch some of the positive glow off Jacinda to keep the RW in the frame. I felt he did much the same around 2008 – cosying up to Helen & Micheal Cullen so people would not feel so threatened by NACT and give him the job.
Hi,I wanted to check in and ask how you’re doing.This is perhaps a selfish act, of attempting to find others feeling a similar way to me — that is to say, a little hopeless at the moment.Misery loves company, that sort of deal.Some context.I wish I could say I got ...
I have hitherto been fairly quiet on the new season of Rings of Power, on the basis that the underwhelming first season did not exactly build excitement – and the rumours were fairly daft. The only real thing of substance to come out has been that they have re-cast Adar ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
“The thing is,” Chris Luxon says, leaning forward to make his point, “this has always been my thing.”“This goes all the way back to the first multinational I worked for. I was saying exactly the same thing back then. The name of our business needs to be more clear; people ...
Buzz from the Beehive It’s been a momentous few days for Children’s Minister Karen Chhour. The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court decision which blocked a summons order from the Waitangi Tribunal for her. And today she has announced the Government is putting children first by introducing to ...
In 2014 former Australian army lawyer David McBride leaked classified military documents about Australian war crimes to the ABC. Dubbed "The Afghan Files", the documents led to an explosive report on Australian war crimes, the disbanding of an entire SAS unit, and multiple ongoing prosecutions. The journalist who wrote the ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – According to the respected Pew Research Centre, “In seven of eight [European] countries surveyed, the most trusted news outlet asked about is the public news organization in each country”. For example, “in Sweden, an overwhelming majority (90%) say they trust the public broadcaster SVT”. ...
David Farrar writes – Kata MacNamara reports: Details of Tony Blakely’s involvement in the New Zealand Government’s response to the pandemic raise serious questions about the work of the Covid-19 Royal Commission of Inquiry over which he presides. It has long been clear that Blakely, a ...
Chris Trotter writes – Are you a Brahmin or a Merchant? Or, are you merely one of those whose lives are profoundly influenced by the decisions of Brahmins and Merchants? Those are the questions that are currently shaping the politics of New Zealand and the entire West. ...
RNZ reports – It’s supposed to be a haven of healing and spiritual awakening but residents of the Kawai Purapura community say they’ve been hurt and deceived. It’s the successor to the former Centrepoint commune, and has been on the bush block opposite Albany shopping centre since 2008. It ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. Usually we have a video chat to go with this wrap, but were unable to do one this week. We’ll be back next week.Several reports ...
The Transport Minister has set a hard 'fiscal envelope' of $6.54 billion for transport capital spending. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The economy is settling into a state of suspended animation as the Government’s funding freezes and job cuts chill confidence and combine with stubbornly high interest rates to ...
To be precise, the term “anti- Zionism” refers to (a) criticism of the political movement that created a modern Jewish state on the historical land of Israel, and to (b)the subjugation of Palestinians by the Israeli state. By contrast, the term “anti-Semitism” means bigotry and racism directed at Jewish people, ...
This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Because hurricanes are one of the big-ticket weather disasters that humanity has to face, climate misinformers spend a lot of effort muddying the waters on whether climate change is making hurricanes more damaging. With the official start to the hurricane ...
Yesterday the Mayor released what he calls his “plan to save public transport” which is part of his final proposal for the Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP). This comes following consultation on the draft version that occurred in March which showed, once again, that people want more done on transport, especially ...
And it's a pleasure that I have knownAnd it's a treasure that I have gainedAotearoa’s coalition government is fragile. It’s held together by the obsequious sycophancy of Christopher Luxon, who willingly contorts his party into the fringe positions of his junior coalition partners and is unwilling to contradict them. The ...
The Select Committee hearing submissions on the fast-track consenting legislation is starting to become a beat-up of regional councils. The inflexibility and slow workings of the Councils were prominent in two submissions yesterday. One, from the Coromandel Marine Farmers Association, simply said that the Waikato Regional Council’s planning decisions were ...
Back in April, the High Court surprised everyone by ruling that Ministers are above the law, at least as far as the Waitangi Tribunal is concerned. The reason for this ruling was "comity" - the idea that the different branches of government shouldn't interfere with each other's functions. Which makes ...
Buzz from the BeehiveTolling was mentioned when Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced the government was re-introducing the Roads of National Significance (RoNS) programme, with 15 “crucial” projects to support economic growth and regional development across New Zealand. All RoNS would be four-laned, grade-separated highways, and all funding, financing, and ...
or the past 14 years, ever since the Spanish government cheated on an autonomy deal, Catalonia has reliably given pro-independence parties a majority of seats in their regional parliament. But now that seems to be over. Catalans went to the polls yesterday, and stripped the Catalan parties of their majority. ...
David Farrar writes – Radio NZ report: Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins said the Electoral Commission should make sure the system ran smoothly and “taking away the right of thousands of people to vote” was not the answer. “Thousands of people enroled and voted on the day. If ...
Don Brash writes – There was a rather revealing headline in the Herald on Sunday today (12 May). It read “One in 8 Auckland homes on market were bought during boom, may now sell for loss”. The first line of text noted that “New data shows one in ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – At a time when universities are understandably nervous regarding the establishment of the University Advisory Group (UAG) and the Science System Advisory Group (SSAG) it may seem strange – or even fool-hardy – to state that there are long-standing issues in the tertiary sector ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – A lack of perspective can make something quite large or important seem small or irrelevant. Against a backdrop of high-profile, negative statistics it is easy to overlook the positive. For instance, the fact that 64 percent of Maori are employed is rarely reported. For ...
Earlier this year, the Herald ran a series of articles amounting to a sustained campaign against raised pedestrian crossings, by reporter Bernard Orsman. A key part of that campaign concerned the raised crossings being installed as part of the Pt Chevalier to Westmere project, with at least 10 articles over ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 19 include:PM Christopher Luxon is expected to hold his weekly post-cabinet news conference at 4:00pm on Monday.Parliament is not sitting this week. It resumes next week for a two-week sitting session up to and ...
Hi,Thanks to all the beautiful Worms who came to the LA Webworm popup on Saturday.It was a way to celebrate the online store we launched last week — and it was super special.As I talk about a lot, I really value our community here — and it was a BLAST ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, May 5, 2024 thru Sat, May 11, 2024. (Unfortunate) Story of the week "Grief that stops at despair is an ending that I and many others, most notably ...
Last night the largest solar storm in decades resulted in Aurorae being seen across Aotearoa, causing many to ask why?Why was the sky pink? What was all this stuff about the power grid? Have we, as so many have wondered since the election, reached the end of days?I had a ...
We have been on the road in England, squeezing down narrow lanes, flying up the M6, loving hedgerows and villages and cathedrals, liking the 21st century less.There have been moments when it’s felt like a movie trope. The pub in Exford, lovely seventeenth century bar, almost more dogs than people, ...
There’s a solar-storm on at the moment, and since the South Island is having a day and night with clear skies, that means Aurorae. I have just got back from a midnight visit to Tunnel Beach – southwards-looking over the Sea, and without the light pollution. Quite a few others ...
Michael Bassett writes – I’m not sure that it’s much comfort to anyone to know that the post-Covid surge in violent crimes, gang activity, ram raids, random shootings, thuggery and stabbings is occurring in other countries as well as New Zealand. These days, wagging school, out-of-control welfare and ...
