It can be a fine line between central coordination and authoritarian bureaucratic control. Done right, it can boost local grassroots initiatives and action and make them more efficient and effective. Done wrong, it can lead to (more) delays, (more) money waste, and unnecessarily antagonise and even kill off participation at ground level [no pun]. It’ll be interesting to see how bureaucratic boffins and Ministry mandarins (mainly in Wellington) deal with this delicate job.
King might be right about everything he says. So are those who have problems with Pharmac. And those who are upset with provisions for children with disabilities. And those who are very critical about housing people in motels or those scathing about housing in general. And those in full attack about child poverty.
Since the buck stops at the top Ardern should resign as well as all ministers for all portfolios involving those areas.
Where to next from there? A new Prime Minister and a new cabinet will re-prioritise and all the money for all those people who are making pleas about underfunding will be happy?
Then a cacophony will start from those who've been prioritised off the list about shortfalls, things being dire and the politicians in power being ineffective. Following that will come the inevitable, "the buck stops at the top, the PM (whoever that is) should resign."
Saving the carbon footprint by the on call specialist operating from home instead of travelling to the hospital I guess just doesn't cut it with a patient who has reached their treatment cap just when they need it.
In reply to Incognito. This is the point I was making yesterday about the proliferation of “ unproductive “ jobs, where so called jobs are created that are really a handbrake on productivity. A computer has never planted a tree, but a shit-load more money will have been spent on spreadsheets and planning documents and pretty brochures and pre-planting pissups and coffee clutches so that in the end there is nothing left to do the actual mahi.But look look, we created all these jobs. Bullshit, they are unproductive leeching vampire entities which leave nothing left for the grafter with a shovel.
A lot of tree planters would still be in lockdown without computers crunching genomes, helping design vaccines, managing the production and distribution of the vaccines, and monitoring the efficacy and safety of those vaccines.
An excellent piece on what we know about a social unemployment insurance scheme.
Answer: very little, i.e. next to nothing.
Fortunately, some have put on their thinking hats and are asking good questions. The general public has to do the same, become informed, and actively engage with and participate in the “wider public consultation later in 2021”. Alternatively, people can sit back, criticise from their comfy musty armchairs and rant from their crusty keyboards; the usual throwing out old clichés, peppering with cheesy slogans, and lashing lazy labels accusing and laying blame with Government and one’s preferred stakeholder(s) AKA BAU.
A good piece (as opposed to Mr Dunne's conflation with health) that notes…
"There is a need for more support for workers in transition. But as Vanessa Cole highlights, increasing core benefits and restructuring the welfare system is the more obvious answer to this problem – which does not require the design of a new scheme and administration."
Until such time as the benefit (and to whom) such a scheme bestows then it should be treated with the disdain it deserves.
as an example of the stopped clock being occaisonally right..this one stands..
dunne makes sense on this one..
why set up a whole new beaurocracy/complicated system..to foster a two-teir system of support..
when the same outcome can be achieved..without the inevitable evils/inequities of a two-teir system..by just raising the levels of support offered by the current welfare system..?
(this is the first time i have ever supported anything dunne has said..)
"None of what you mentioned tempted me to read Dunne’s piece though."
I dont think Philip has either…Dunne was advocating FOR the insurance scheme (and an expansion of to include health) and not an enhancement of the current welfare system
As far as I can see the main beneficiaries of this scheme are the finance sector….more (publicly provided) revenue to support the markets and a further underwriting of the over exposed residential mortgage books…..and all for a mere (up to) 2% of GDP.
In Covid times a person is doing well to eat, be housed, have access to health care, be able to find work, (even if it is a fill in job). Swapping the office for an out door job could benefit mental health.
The situation could be a hell of a lot worse, bodies piling up, minimal access to health care for non Covid related issues, soup kitchens, tent city.
The thing about Covid is that being wealthly does not exclude a person from having their health compromised by Covid.