Oliver Hartwich writes – Cast your mind back to mid-December. A new Prime Minister had just been sworn in, the new Government started its 100-day programme, and Christmas was only days away.Amid all the haste, a report landed that would have deserved our attention.I am talking about the ...
TL;DR: An unseasonally early icy blast at the same time as some long-overdue maintenance almost caused Aotearoa-NZ’s electricity system to black out this week. That’s because a quadropoly of gentailers1 have prioritised paying dividends from their rising profits and adding debt over investing in 1.5 GigaWatts of new wind farms ...
Hi,Before we crack into today’s Webworm, I wanted to acknowledge the fact that Israel is pushing into Rafah. Over 100,000 Palestinians are now attempting to flee the one place that was deemed “safe”.Trouble is, the place they’re fleeing to is already destroyed. Total annihilation is the end goal here.“Israel is ...
‘It has been said that figures rule the world. Maybe. I am quite sure that it is figures which show us whether it is being ruled well or badly.’ GoetheI was struck at a recent conference on equity for the elderly, how many presenters implicitly relied upon Statistics New Zealand. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveReporting on defence spending late last year, RNZ said the coalition government will have to make some tough calls this term to help the force address staff shortages and ageing infrastructure. “These are huge, huge amounts of government spending. It’s a significant proportion of the government’s ...
Peter Dunne writes – I am always wary when I hear that the Controller and Auditor-General has commented on or made recommendations to the government about an issue of public policy that does not relate strictly to public expenditure. According to the legislation, the role of the Controller ...
How Labour’s and National’s failure to move beyond neoliberalism has brought NZ to the brink of economic and cultural chaos Chris Trotter writes – TO START LOSING, so soon after you won, requires a special kind of political incompetence. At the heart of this Coalition ...
And why did the Crown not challenge the Tribunal’s jurisdiction? Gary Judd writes – Retired District Court Judge, David Harvey, has posted on his A Halflings View Substack an excellent summary of Justice Isacs’ judgment declining to uphold the witness summons issued by the Waitangi Tribunal ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result?As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and ...
Macklemore isn’t someone I’d usually think about. Sure I liked his big hit from a few years back, everybody did it was catchy and cool with some memorable lines. But if I was going to think of artists who might speak out on political matters or world events, he wouldn’t ...
Another week goes by in the Luxon government’s efforts to roll back the past 70 years of social progress. The school lunches programme is to be downgraded by $107 million, and women need bother their heads no longer about pay equity, let alone expect ACC to provide adequate sexual violence ...
Brrr, the first cold snap of the year. Hope you’re rugged up nice and warm. Here are some stories that caught our eye this week… This Week on Greater Auckland On Monday, we had a post from a new contributor, Connor Sharp, who dug into the public feedback ...
Almost all of the Wellington City Council’s recommended zoning changes to allow many more apartments and townhouses in its inner-suburbs have been approved.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guest on geopolitics, ...
Open access notablesA Global Increase in Nearshore Tropical Cyclone Intensification, Balaguru et al., Earth's Future:Tropical Cyclones (TCs) inflict substantial coastal damages, making it pertinent to understand changing storm characteristics in the important nearshore region. Past work examined several aspects of TCs relevant for impacts in coastal regions. However, ...
Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result? As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and always answered “yes”, with very few ...
Thus far May has followed on from a quiet April in the blogging department, but in fairness, it has been another case of doing what I am supposed to be doing, namely writing original fiction. Plus reading. So don’t worry – I have been productive. But in order to reassure ...
Buzz from the Beehive A new government agency will open for business on July 1 – the Social Investment Agency. As a new standalone central agency effective from 1 July, it will lead the development of social investment across Government, helping ministers understand who they need to invest in, what ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The ...
Alwyn Poole writes – After being elected to Parliament in 2008 the maiden speech of Hipkins was substantially around education policy. He was Labour’s spokesperson for education 2011 – 2017. He was Minister for Education from 2017 until February 2023. This is approximately 88% of the time Labour ...
Eric Crampton writes – A fashion industry group is lobbying for protections. They make the usual arguments and a newer one. None of it makes sense. An industry group says it pumped $7.8 billion into the economy last year – that’s 1.9 percent of New Zealand’s GDP. ...
In December 2006, Fiji's military leader Voreqe Bainimarama overthrew the elected government in a coup. He ruled Fiji for the next 16 years, first as dictator, then as "elected" Prime Minister. But now, he's finally been sent to jail where he belongs. Sadly, this isn't for his real crime of ...
Don't like National's corrupt Muldoonist "fast-track" law? Aotearoa's environmental NGO's - Greenpeace, Forest & Bird, WWF, Coromandel Watchdog, Coal Action Network Aotearoa, Kiwis Against Seabed Mining, and others - have announced a joint march against it in Auckland in June: When: 13:00, 8 June, 2024 Where: Aotea Square, Auckland You ...
Seymour describes sushi as too woke for school meals. There are no fish sushi meals recommended by the School Lunches programme. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: The Government will swap out hot meals for packaged sandwiches to save $107 million on school lunches for poor kids. MSD has pulled ...
I don't mind stealin' bread from the mouths of decadenceBut I can't feed on the powerless when my cup's already overfilled, yeahBut it's on the table, the fire's cookin'And they're farmin' babies, while slaves are workin'The blood is on the table and the mouths are chokin'But I'm goin' hungry, yeahSome ...
The Ardern Government’s chickens came home to roost yesterday with the news that the country is short of natural gas. In 2018, Labour banned offshore petroleum exploration, and industry executives say that the attendant loss of confidence by the industry impacted overall investment in onshore gas fields. Energy Resources Minister ...
Hi,If you’ve been digging through the newly launched Webworm store (orders are being dispatched worldwide as I type!) you’ll have noticed the best model we had was Calvin.This is Calvin.Calvin.Calvin is 7, and is the son of my producer over on Flightless Bird, Rob — aka “Wobby Wob”. Rob also ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Climate change is everywhere. And when something's everywhere it can feel like it's nowhere. So how do we get our heads ...
Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
Yesterday Winston Peters focussed his attention on the important matter at hand. Tweeting. Like the former, and quite possibly next, orange POTUS, from whom he takes much of his political strategy, Winston is an avid X’er.His message didn’t resemble an historic address this time. In fact it was more reminiscent ...
Buzz from the Beehive A significant decline in natural gas production has given Resources Minister Shane Jones an opportunity to reiterate his enthusiasm for the mining and burning of coal. For good measure, he has praised an announcement from Genesis Energy that it will resume importing coal. He and Energy ...
“Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The political parties are legally obliged to make ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Here is my subjective ranking on a “most-left” to “most-right” scale of most of our major NZ Universities, with some anecdotal (and at times amusing) evidence to back up the claim.Extreme Left Auckland University of TechnologyEvidenceThe ...
Eric Crampton writes – I hadn’t thought about this one until a helpful email showed up in my inbox.It’s pretty obvious that income tax thresholds should automatically index with inflation – whether to anchor the thresholds in percentiles of the income distribution, or to anchor against a real ...
Jacqui Van Der Kaay writes – Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National ...
Gary Judd writes – The Dean of the law school at the Auckland University of Technology is someone called Khylee Quince. I have been sent her social media posting in which she has, over the LawNews headline “Senior King’s Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Maori studies for ...
Cleo Paskal writes – WASHINGTON, D.C.: ‘Many of us have received phone calls from [the opposing camp] telling them if they join the camp they will be given projects for their wards and $300,000 [around US$35,000] each’, says former Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani. The elections in Solomon Islands aren’t ...
With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would then immediately launch attacks on Rafah, regardless. We might have hoped the concessions made by Hamas would cause Israel to desist from slaughtering thousands more ...
Today’s justification from the Minister for Children for scrapping protections for our tamariki was either a case of ignorance or deliberate deception. ...
The Green Party says the Government’s misguided policy on gangs will fail, following the announcement of the establishment of a national gang unit and district gang disruption units to target gang activities. ...
“With Police pay negotiations still unresolved after six months in Government, Mark Mitchell has today rolled the Commissioner out for a rebrand of their approach to gang crime,” Labour police spokesperson Ginny Andersen said. ...
The Government bringing back 50 charter schools will not increase achievement and is a distraction from the core mission of the education system, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Te Pāti Māori is showing extreme concern over the Environment Select Committees adoption of a lucky dip draw to determine hearings for the Fast Track Approvals bill. Of the 27,000 submissions, 2,900 requested to present. All organisations will be heard; however, the remaining 2,350 submitters will be subject to a ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and President Emmanuel Macron of France today announced a new non-governmental organisation, the Christchurch Call Foundation, to coordinate the Christchurch Call’s work to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online. This change gives effect to the outcomes of the November 2023 Call Leaders’ Summit, ...
Distinguished public servant and former diplomat Sir Maarten Wevers will lead the independent review into the disability support services administered by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. The review was announced by Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston a fortnight ago to examine what could be done to strengthen the ...
Today’s announcement by Police Commissioner Andrew Coster of a National Gang Unit and district Gang Disruption Units will help deliver on the coalition Government’s pledge to restore law and order and crack down on criminal gangs, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. “The National Gang Unit and Gang Disruption Units will ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today expressed regret at North Korea’s aggressive rhetoric towards New Zealand and its international partners. “New Zealand proudly stands with the international community in upholding the rules-based order through its monitoring and surveillance deployments, which it has been regularly doing alongside partners since 2018,” Mr ...
Air Vice-Marshal Tony Davies MNZM is the new Chief of Defence Force, Defence Minister Judith Collins announced today. The Chief of Defence Force commands the Navy, Army and Air Force and is the principal military advisor to the Defence Minister and other Ministers with relevant portfolio responsibilities in the defence ...
Legislation to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act has been introduced to Parliament. The Bill’s introduction reaffirms the Coalition Government’s commitment to the safety of children in care, says Minister for Children, Karen Chhour. “While section 7AA was introduced with good intentions, it creates a conflict for Oranga ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins will this week travel to the UK and Italy to meet with her defence counterparts, and to attend Battles of Cassino commemorations. “I am humbled to be able to represent the New Zealand Government in Italy at the commemorations for the 80th anniversary of what was ...
The upcoming Budget will include funding for up to 50 charter schools to help lift declining educational performance, Associate Education Minister David Seymour announced today. $153 million in new funding will be provided over four years to establish and operate up to 15 new charter schools and convert 35 state ...
“The results of the public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has now been received, with results indicating over 13,000 submissions were made from members of the public,” Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “We heard feedback about the extended lockdowns in ...
Foreign Minister, Defence Minister, other Members of Parliament Acting Chief of Defence Force, Secretary of Defence Distinguished Guests Defence and Diplomatic Colleagues Ladies and Gentlemen, Good afternoon, tēna koutou, apinun tru It’s a pleasure to be back in Port Moresby today, and to speak here at the Kumul Leadership ...
Health, infrastructure, renewable energy, and stability are among the themes of the current visit to Papua New Guinea by a New Zealand political delegation, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Papua New Guinea carries serious weight in the Pacific, and New Zealand deeply values our relationship with it,” Mr Peters ...
The coalition Government is launching Roads of Regional Significance to sit alongside Roads of National Significance as part of its plan to deliver priority roading projects across the country, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The Roads of National Significance (RoNS) built by the previous National Government are some of New Zealand’s ...
A high-level New Zealand political delegation in Honiara today congratulated the new Government of Solomon Islands, led by Jeremiah Manele, on taking office. “We are privileged to meet the new Prime Minister and members of his Cabinet during his government’s first ten days in office,” Deputy Prime Minister and ...
New Zealand voted in favour of a resolution broadening Palestine’s participation at the United Nations General Assembly overnight, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The resolution enhances the rights of Palestine to participate in the work of the UN General Assembly while stopping short of admitting Palestine as a full ...
Introduction Good morning. It’s a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. “Our servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...
New Zealand’s ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Government’s focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “An enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...
Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
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It seems there are different opinions regarding what people can and cannot do during this next month. Are we to stay at home, are we in isolation or is it even a curfew as the Stuff editorial called it this morning. My view, there is no curfew. There is nothing meaning I have to be home at a certain time of day or the like, what I am doing is isolating myself from other people to limit the spread of the corona virus. If I go for a 4 hour walk through my city and avoid other people that is fine, main point is isolation. If I chose to grab a fishing line and spend the day on the banks of a quiet river fishing with no one else around me thats fine as well. Just avoid other people. I understand the need for police to have the ability to ensure people are isolating, eg if I organised a game of football with mates at the local park that would not be isolation, as well as monitor security of property and assets, no issue with that. I would not expect any one to raise significant concerns about me fishing for half a day in isolation though, should I choose to do such. Common sense should prevail.
It does seem like the cops have a different view as yours was my view as well. Even cops pulling over ppl to ask what they're doing seems a bit much, I'm not under house arrest. This will only work if we still have some freedom to move, I live alone, share a couple kids, we need fresh air.
" If I go for a 4 hour walk through my city and avoid other people that is fine, main point is isolation. If I chose to grab a fishing line and spend the day on the banks of a quiet river fishing with no one else around me thats fine as well."
Second example – fair enough. That would probably be isolated even in normal times (assuming it's a rural river).
First example – not really. If a 4 hour walk in a city is OK because the streets are deserted, then it is OK for all of us, and so the city streets are no longer deserted. Occasional contact would build up, people linger, touch things etc.
Some exercise and fresh air is necessary. But it's a very small sacrifice to limit it.
Yes, the walks, bike rides etc are supposed to be local. But it is not clear what local is. For instance I live in Bayswater, a peninsula with about 400 households. Is that my local, or is it Bayswater/Devonport, where the supermarket is?
Quite a few people swimming and kayaking in Ngataringa Bay, which is fine. The Bay is only used by local residents and is relatively enclosed, so very safe.
I have concluded 'local' means anywhere between Takapuna North and Devonport.
That will enable me to pick up my fortnightly supply of snapper from the Takapuna fish shop (fresher than the supermarkets), shop spasmodically at either Hauraki Countdown or Devonport New World whichever takes my fancy. I can take my car for a walk around the streets inadvertently ending up on Maungauika (North Head) or other such places…
Oh noes, I suppose the fish shop is closed. 😯
I live alone, am 70 years old, and have a throat infection. I am in Mt Eden, and my only relative in Auckland is a nephew on the North Shore. He is planning to buy some groceries for me and do a contactless delivery.
I thought this was OK as long as he doesn't come inside, and we maintain the 2 meter distance between us when he delivers stuff.
We decided I'll email him my shopping list which he will also have a copy of to present to any cops that pull him over while driving to my place.
I have a mild throat infection which I'm keeping at bay with Strepsils lozenges. That is why I wear a mask if I have to leave my home.
Ah. OK. I most likely have strep throat (bacterial infection – white spots on my tonsils). Because we are in unusual times, the GP prescribed antibiotics over the phone on Monday, and told me to self-isolate, just in case it's mild Covid-19.