Think we are at cross purposes….the government dosnt need an ACC modelled unemployment insurance scheme because it can respond as needed as they have during covid should the need arise.
edit
That figures. Everything that is put forward these days is likely to have another agenda. Got to put them all through the Devious Delusion microscope I think – looking for the ‘germs’ of unhealthy ideas (for ordinary people).
Actually the country needs an employment benefit that is paid out due to contributions paid in while working, rather then being the 'generous' benefit being based on a partners income and thus nothing is paid out in many cases, it is today.
And if you actually see on your pay slip the amount of dollars you contribute to the system every week, you might be more inclined to see it as an earned benefit and a right, rather then a generous hand out by a government – any government – that is too little to live on and too much to die of. Which is what we have now.
Having an unemployment benefit that you get (YOU GET!) wen unemployed and knowing what that amount will be as it is based on your past wage will actually help you navigate the time with no income better then that poverty trap that NZ unemployment and benefit is.
There are numerous ways you can structure unemployment assistance but I would suggest that any system needs to be complete…multiple systems and/or inequitable systems are not a desirable position.
The problem with any insurance type scheme, be it state run (such as you describe) or private is the time limitation and contestability, however as I have indicated I dont think the current proposal is designed to address unemployment per se in any case.
Told my boys when the entered the work force when things get tight just make sure the mortgage repayment insurance and income protection is kept up to date.
It does look like that this is basically a state insurance scheme requiring another layer of tax to be introduced. Maybe like the Acc levy, Social Insurance levy is being deducted after (or before?) the general tax (bracket by income). Kiwi saver is for retirement and thus the social welfare portfolio is basically then completely separated. The one thing that needs to be done with such a move is to anchor this legally that it cant be privatized. Buyer be aware.
EQC was an insurance rort and it was full of anomalies and some people went through years of arguments with their insurer about the fine print and rebuild/dodgey repair.
Yes, it is disgraceful what unfolded in Christchurch. Mr. Brownlee has a lot to answer for the grief that people had to endure. Admittingly, some were under insured but still, those botch up jobs and forced homelessness was heart breaking to watch. I belief some are still at it. I always felt that Mr. Brownlee worked for the Insurer despite the taxpayer footing his wage bill. He was responsible of getting Fletcher, the only building company in NZ????? sign up and subcontract to cowboy operators. They should be liable and yet again, nothing happens. Corrupt to the core.
Covid-19: Kiwi stuck in Melbourne can't get home to see terminally ill mum
Sad for that man to not be able to get an MIQ spot, but this sort of disruption was explained before the travel bubble opened. One of which is clearly that MIQ spots are not held in reserve for potential lockdowns.
People were told in no uncertain terms that in the event of a level change either side of the Tasman, you would be inconvenienced. The NZ government spent months of difficult negotiations working on exactly this sort of thing.
There are clear risks involved with trans-Tasman travel.
I would like to see a story with a headline that says Morrison has cancelled his trip to New Zealand.
Why should he be allowed in without going through quarantine just to give a couple of poseurs a chance to pretend they have Covid 19 on the run while wining and dining at our expense in Queenstown?
If they want to talk about her wedding plans do it via Skype. He can come and visit after New Zealand has, if ever, got people at serious risk from Covid 19 vaccinated.
I presume you are not aware that Morrison was in Melbourne on 20 May? If you were you probably wouldn't make such a silly remark. I'll treat your ignorance with the contempt it deserves.
Every person now in New Zealand who was there on that day are being told to self-isolate. Wouldn't it be easier for him just not to come.
Had a first vaccination have you? Where do you live? I have been totally unable to find out when I can expect anything to happen. The DHB tell me that they have no idea and my Doctor hasn't got any news either. I guess you are just lucky, or you know people who know people.
And what you neglected to tell us with your question was actually he may not be allowed in, so it was a silly question to start with.