At the same time she booked me in for a flu jab next Tuesday, to a session for "well people". Sick people attend during a different session. So I think she expects me to be recovered by Tuesday, unless I notify them otherwise.
Taking my morning beverage out on my son's front doorstep earlier I was invited to participate in an informal neighbourhood gathering. Standing in driveways speaking loud enough to be heard.
One neighbour (looks well into her eighties) went for her schedule flu shot yesterday. The nurse came out to their car to stick 'em.
Comvita propolis lozenges and lysosomal vitamin C for tonsillitis. I am blessed with enormous tonsils and hitherto have only ever had infections in one of them at a time. Barbed wire in the throat and generally feeling like garbage.
The last time I was afflicted it was cheaper to buy the vitamin c( the lysosomal stuff is truly disgusting) than go to an after hours clinic. The comvita lozenges are always in my first aid kit.
BTW. Friends living in Wuhan continued their marathon running practise for the first few weeks of their lockdown. Now running in their apartment. 7kms he did the other day.
They were also saying that hospitals are using high dose vitamin C IV for patients combined with traditional Chinese medicine. They also are vigorously encouraging mask wearing and hand washing and decontamination when returning home from work.
Interesting. I will phone my GPs' reception before my appointment on Tuesday, and ask whether to wait in the car park.
I included vitamin C in my next grocery order – mainly because of problem of keeping up supplies of fresh fruit and veggies. I've also ordered some frozen veggies as back-up, but think they have diminished vitamin C content.
I waited a week with my sore throat before ringing my GP. It didn't clear. Also, the white spots on tonsils usually means strep throat & requires antibiotics.
Great about the doorstep communications in your street. I just got a phone call from my GPs' receptionist.
They have run out of flu jab stock, and the ETA for next batch is about mid to end April. Those already booked in will be top of the list when they arrive, and they will let me know.
Had a good chat with receptionist. Flu shots in car parks are only for those who have someone with them, because there's a 5 minute wait time before the person jabbed can drive. Otherwise, the jab is given in the surgery, and the jabee must wait there for 5 minutes before leaving.
She said I could phone them when I arrive in the car park, and they will come out and get me when the nurse is ready.
Anne,
I think that be a too big for "local". It is beyond what just about anyone would do for a walk. Takapuna North to Devonport is over 10km, and encompasses around 30,000 people.
I reckon the biggest you could do is Bayswater/Devonport, or Hauraki/Takapuna. Both areas are well under half the size of Takapuna North to Devonport. Both have supermarkets within them. So whichever of those areas you live in, you would have to stay within that area. At least that is my view. And there may well be a view that Bayswater/Devonport is too big, except for the fact the supermarket is in Devonport.
I was being tongue in cheek Wayne. Carving out a nice big slice of "local" to accommodate my personal inclinations. Since the Takapuna Fish shop is likely closed I'm happy to reduce the size to Devonport/Bayswater. 🙂
I live in Belmont and have a nephew a stones throw away in Bayswater who I can call upon at any time.
For what it is worth, Anne, I personally have found those Strepsil lozenges pretty damned useless (to quote Blinglish..) I always get best fix by regular, deep gargling with salt and water – much more effective, much quicker cure. (Just avoid swallowing…)
Thanks for the reminder. It's what we used to do in the "good old days".
Fisherman's Friend work best for me. Hope you're feeling better soon.
Thanks. 🙂
Hehehe when Grandma was alive and I had a bad cold in my twenties she told me to do the salt water gargle.
I rang her back afterwards and said…. Grandma, that made me throw up.
She laughed and said, yes dear, and did it get all the phlem off your chest.
Yes it did Grandma, but you could have warned me.
If I had warned you dear you would not have done it, now do you feel better.
Yes Grandma, thank you (she was still laughing, bless her).
+1
clever woman.
For sures 🙂
Same In Vino. Use as a preventative when others have a sore throat as well.
Yes, that is what I thought where you live, Belmont, but wasn't quite sure.
Yes, I think that is what the police are concerned about. Once they are certain everyone is on the same page and knows they have to stick with it, then we can expect the police to step back. If they're still 'over zealous' in two weeks time, then we can let them know to keep their sticky beaks out of our business. 😉
Stay home unless you genuinely have to go to the supermarket, pharmacy or doctor. It's not a fucking holiday. Don't fuck with people lives.
Don't think anyone is suggesting we do otherwise Fireblade. But we do have to get some fresh air from time to time. Car batteries will go flat if they don't get an occasional little workout. Basics will need to be purchased from time to time. For instance, I have an appointment for my flu jab this arvo and I intend to use the occasion to give my car a wee run around the local streets there and back.
None of that is fucking with people's lives. And I wear a good sized mask.
Yes. i also have an appointment for a flu jab on Tuesday. Will drive to the GPs, and clear my PO Box at the same time.
Where did you get the mask? Is it an n95 one?
I picked up the last 4 from a chemist in Devonport. There's no brand name or type on it. It has a clear perspex piece at the top so the eyes are protected too.
OK. I assume all the staff at my GPs will have masks. I will disinfect my hands after I leave, and after I leave the Post Office.
In her presser this arvo, the PM said there's a company in NZ that makes n95 masks. These are recommended protection for Covid-19, but not the same as the surgical ones used by doctors, etc.
The government is taking over organising distribution of the n95 masks so the company can focus on producing as many as possible.
My sister-in-law is an infectious diseases specialist at Waikato Hospital. I know what they are planning for and what they expect to happen. It is truly horrifying. Stay home.
Actual official government advice (emphasis added):
covid19.govt.nz
On the idea that authoritarian states are better at managing a crisis like COVID-19: nonsense. The important factor is state capacity and competence.
https://www.vox.com/2020/3/26/21184238/coronavirus-china-authoritarian-system-democracy
That's superb … highly recommended.
+100
Andre, if you haven't seen this I'm sure you will enjoy:
https://twitter.com/Kendragarden/status/1243200634137935872
RE reported cases
USA at 79000 is just below china (81000) and Italy (80000)
USA will go top in the next day or so.
And an Article in the Herald about the difference between the muddle responses from scum and the clear communication by Jacinta
Covid 19 coronavirus: Sam Clench – Clarity is the quality that makes Jacinda Ardern so effective in a crisis
Well worth a read
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12320229
Oops Scomo, not scum.
Ans USA is now above Italy!!!!
Well done the USA! Bigger population than Italy but way smaller than China. With he who shall not be mentioned in charge. A true catastrophe awaits. He is such a great Christian he is even giving up the nations gparents for lent. 😕
And trump did a presser bragging they are doing more tests than South Korea, like it's a competition.
Mum reminded me the reason trump was calling it a hoax the other week is because of the mighty dollar and he is only concerned that the virus will cause him to lose hotel revenue.
Yep. For Trump, the measure of his success, is the performance of the share market. He was having nightmares over the past week as every day brought new record lows. It is for that reason, and that alone, that he has urged the agreement of the new trillion dollar rescue package, and the reason why he talks about return to work by Easter, despite the fact that the US is now in a full blown pandemic. That has seemingly calmed the dealers nerves. But it wont stop the spread of COVID-19, and I would think that as the virus continues to rage even further into the American population, the true reality of what this most incompetent administration has left undone, will be obvious even to the most rednecked Trumpkin.
Was just about to post this link from news (dot) com.au
There is what I believe to be a historic quote from ScoMo
Good to see NSW is ready to lockdown anyway.
Scomo is like Boris Johnson and Trump. Everybody else ( states etc) do the heavy lifting closing as much as they have the authority to do then they come in after the event.
USA now top on 83,000 cases.
Yes but the dow index increased so all will be good. Ha
Woken up this morning to a Tui calling out, then on an olive tree the return of some Kererū.
I know that the pūriri berries are available, but with all this peace, Tui and Kererū have already returned (or are more noticeable) same when went for a walk last night.
Were they already there and we couldn't hear them fot the noise and the rush? I too heard a tui today but I quite often do being retired and on the edge of town. In Cook's journals were references to the noise of our birdlife as he sailed offshore! Maybe they had better hearing then, too, and a quiet ship but events like our lockdown might point out to us some of the things we do miss in the noise and rush of 'normal' life.
Somehow I missed this…the PM being her fabulous self on FB on the night just before the lockdown began.
https://www.facebook.com/jacindaardern/videos/147109069954329/
Thanks for that link A. An object lesson in kindness, understanding, and communication.
We are so fortunate to have such a leader at this time.
on the coming recession and a third of the country unemployed.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12320069
or from the US
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/quantifying-coming-recession/608443/
I do hope that when the Government has bailed out everyone they deem 'solvent enough' to be 'bail out worthy' someone will tell them that no one can survive on the wage subsidy and no one can survive on unemployment figures. And maybe now its time to help HE TANGATA, and i hope they have a few more ideas then just throwing 20$ bills at the poor and the poor working class in the hope that that will shut us up for a week or several. And i hope that they are not deducting Student loans either from their hand outs to the people.
He aha te mea nui o te ao, he tangata he tangata he tangata.
That's blatantly not true.
electricity bills – 25 pw
gas bills (if applicable)
water bills / waste water – 15 pw
telephone/internet – 25 pw
line charges (if applicable and rural it is)
mortgage (rent) – 400 pw
car payments – 50 pw
car insurance – 15 pw
household insurance – 15 pw
Student loans (if applicable)
an loans that come with a weekly bill
please explain to me how people can manage the bills and food on 350 – 580 per week, over several weeks.
while people won't be starving they also won't be 'surviving' i.e. managing to keep up all he payments.
And please don't come with the refrain of 'please negotiate' with your suppliers, because everyone who is currently on this wage subsidy will be negotiating, like the good little trooper they are.
As for have no options ot spend? There are people that will order in their groceries, their medication, and as i said, you still have all your bills to pay in full as non of these companies such as spark / electricity companies/line companies/water care etc have dropped any of their prices.
so yeah, you do the math and you ask yourself how long you can do this before you can't do it anymore.
So feel free to tell me where i am blatantly wrong. As far as it goes, i have been on this for a while now and i have not once said something that was 'blatantly' wrong.
you can have a play here to see how far you get on the subsidy. https://www.newzealandnow.govt.nz/living-in-nz/money-tax/comparable-living-costs
mortgage costs / rent from here
https://www.interest.co.nz/property/home-loan-affordability
I earn less than the wage subsidy every week. I pay tax and student loan.
I am not dead or in the poor house.
"no one can survive on the wage subsidy" is still blatantly not true.
if you consider 'surviving' as keeping what you have and hopefully have a job, then maybe you are correct.
if you consider surviving as the action of paying your bills, not accruing anymore debt, not defaulting on rent payments/ mortgage payments and loosing your belongings in the long term then i am correct.
so no i am not 'blatantly' wrong. Nor are you 'absolutely correct'.
But i am liking the comments of "Doing good. Everything (me) is gonna be OK."
🙂
I haven't said that for some it will be sustainable, but I am 100% correct in saying your assertion "no one can survive on the wage subsidy" is blatantly untrue as I am living proof of it being done on less. I have done this for a number of years with no debts other than a mortgage.
again,
as i said, we are disagreing on the meaning of 'surviving.
so let me rephrase this, while no one will outright starve on this subsidy, many will not survive.
feel better now? And please feel free to discuss the actual point i made. Namely that people will not be able to keep up with payments, that many will not go back to jobs, and that they will have no means to pay back any debt accrued under lock down and the very potential extention of lock down period once we realise taht 4 weeks may not be enough. And that many many people will lose what little they have. And how to deal with a potential wave of unemployed and unhoused people to add to our current unemployed and unhoused people.
No, that's still not acceptable to counter "no one can survive on the wage subsidy" when they can and, as I've clearly stated, do.
and you have still to demonstrate how people will 'survive' their regular bill payments.
but then you won't right, because all you want it to tell me i am incorrect, and my friend, i am not.
People will 'not survive' this. They will not starve in their houses, but they will not 'survive' this.
From the Merriam Webster (and if you have an issue with their interpretation please take it up with them)
surviving
[Deleted long list of synonyms and antonyms. One (master) link suffices: https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surviving – Incognito]
Despite the long post that says nothing, you're assertions that "Because no one can 'survive' on this without defaulting and declaring bankrputcy in the coming month" and "no one can survive on the wage subsidy" are still blatantly not true.
Given that I take home, after deductions, a mere $380pw in wages and get a $70 accommodation supplement, I pay my mortgage, my rates, my utilities, petrol, wof, reggo and internet with mobile and home line included, and have done for a number of years.
Now while this doesn't play nicely with your apocalyptic narrative, there are many many people like me, and the beneficiaries on even less, who are managing and not destitute. It's not easy, compromises have to be made, like I don't buy boutique chocolates for example, but I bought a 4k car on payments without forgoing the basics.
People with big mortgages will get the mortgage holiday for 6 months, which I won't, so that biggest chunk won't come out of the wage guarantee payment. It will be hard, really hard for some over extended and living beyond their means, and will no doubt result in some going under financially, but to be so finite in saying people won't survive is not only alarmist, but a joke slogan to those who cope and manage with low incomes on a weekly basis.
TA if you have to maintain a household and kids than no. If you are single person sharing a flat or rent in a rural town and study via online options, its possible.
Its a matter of degree and what responsibility has to be met.
please explain to me how people can manage the bills and food on 350 – 580 per week, over several weeks.
Crap, innit? But if you talk to an unemployed person near you, they might be kind enough to tell you how they have survived for months or years at the lower end of your weekly income band.
But that is the point, they don't, they hang on. And for once i will also add that our abysmal suicide levels may actually due to this.
I have argued many many times that we need better benefits, lower rents, more regulation in the housing market, that we need a CGT and tha we need to raise taxes on the higher end, and even now, we still refuse to do that. I have not been kind to he current government for a while now, and one reason is that they literally did nothing of substance but are simply handing out band aids that don't stick well enough to cover the oozing wounds.
I have friends who are in that boat, and like the Ex – Co Leader from the Greens Metiria Turei admitted non of them survives without 'cheating'. Be that working on the low end, prostitution, or outright lying to Winz, or if they have family that still can support them.
And if you read the article in the Herald today ( i linked to hat earlier) we can expect a huge number of jobs to be gone for a long long time. there might be a pandemic economy for a while but i would venture that non of that will really benefit people at the lower end.
so really, this should be discussed, and maybe now that it actually affects people that usually have no issue making and spending money, it will affect how we measure the cost of living for unemployed and beneficiaries. Because no one can 'survive' on this without defaulting and declaring bankrputcy in the coming month (plural) to come.
That's blatantly not true.