I live in Northland so yeah I guess I'm lucky. I don't know people anymore than I'm sure you do. I just patiently waited until I heard Chris Hipkins give advice that anyone who can get it should and as the local Vaccination Centre welcomed me with open arms (metaphorically) I was and am very grateful to get the first jab.
Patience is a virtue my dear friend. Until you get your turn, keep scanning furiously wherever you go (as I'm sure you are) and stay safe.
Why is it so hard to simply admit that you were not aware of something? You simply have to say so and then take note of the new information.
You now say " he may not be allowed in, so it was a silly question". The operative word is "may". Were he not to be allowed in I would be quite happy, in exactly the same way as if he chose not to come. We don't know whether that is going to happen though, do we? So it is not a silly question.
In practice of course we wouldn't ever hear that we weren't going to let him. He would be told but that would be kept very, very quiet. Then we would have a face-saving "I think it best that I do not travel. Although the risk is negligible blah blah blah I have chosen not to make the trip"
Government officials are scrambling to work out how the Australian Prime Minister can visit New Zealand this weekend without having to go into isolation.
Scott Morrison is scheduled to arrive in New Zealand this Sunday, for a much anticipated two-day visit.
However, his meeting comes as Melbourne is in lockdown.
A public health order issued yesterday requires anybody in New Zealand who has been in the Greater Melbourne area since May 20, to self-isolate until they returned a negative Covid-19 test.
Morrison was in Pakenham, a suburb of Melbourne, for an interview on 20 May.
University of Auckland Professor of Politics Jennifer Curtin says coming here could be a bad look for Australian voters.
Actually I think it will be a much worse look for the New Zealand Prime Minister.
What effect do you think it will have if there is a special ruling, just for Morrison, that says he doesn't have to isolate because he's special? That ruling will, of course, have to be given by the New Zealand Government. And that of course he can be trusted not to have Covid 19. Yeah sure.
Theres always exemptions for quarantine free travel ( this was only an isolation situation), diplomats , foreign heads of state , breavement and so on.
Any person who attended the locations of interest inMelbourne, Australia at the times and dates (Australia Eastern Standard time), as set out in Schedule 1.
So its for those who attended the 'locations of interest' in Melbourne or places that are known to be visited by positive covid people. Mossrison was in Packenham will is SE edge of the urban area
Not the first time 2 bit professors of politics dont do their research
I'm afraid you really should have done a little bit more research.
You are looking at the wrong part of the order. On 27 May the notification was extended to anyone who had been in Greater Melbourne. It was no longer limited to a specified set of locations.
You aren't going to claim that Morrison wasn't in Greater Melbourne are you? Really, can't you read the things you link to properly?
Not the first time I suppose.
The one you quote was at 9.00 am
The extension was just below it at 4.00 pm
That was the bit. Did you do this by typing it in, or by cut and paste? I couldn't do it by the cut and paste. I don't see why but it wouldn't work for me. I thought it might be because it was a pdf but I didn't have time just then to look further.
Being lazy, and out of time, I just typed in the info to identify where to look.
shit, I keep forgetting: Always read the fine print when tory concern trolls are concerned.
I mean, Morrison might have transited through a restricted suburb to get there, but if he was in a car and didn't stop he should probably get a pass lol
As Pat says it is in Cardinia, number 5 on the map. Within that it is about a third of the way across from the Western Boundary and about midway between the Northern and Southern Boundaries.
Scott Morrison should be quarantining for 14 days if he wants to come here and benefit from the glow of Jacinda Ardern.
Well, he's been vaccinated. He'll be tested regardless of whether he comes. All his contacts will be traced, if only for security purposes, so if he tests positive in the next week the response can be highly targeted. If he caught it in a quick visit to an area of 4 million that is still in the low double figures for active cases.
If he's just coming for a rugby match and photo op with no additional diplomatic discussions, fair call, he can wait a couple of weeks.
But there are bilateral conversations coming to a head (deportees and refugees) and of course the geopolitical problems du jour, and sometimes zoom isn't the best for that sort of thing. Huawei hardware to use a US company’s platform, for a start 🙂
'The diplomatic exception, which allows re-entry to those who normally live here, is being expanded to include diplomats taking up new posts in New Zealand.
This more than anything tells me that the no debate part of the trans rights movements is illiberal. If you can’t express solidarity with detrans people, or you seek to minimise or marginalise them and their experiences, I’m going to assume no ability for class analysis. Which is a neoliberal position.
People who medically and/or surgically transitioned to the opposite of their biological sex, and then later reversed that to the extent they are able (some transition tech is permanent). The trans activist response has often been to deny they exists, to minimise, to tell them to shut up as talking about detrans harms trans people and so on.
many detrans people are lesbians, who transitioned originally due to intense pressure in society that tells young women being female is terrible and wrong. It’s easier to transition to be a trans man than to be out as a lesbian. Much of the gender critical debate is in response to the over medicalisation of gender dysphoria leading to transition that is later regretted. There’s just been a high profile judicial review in the UK that’s ruled that children and teens cannot give consent to some treatments. This case was taken by a young detrans woman.
It might be helpful to understand the (origins of) views of the increasing number of young females who see transitioning as the preferred option. My concern over this trend is not free from personal bias.
A selection of relevant links (playing both 'sides'):
Regret after Gender-affirmation Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Prevalence [March 2021] Based on this review, there is an extremely low prevalence of regret in transgender patients after GAS. We believe this study corroborates the improvements made in regard to selection criteria for GAS. However, there is high subjectivity in the assessment of regret and lack of standardized questionnaires, which highlight the importance of developing validated questionnaires in this population.
During my time as a detrans woman, I said and did many things that I now see as harmful and transphobic. At the time, I thought I was acting in accordance with feminism and working in the best interest of transmasculine people. In my mind I was trying to help people, I would never have acted as I did if I thought I was doing harm. Nonetheless, my motivations do not cancel out the harm of my actions, nor do they excuse them.
Schevers identif[ied] as male when she entered college, starting testosterone therapy soon after her mother’s death by suicide, and going off testosterone while still identifying as genderqueer. [She] gav[e] up her genderqueer identity and embrac[ed] the idea that not only her gender dysphoria but all gender dysphoria was false and caused by internalized sexism combined with trauma—an idea that she then did much to advance and proliferate online.
Not sure what your point is tbh. Did you read the Twitter thread? No one here has said all gender dysphoria is false and it’s not a common option among the detrans people I follow.
the example you quote lends to the argument of social culture pressures harming lots of different people.
He seems to be saying that for him it was the opposite:
For seven years I lived as a detransitioned woman. I believed that I had transitioned as a way to cope with trauma and internalized sexism, that I had been trying to escape the stigma of being a butch lesbian in a homophobic society. I thought I had to reclaim womanhood in order to heal and find wholeness. I was part of a larger community of detransitioned women and re-identified women, a community heavily influenced by radical feminist and lesbian separatist theory and culture. Together we worked to support each other in healing from “female disidentification” and reconnecting with being women. Many of us shared our stories online, through blogs, videos and other media.
Now I see my detransition as a kind of anti-trans conversion therapy, grounded in transphobic radical feminist ideology. Like all forms of conversion therapy, it was unsuccessful and deeply damaging. I have indeed been hurt by trauma and living in a sexist, homophobic society but coming to believe that I needed to give up being trans in order to heal those wounds only caused further damage. I can see now that I wasted years of my life trying to fix a part of myself that was never broken and suffering needlessly in the process. Even worse, I fear that I’ve mislead other people into engaging in similar self-destructive practices. I presented myself as a detransition success story but the truth is that detransitioning did not work for me and was an act of self-denial and rejection.
Last week it was Westpac. Is there a need to look closer?