I am not the only one saying this. So really, many many will not 'survive' this. I have a comment in moderation (i have no idea how to unlink links – with the defintion of Merriam Webster and hopefully you will be able to agree with their many meanings of 'surviving') https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surviving
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12320069
Yeah yeah 🙄 Direct contrary evidence from the poorly/low paid or benefit recipients says you're talking bollocks for the fun of it.
nope. that is not what i said, and you know that.
My friend too is a beneficiary, and she is 'not surviving'. She is simply not dying in a ditch. There is a difference between the two.
And fwiw, i don't think that anyone on unemployemnt or the benefit gets anywhere near enough to 'survive'. And i also have been on record for this on the Standard.
As i often say, Benefits and Unemployment money in NZ is too much to die of and too little to live of.
You said "Because no one can 'survive' on this without defaulting and declaring bankrputcy in the coming month" and "no one can survive on the wage subsidy". I've shown that to be a fatalistic untruth, as many people already live on less per week.
Maybe you shouldn't write in such absolutes.
The Al1en,
i am happy with what i said. I linked to the thesaurus of the Merriam Webster Dictionary and they agree with me.
So thanks for your concern, but yeah, nah nah. And people will not be able 'to survive'.
Luckily it seems that the Banks are finally coming to play and allow for a full mortgage holiday for people to apply for. And if that is so, i hope that the government will use their emergency powers to simply declare eviction illegal during the time of the pandemic.
And i do hope that the government will come around to increase benefits and unemployment benefits so that you too (and everyone on a benefit) can do more then just hang on by a thread (another way of saying 'survive'') but actually 'survive'.
and that is all i have to say to that. You can continue to be pedantic if it helps you get through the day.
It's not pedantry. Having already given my income details up thread, I'll happily put my experience as a low wage earner and what passes for surviving means over whatever dictionary definition you need to call on to back up what can only describe as an untruthful, panic induced absolute.
We're on the same page.
Look. I know cafes and what not are closed, but I wonder how many people – those now on an employer administered wage subsidy – grasp 'the reality as was' for thousands, of a 'flat white' from a cafe being a treat and not a convenience?
Or put another way. I wonder how many people will read this comment and reflect that the thought had never crossed their mind?
Suicide rates will most assuredly rise. But I suspect the biggest rise will occur in formerly cloistered sections of the population.
Most people will also have an Accommodation Supplement on top of those low wage figures if they have high rent or mortgage. And if they have children will also have Working for Families.
Tell me Wayne. The cap on Accommodation Supplement – what is it again? Remind everyone here, lest they think it is any way a serious measure intended to mitigate the financial stress of high rents.
And Working for Families extended to unemployed people did it? okay. How much does an unemployed person receive from that quarter?
Don,t forget, not much opportunity to spend it in Lockdown .The dollars should go a lot further .
Unfortunately all the specials have been removed from the supermarket. This will make life a bit more challenging for some
on a food group that i am on, someone posted the picture of a cauliflower for 12.99$ the piece.
i guess that can't be regulated either.
Fork!!!
I was too scared to go to the panic stricken supermarket on Wednesday and ended up paying $12 for a pack of sanitary pads at the garage.
But $13 for a cauli, what the actual fork?
Hope that person reports the seller, that's price gouging and Jacinda won't stand for it.
Edit…
“The Prime Minister has warned retailers not to price gouge just to make a buck, even asking for names of specific shops to be handed over to her when it’s been mentioned in press conferences. ”
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2020/03/coronavirus-how-to-dob-in-price-gouging-retailers-during-the-lockdown.html
Nah, thats regular price for cauliflower – its not in the season, so its hot house, all the farmer markets are closed, a lot of the small food supply shops are closed, and this is now what people have to pay.
as for reporting? The government has emergency powers and could regulate.
I mean we are all already spending our time negotiating with our suppliers and financial advisors and now we should report stupid food prices? these are the stupid food prices that we have on any regular day.
i am not a fan of the Mad Butcher, but for many families that is the only meat they buy because its cheap. And the mad butcher is not considered ‘essential’. Go figure.
not much opportunity to spend it
Yeah, all those millenials frittering away vast sums on smashed avocado toast and barista coffee should come out of this with their first home deposits all sorted and ready to go!
comment day of the day!
not much opportunity to spend it in Lockdown
Essentials can be had. Us unemployed have only ever really had access to essentials…and we have struggled/survived.
Time to roll out a recurring emergency universal payment that's set at a level well above benefit rates.
Another candidate.
https://twitter.com/revrrlewis/status/1243162967555870721
#Guillotine
With Trump's swift action and bold leadership, the US has managed to limit projected deaths from COVID-19 to a maximum of 1 per person!
I read a telling joke about the lack of testing among the poor in the face of $3000 charges.
How do you know if you have covid 19? Cough in a rich persons face and wait for their test results to come back.
Yeah I've seen that one too. In such circumstances a little humour is a valuable thing. We are very lucky to be living here with a responsible govt. I pass on my hopes and wishes to my on-line friends in the US, because they fear for their lives right now.
Very lucky indeed.
Been skimming thru r/conspiracy, a couple of gems amidst the dross:
https://www.reddit.com/r/conspiracy/comments/fo4m4s/chinese_virus_is_getting_exposed/
https://youtu.be/pmSG8vfhroY David Icke on COVID-19
Fust Never Sleeps
We're in lockdown, but that democracy-hating lout D.P. Farrar is still posting up his nonsense….
https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2020/03/meet_your_future_voters.html
The Penguin lookalike and part time paedophile impersonator is also calling for the re-opening of butcher's shops. I note that the CEO of the Mad Butcher has admitted that the chain tried to exploit the situation:
"Based on the fact that we got told we were essential services, everybody was panic-buying up until that time and we panic-bought as well from our supplier. Our sales were up 60 per cent week-on-week, so we panic-bought as well because we had to keep serving all these customers."
Happily, the CEO has personally added to the available meat supply:
"Mad Butcher chief executive Michael Morton said on Friday that he was gutted …"
actually i would call that 'stocking up'. And yes, they should be essential services as many on the low incomes only shop at the local mad butchers. They can't afford the regular $ 20 – 25 kg for fatty mince at countdown or new world or pak n save.
In her press stand up yesterday, Ardern was asked about keeping open butchers and fruit and veg shops, and pointing out they have a lot of stock that will go to waste.
Ardern said that no food in NZ needs to go to waste. They can find and supply people who need it without opening the shops to the general public.
Think about it – kidscan, people in quarantine or self isolated as they arrive in the country etc. I'd have thought the govt would ensure shops are paid something for their unused food stocks. They just need to get in touch with the relevant govt dept or authorities.
PS: Ardern said opening up all these small shops would have an increase in people walking around in different locations and they are trying to limit that.
Also, it must be easy to monitor and regulate the general public’s use of supermarkets than across a load of small shops.
Y'know…if I'm asymptomatic and go to the supermarket, then I can infect someone who lives many km away from me. Whereas, if only small local stores/shops were open to the public…
Does it matter that much how far away the supermarket is? And Ardern also said it's putting more workers at risk to open al those shops.
She said that at just before 40minutes here. been trying to find the other comment she made about it – maybe between about 27 minutes and 34 minutes.
<i>Does it matter that much how far away the supermarket is? </i>
Not so much the distance per se, more the catchment population/area. My local shop essentially covers a few thousand people within a few km. The nearest supermarket covers all of Dunedin (and then some).