Banking Ombudsman (women) the team was working closely with the parties to find a resolution before deciding whether to commence a formal investigation. hahahahahahaha… yeah right, what its Tui time again?
This may be a somewhat naive or clumsy perspective on middle east politics. However I thought maybe Joe Biden should approach the various leaders tied in to the Israel-Palestine issue as basically being assholes. See them as assholes and treat them as assholes and sort things out that way.
See Netanyahu and others in his administration as a pack of assholes. Tell them to stop shelling Palestine, stop the settlement of Palestinian lands, sort out a deal with Jerusalem and keep their noses out of Iranian affairs. If they act like assholes again and start shelling Gaza then they can kiss good bye to billions of dollars on US military aid, the aid stops if they continue acting like assholes.
See Hamas leaders as a pack of assholes. Tell them to stop sending rockets into Israel and confirm Israels right to exist without threat of violence. if they want things to get better for the Palestinian people stop acting like assholes.
See the Iranian leaders as a pack of assholes. tell them to keep their noses out of Israel affair and confirm Israel right to exist without threat of violence. if they want sanctions lifted then stop building nuclear bombs, sign a deal on that and enjoy some better times. if not, continue to act like a pack of assholes.
Its already illegal for the US to send AID to a place where its used for attacks on a civilian population. Its also widely understood Israel would back off from the worst attacks were it not receiving this AID.
so maybe the US needs to grow some and treat Netanyahu like an asshole and cut the military aid. he of course would moan and complain about it but things might chance quite quickly. essentially understand no one is "right" or "wrong". they are all wrong and acting like pricks. continue being pricks and things continue as they are. Act like decent human beings and maybe things have a chance. Yes I realise that is a very simplistic view, I am just sick of them acting like pricks and trying to justify their actions as being righteous or some moral cause. Forget being pro Palestine or pro Israel or anti Israel etc. Take the view that both and all are run by pricks and treat them accordingly. continue being pricks and things continue as they are. Act like decent human beings and maybe things have a chance.
The quick answer to your proposal is that all current rulers in the Middle East are assholes, and, being assholes, none of them can be trusted not to attack the other. So that's not a very helpful approach to diplomacy.
Fair enough you are sick of them; me too.
I'd much rather listen to palaeolithic southern Turkish archaeology.
no probably not a helpful approach to diplomacy and probably said with a degree of hyperbole on my part. perhaps what prompted my outburst, at least in part, was the seeming lack of condemnation from Biden of Netanyahus actions. Personally I do not have any 'soft spot' for Israel. Nor for Palestine for that matter however. Neither have a monopoly on being right nor wrong, having a 'moral' or 'just' cause. Probably about time Netanyahu went off to jail for corruption and a new Israeli PM took over.
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April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8. The universe was ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
Peter Dunne writes – The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nick Chartres, Senior Research Fellow, Faculty of Medicine & Health, University of Sydney shutterstockAhmet Misirligul/Shutterstock You go to the gym, eat healthy and walk as much as possible. You wash your hands and get vaccinated. You control your health. This is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jacqueline Hendriks, Research Fellow and Lecturer, Curtin University Children and young people may be seeing news headlines about men murdering women or footage of people rallying to call for action. Perhaps they or their friends have even gone to the protests. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Balanzategui, Senior Lecturer in Media, RMIT University ABC “Bluey mania” shows no sign of abating. Bluey’s season finale, The Sign, was the most viewed ABC program of all time on iView. A “hidden” follow-up episode, aptly named The Surprise, created ...
Labour market figures came in softer than the Reserve Bank had forecast, but they won’t be enough to move the needle on interest rates, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Unemployment ...
The campaign will engage the community and encourage submissions on the bill to the New Zealand government by the closing submission deadline of Friday 31st of May 2024 4pm. ...
The paper raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand's political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency plays in that. ...
The Urban Habitat Collective was an attempt to built an innovative new form of apartment building in Wellington. Here’s why it failed, and why the idea could still work, writes co-founder Bronwen Newton. When we started the Urban Habitat Collective in November 2018, we thought we were starting a revolution, ...
Two decades ago this week, a controversial law that attempted to define ownership of the foreshore and seabed prompted a formidable display of outrage and kōtahitanga as 15,000 marched to parliament. Jamie Tahana looks back.‘Hīkoi, hīkoi,” they chanted by the thousands as the biggest Māori march in a generation ...
A Labour Party Member’s Bill aims to plug a culpability gap between manslaughter and health and safety breaches The post New push for corporate killing laws appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Terence O’Brien had the rare and no doubt undesired distinction of rising to one of the most exalted positions in New Zealand diplomacy, then being unceremoniously recalled to Wellington without explanation just when his career was at its zenith. What is perhaps more surprising is that he appears to have ...
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Why has New Zealand slipped from third to 12th on Quality of Death Indexes over the past decade or so? Hospice New Zealand Chief Executive Wayne Naylor has a list of reasons. “We don’t have a current national strategy – the Government hasn’t renewed our 2001 strategy, so we don’t ...
While women’s sport is exploding in Aotearoa and around the world, you still don’t hear a lot of talk about athletes and their periods, RED-S, breastfeeding and visible panty-lines. SASS (Suze and Sez Sports)Talk isn’t afraid to have that kōrero.LockerRoom founder Suzanne McFadden and Olympian broadcaster Sarah ...
On an unusually hot night in January 2019, a little boy’s lifeless body was found face up in a small town’s sewage oxidation pond. To the police, it was an open and shut case: three-year-old Lachlan Jones had run away from his home in the Southland town of Gore, climbed ...
Rongotai MP Julie Anne Genter has apologised in Parliament after National accused her of intimidating and attacking one of its ministers in the House. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Prime Minister and state and territory leaders met on Wednesday as the national cabinet to discuss a crisis gripping Australia – the horrific number of women murdered this year. The killings have shocked ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Radhika Raghav, Teaching Fellow, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Otago Netflix Indian director Sanjay Leela Bhansali is known for his big-budget Bollywood production, featuring grand sets, star casts, meticulously choreographed dance sequences and lavish costumes, jewellery and furnishings. ...
Sir Robert devoted his life to disability rights after living in institutions in his younger years, says Kaihautū Tika Hauātanga | Disability Rights Commissioner Prudence Walker. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University Violence against women is not a women’s problem to solve, it is a whole of society problem to solve; and men in particular have to take responsibility. Those were the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Allen, Senior Lecturer in Chemical and Renewable Energy Engineering, University of Newcastle Snapshot freddy/ShutterstockPlans to revive an old coal-fired power station using bioenergy are being considered in the Hunter region of New South Wales. Similar plans for the station ...
Responding to the long-awaited release of judges’ special allowances, including free air travel and hotels for spouses, generous sabbaticals, and access to limousines, Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Alex Murphy said: “In what world does your employer ...
Analysis - The United States has unveiled plans to boost the weapons trade with Australia and the UK, on the same day that Winston Peters is expected to sketch NZ's position on AUKUS. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrea Carson, Professor of Political Communication, Department of Politics, Media and Philosophy, La Trobe University Since Australia’s First Nations Voice to Parliament referendum in October 2023, diverse commentaries have sought to explain why it failed. But what does an analysis of media ...
Lawyers representing two iwi as well as the Māori Women’s Welfare League on Wednesday asked the Court of Appeal to overturn last week’s High Court decision on the Waitangi Tribunal’s decision to summons Children’s Minister Karen Chhour. The Tribunal is currently investigating the Government’s decision to repeal section 7AA of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will introduce legislation to ban deepfake pornography and provide more funding for the eSafety Commission to pilot age-assurance technologies. The contribution of internet sites to gender-based violence was one major issue ...