So, if I spread the virus, I'd have thought he job of tracing contacts becomes somewhat onerous and sketchy if looking at a supermarket with large numbers of people from all around the show, compared to tracing through a fairly discrete population in a fairly well defined or contained geographical area.
edit – as for numbers of workers being exposed – I dunno the numbers. But if supermarkets were treated as ‘warehouses’ to supply outlying shops, then I’m not exactly sure why it ought to be assumed more workers get exposed.
OK. Found the bit in the above video where Ardern talks about this. It starts about 29 mins 44 secs. She says there doesn't need to be any wastage of food and that there are plenty of people who need it. She said that's she's sure they can use food that can no longer be sold across the counter.
She also says, for small towns they need to make sure people have access to the same essential services and foods that other parts of the country do. So in those areas where there are no supermarkets, then special consideration is given to dairies, superettes, etc.
Maybe we're talking at slight cross purposes. I'm not suggesting "all" food outlets be open. However, to minimise contact, make tracing easier and potential flare-ups more contained and local, shut down supermarkets wherever possible. Turn them into "supply hubs" for (designated if need be) local outlets.
What's more cautious and liable to aid containment? A 1000 people coming backwards and forwards from 'all around' to one supermarket, or 100 people going to and fro 10 different dairies? (With the 'back-shop' of the supermarket operating just as before, but the front end open to retailers, not the public)
I'd have thought the latter scenario, where feasible, was the more prudent one.
Good point. I have heard someone, maybe the PM or Bloomfield, say that it's better for only 1 person from each household be the one to go to the supermarket. And also, someone, maybe a supermarket CEO, say it's better to do a fairly big supermarket shop with each visit, rather than keep going back for small amounts of groceries.
Supermarkets seem to have settled down now and are not being over-run with shoppers.
I think it maybe that at them moment the govt is going for simplicity, and as much as possible across the board regulations re-shopping, etc.
They do seem to have some leeway for special circumstances for small communities. They may fine tune it more a they see how things are playing out.
The problem is getting the food distributed to those who need it. Many foodbanks have closed. So fresh fruit and vegetables just going to waste.
Our local roadside food bank is closed.
Tough on people who can't afford to grocery shop.
Two days in and his morans are losing their shit.
I too, assumed butchers would be allowed to stay open.
After all they are solely food sellers.
Dairy's are.
Stocking up in anticipation of a rush, seems to be sensible, rather than necessarily greedy.
Being stuck at home having only countdown mince, should be a human rights violation. 😁
Have never posted on that site but if did or someone does they might like to tell Farrar if he doesn't already know that the National Party change of legislation applies only to those physically detained. Those serving a sentence of home detention of any length and those are often fraudsters are free to vote in an election by attendance at a polling booth they are not removed from the roll – so the whole thing was hypocritical from the outset
Joe Biden, what a great guy. (warning it's bloody awful)
https://soundcloud.com/katie-halper/joe-bidens-accuser-finally-tells-her-full-story
And then the boys club protects him from this
https://www.democracynow.org/2020/3/26/headlines/the_intercept_times_up_legal_defense_fund_refused_to_support_metoo_allegation_against_joe_biden
Grab em by the pussy.
Its ok if you do it if you are a celebrety, they just let you do it.
whats good for the goose is good for he gander, and besides boys will be boys, and nothing can be done.
How is he orange one doing?
Almost all the country are POSITIVE and then we have Sabine what a pain in the arse
I'm positively cynical. Does that count? 😉
Come on Sabine we all know trump is a fucking arsehole.
Show some respect to this women can you?
I have time for Sabine, and can see she has a point to make.
Adam, what point are you trying to make? 'Women' is plural. 'This' is singular. I agree about Trump, but what your other sentence about respect means I have no idea.
I got my spelling wrong. I apologise.
FFS the issue is Biden sexually assaulted Tara Reade
Or did the russians do it? Or trump? Anybody but Biden I guess?
Can you explain why my misspelling is the end of the world In Vino? Because I'm totally confused , do we do arguing over bad spelling now and avoid talking about sexual assault?
Or is it acceptable to have people run for office, to be like this as long as they are not trump?
Because I'm of the school of thought – Fuck all the rapist and men who use power for sexual advantage – be they left wing or right.
There's a lengthy interview given by her on The Hill. fck it. link.
Is NZ still at 2 cases of known community transmission?
No number, but down the page it says "several"
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2020/03/coronavirus-85-new-cases-in-new-zealand.html
thanks. This one says two.
https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-current-cases/covid-19-current-cases-details
Though the number of cases on the page says confirmed at 262, while the number today is at 368.
Edit:
Noticed it states Page updated 5:55pm Thursday 26 March 2020
Maybe later will show different.
It's been updated now.
As of 24th March there were 4 cases of suspected community transmission. Since then they have talked of clusters – such as the Marist College cluster, but I don't recall any more cases of community transmission mentioned.
Dunno if that's just a shift in messaging, or if they are still maintaining the distinction where community transmission means cases they can't trace to a specific source and there haven't been any new ones.
The MOH link posted by weka has now been updated with the latest data as at 9am today and is the official site for this information.
MOH are expanding/revising the information provided and today has introduced stats for confirmed (and probable) cases by DHB, age and gender. The site now also has a pop-up asking for feedback on the info being provided.
Here are the latest links
https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-current-cases
https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-current-cases/covid-19-current-cases-details
Unfortunately all the "details to come" could hide a lot of community transmission, along with the two instances of "under investigation". I couldn't find the one case of community transmission that has had details published, nor was I able to identify anyone from the Marist cluster.
I wish that MoH page had dates on it (for each person).
one has to wonder at the mentality of some people
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/middayreport/audio/2018740435/hospital-masks-sanitiser-and-gowns-are-being-stolen
Survival?
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/03/26/metro/dozens-boston-hospital-staffers-have-contracted-coronavirus/
that makes sense….disable the health system that is likely to treat you should what you fear come to pass….brilliant
Guilty – a new thought about Evil
I realise that we have quite a large number of prisons…
But Punishment is not given to any of our criminals.
The absence of Punishment hands out an unrepentant easy existance- and leads to endless recidivism.
I think our ancestors got things right, when they issued a matching punishment for the Crime committed.
What is your view ? But please don't tell me that being in prison is a hardship in Aotearoa.
Where are you going with this please Observer Tokoroa?
Back to the Dark Ages.
To join Brian the Bish? Maybe she wants a Harley too.
Hi Cinny
I am suggesting that if a crime is committed the consequence should be Punishment.
That was the case until very recent times. Well into the 1960's.
Why do think crime is not a problem ? May I ask
observer tokoroa, Your logical fallacy is ……. a loaded question
A question that had a presumption built into it so that it couldn't be answered without appearing guilty.
A logical fallacy is a flaw in reasoning.
Logical fallacies are like tricks or illusions of thought, and they’re often very sneakily used by politicians and the media to fool people.
Have you seen the studies about how people become criminals?
Or the evidence from countries, that are "soft on crime" that have much less crime and recidivism?
If you really want to make people safer you address the causes of crime before it occurs. Not enact revenge, afterwards.
Have you been imprisoned in Aotearoa?
Hi Joe
I haven't been imprisoned. But I had to go through a lot of internal Gates and play rugby with a mob of hard running badies every so often.
That was Paparua Christchurch
As Morrissey the Saint says below: my Rugby is ignorant.
Ian Smith is a rugby ignoramus. I was commenting not on your rugby knowledge, but your astonishing ignorance about the reality of imprisonment.