Average ordinary time hourly earnings, as measured by the Quarterly Employment Survey (QES), increased 5.2 percent in the year to the March 2024 quarter, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. Annual wage cost inflation, as measured by the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dimitrios Salampasis, FinTech Capability Lead | Senior Lecturer, Emerging Technologies and FinTech, Swinburne University of Technology Clem Onojeghuo/Unsplash In the digital era, the job market is increasingly becoming a minefield – demanding and difficult to navigate. According to the Australian Bureau ...
As of the March 2024 quarter, we can now look back on 20 years of data related to youth not in employment, education, or training (NEET), as collected by the Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS), according to figures released by Stats NZ today. "The ...
Thousands of workers attended public events in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch today to celebrate International Workers’ Day (May Day), but union representatives are urging caution and vigilance over the Government’s blatantly "anti-worker" ...
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.3 percent in the March 2024 quarter, compared with 4.0 percent in the previous quarter, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. ...
The PSA is warning the Government that the sensitive information of New Zealanders held by various agencies will fall into the wrong hands if the latest round of proposed cuts goes ahead. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Talitha Best, Professor of Psychology, CQUniversity Australia Victoria Rodriguez/Unsplash How do sugar rushes work? – W.H, age nine, from Canberra What a terrific question W.H! Let’s explore this, starting with some of the basics. What is sugar? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karinna Saxby, Research Fellow, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne MART PRODUCTION/Pexels Increasing income support could help keep women and children safe according to new work demonstrating strong links between financial insecurity and domestic violence. ...
ANALYSIS:By Olli Hellmann, University of Waikato When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day today on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also to mark a defining event for national identity. The battle of Gallipoli against ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark A Gregory, Associate Professor, School of Engineering, RMIT University The telecommunications industry faces a major shakeup following the release of the post-incident report on last November’s 12-hour Optus outage. Telecommunications companies will have to share more information with customers during future ...
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NZCTU Economist Craig Renney said new data released by Statistics New Zealand shows the need for Government to act now, with unemployment rising from 3.4% to 4.3%. ...
The outpouring of anger over Maiki Sherman’s hyperbolic presentation of this week’s ‘nightmare’ poll is itself an overreaction, argues Stewart Sowman-Lund. Politicians love nothing more than to pretend they don’t care about polls. This week, deputy prime minister Winston Peters said he didn’t give a “rat’s derriere” about a TVNZ ...
Asia Pacific Report Ngāti Kahungunu in Aotearoa New Zealand’s Hawkes Bay region has become the first indigenous Māori iwi (tribe) to sign a resolution calling for a “ceasefire in Palestine”, reports Te Ao Māori News. Reporter Te Aniwaniwa Paterson talked to Te Otāne Huata, who has been organising peace rallies ...
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Next we will be arranging stretch limos to bring criminals in to justice.
Arthur Taylor brokers peaceful rearrest of fugitive using helicopter | Stuff.co.nz
Cheap compared to our legal costs reimbursement during his incarceration. $15000 for one case he took.
Did you read it . The crime paid for the chopper, he saved us a fortune scrambling allover otago looking for him
It can be a fine line between central coordination and authoritarian bureaucratic control. Done right, it can boost local grassroots initiatives and action and make them more efficient and effective. Done wrong, it can lead to (more) delays, (more) money waste, and unnecessarily antagonise and even kill off participation at ground level [no pun]. It’ll be interesting to see how bureaucratic boffins and Ministry mandarins (mainly in Wellington) deal with this delicate job.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/443534/fears-new-kauri-dieback-funding-will-be-chewed-up-by-bureaucracy
Few trust MPI on this.
But they have the mandate.
and the money …
Good on Mike King for calling out the lack of action by Labour on mental health. I do think he is wrong with the following paragraph though:
"I know none of this is your fault prime minister"
The buck stops at the top and she has the power to change things.