But please don't tell me that being in prison is a hardship in Aotearoa.
????
What an ignorant comment.
Can't you HANDLE the troot?
Y'all-Qaeda rides again!
To defend their First Amendment right to peaceably assemble and spread coronavirus.
https://www.motherjones.com/coronavirus-updates/2020/03/self-quarantine-orders-meet-the-right-wing-militia-movement/
Andre you are aware that Trump has a breakthru treatment for the virus that limits the deaths to one per person.
I'd expect nothing less than a beautiful solution like that from the stable genius. No doubt it's bigly expensive, so it will be reserved for family, friends and followers. In that order.
Life of Riley
Hi
The Harshness in our prisons is so horrible, that 72% of offenders return to Prison each year. Happily.
It costs a minimum $100, 000 dollars a year to keep each criminal Happy. There is of course, no Punishment in helping the offenders into and out of prison. Wonderful.
It is a terrible indictment on New Zealand housing and social infrastructure that so many men from our poorest communities would rather prison than home.
Prison has failed to prevent further crime in 72% of cases, by your own statement.
In other words as even Bill English admitted, "The prison system is a costly and expensive failure".
Who would have thought that putting mostly not very bright,, disadvantaged and poorly educated youngsters in prison, results in, better educated in crime, angry and unemployable young men coming out, Eh?
National Party cheerleaders in despair can bitch and whine to their bumbling and irrelevant leader using Facebook Messenger. Please note: Soimun's video is subtitled so everyone can understand what he's saying.
https://mobile.twitter.com/simonjbridges/status/1242984359402942464?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
Grant still doesn't seem to be getting it.
He now seems to have sort of belatedly pivoted towards the Danish model for employment but talks about it being a high trust enviroment so we have to trust employers. – Same ones that have been screwing the workforce for years – well good luck with that. Same government who made all their contractors redundant a few days before lock down.
He needs to go a lot further than that – companies over a certain size who want subsidies or to make mass redundancies should have to have their applications co signed by any unions on their premises saying that all steps have been taken to consult and make savings elsewhere ( chop high end payroll) .
As for overseas owned workplaces – a lien over land buildings and other assets if they try to jump ship.
Frankly a phone call from a government minister lecturing them doesn't cut it.
As to the banks and loans. I get that the government doesn't have the resources for this but the rules again need to be tight. These are the banks that couldn't even see a paedophile ring transacting under their noses.
It's a difficult position. Employers didn't get where they are by being honest. The model is that you screw everyone for maximum profit for yourself. That is the very definition of capitalism. Those that can do it, do it.
So when a wage subsidy scheme comes along in unprecedented times the very first thing an employer will do is work out how to maximise it for themselves.
The government will have to adjust constantly to the raiding that most employers will indulge in.
Difficult for whom? Yes I agree that is the mode but it doesn't mean that steps should not be taken to deter this type of behaviour.
But hey over three years labour has done next to nothing to improve the basic lot of waged employees – are they even consulting the trade unions over all this or justt sucking up to the boss class.
I'm saying it's difficult for the Government to second guess self-serving employers in a pandemic situation while trying to look after workers.
Employers are almost like a virus themselves.
But it doesn't have to be like this .
These subsidies are in the billions & if Graant had his wits about him he would chuck $50-$100 million towards the unions and they could use it to hire lawyers to chase down the employers that people are complaining about or have questions about before it puts them out of work..
Not on a one by one basis or by expecting people to go individually to employment tribunals but on a class action basis-. plus fund some decent information about peoples rights etc. The game has to change.
I was looking at that "raise the bar" website which seemed to have solid information well presented. Then I looked down the page and realised there was a bank account there. Felt pretty sad that this absolutely useful activity was being funded by donations from the low paid . It sucks at every level.
And still the top end of town is untouched. Every $20 mill of excess top end wages is 400 $50k p.a jobs.
I get to hear these comments in general discussions:
1/ we are in a kind of martial law situation and it is OK.
I think most do not understand what that actually means.When martial law is declared, civil liberties, such as the right to free movement, free speech, protection from unreasonable searches, and habeas corpus laws (protection against illegal confinement, such as holding a person without charges), are suspended.
2/ you cannot leave the house other than go to the nearest supermarket.
3/ having a bb gun is ok and a shot from it will only hurt a little bit (!?)
If you didn’t catch this on TV this evening
here it is:
Brilliant!
The cynic in me thinks that the government has very successfully marginalised Soimun by giving him the 'important' title of chairman of a committee which will have little effect on what happens during the epidemic but will keep him happy (and hopefully out of sight and sound).
Soimun should be doing something useful like restocking the shelves at his local supermarket.
https://www.twitter.com/LetsfixthisNZ/status/1242034252302012416
Muttonbird, you must have had some bad experiences with your employers to hold such an unrealistic view of them. By your reckoning anyone who is an employee & then decides they want to start a business and employee people must then be dishonest.
Not all employers are bad people, most smaller businesses are just people trying to better themselves in life.
Sorry that employment for you has left a bitter taste.
Former Prime Minister Sir John Key praises Jacinda Ardern's 'faultless' COVID-19 communication.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/03/former-prime-minister-sir-john-key-praises-jacinda-ardern-s-faultless-covid-19-communication.html
He's alive!
I was wondering where he'd got to. Good on him for having no truck with the frothing Ardern-haters, at least.
Hard case, who would have thought the leader of national would be tucked away somewhere with his own 0800si.wants2help2 phone number, while nationals most popular leader ever is praising the leader of the opposition.
It sure is an interesting moment in NZ's history for so many reasons.
I suspect he is not suffering though. I believe he is still a director of air NZ plus the ANZ bank and possibly others. Air NZ cut their average director fee from $150k to around $120k – 15% for a part time job.
Mostly I feel though that he is just trying to catch some of the positive glow off Jacinda to keep the RW in the frame. I felt he did much the same around 2008 – cosying up to Helen & Micheal Cullen so people would not feel so threatened by NACT and give him the job.
Personally I see it as pretty manipulative.
Absolutely.
I’ll bet these people have some good tips on self-isolation and staying in your bubble.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition62/index.html
Once they're in the capsules, then I think that they have fewer choices. Vacuum is less forgiving than a plod.
I will be posting tomorrow asking for advice and help with a tenancy issue. Please
help if you can
Barfly
Boris Johnson has Covid-19 and is self-isolating.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/million-infected-worldwide-deaths-surge-live-updates-200326230320792.html
Kia Ora Newshub.
Yes the days are getting shorter and colder.
Awsome getting blood from people who have had the virus to treat the people who have been hit hard by the virus.
Ka kite Ano.
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
Thanks to all the health workers running our health care centres and hospitals.
Its good to see Iwi getting Kai for their Tangata.
Iwi contacting their Tangata online is great use the new tool to protect te tangata.
Ka kite Ano
https://youtu.be/qQfetkoGrpU
Kia Ora Newshub.
Bullying is not on these people who have the virus have enough stress their is no need to add to it.
That's good some supermarket workers getting a 10% pay rise.
Some people will use any means to hack your lives be careful.
Ka kite Ano.
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
Cool the online Facebook Te reo teaching program. It can be good for all tamariki.
Puhi Kai ariki looks good organic kia.
Ka kite Ano.
Kia Ora Newshub.
We need to help our youth get a higher education.
Can you see the big picture men are making a big MESS of their Country.
There you go there is something positive out there.
Some people are good at throwing Crap around.
Ka kite Ano