Mike King to return his membership of the New Zealand Order of Merit | Stuff.co.nz
I accept that Mike King works tirelessly on this but is his approach the right one.
Is it right to fight for mental health improvements with belligerence?
Mike King, expert in his field is wrong in his gracious view of the prime minister, but the accusatory Jimmy is right?
Strange days.
King might be right about everything he says. So are those who have problems with Pharmac. And those who are upset with provisions for children with disabilities. And those who are very critical about housing people in motels or those scathing about housing in general. And those in full attack about child poverty.
Since the buck stops at the top Ardern should resign as well as all ministers for all portfolios involving those areas.
Where to next from there? A new Prime Minister and a new cabinet will re-prioritise and all the money for all those people who are making pleas about underfunding will be happy?
Then a cacophony will start from those who've been prioritised off the list about shortfalls, things being dire and the politicians in power being ineffective. Following that will come the inevitable, "the buck stops at the top, the PM (whoever that is) should resign."
Saving the carbon footprint by the on call specialist operating from home instead of travelling to the hospital I guess just doesn't cut it with a patient who has reached their treatment cap just when they need it.
In reply to Incognito. This is the point I was making yesterday about the proliferation of “ unproductive “ jobs, where so called jobs are created that are really a handbrake on productivity. A computer has never planted a tree, but a shit-load more money will have been spent on spreadsheets and planning documents and pretty brochures and pre-planting pissups and coffee clutches so that in the end there is nothing left to do the actual mahi.But look look, we created all these jobs. Bullshit, they are unproductive leeching vampire entities which leave nothing left for the grafter with a shovel.
A lot of tree planters would still be in lockdown without computers crunching genomes, helping design vaccines, managing the production and distribution of the vaccines, and monitoring the efficacy and safety of those vaccines.
An excellent piece on what we know about a social unemployment insurance scheme.
Answer: very little, i.e. next to nothing.
Fortunately, some have put on their thinking hats and are asking good questions. The general public has to do the same, become informed, and actively engage with and participate in the “wider public consultation later in 2021”. Alternatively, people can sit back, criticise from their comfy musty armchairs and rant from their crusty keyboards; the usual throwing out old clichés, peppering with cheesy slogans, and lashing lazy labels accusing and laying blame with Government and one’s preferred stakeholder(s) AKA BAU.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/max-harris-some-questions-about-that-redundancy-insurance-scheme
A good piece (as opposed to Mr Dunne's conflation with health) that notes…
"There is a need for more support for workers in transition. But as Vanessa Cole highlights, increasing core benefits and restructuring the welfare system is the more obvious answer to this problem – which does not require the design of a new scheme and administration."
Until such time as the benefit (and to whom) such a scheme bestows then it should be treated with the disdain it deserves.
I skipped Dunne’s piece; life is too short.
as an example of the stopped clock being occaisonally right..this one stands..
dunne makes sense on this one..
why set up a whole new beaurocracy/complicated system..to foster a two-teir system of support..
when the same outcome can be achieved..without the inevitable evils/inequities of a two-teir system..by just raising the levels of support offered by the current welfare system..?
(this is the first time i have ever supported anything dunne has said..)
Noted, thanks.
I don’t choose to read stuff just because they are ‘right’ about something; there’s plenty of stuff that’s ‘right’ about something.
Of course, Dunne makes sense; he used to be known as ‘Mr common sense’ and he was apparently quite happy and proud of that nickname.
None of what you mentioned tempted me to read Dunne’s piece though.
"None of what you mentioned tempted me to read Dunne’s piece though."
I dont think Philip has either…Dunne was advocating FOR the insurance scheme (and an expansion of to include health) and not an enhancement of the current welfare system
Heh
Targeted support by Winz could be given to a worker in transition when it comes to mortgage repayments.
No one wants to see more people straining the rental market or living in a motel.
As per covid response.
As far as I can see the main beneficiaries of this scheme are the finance sector….more (publicly provided) revenue to support the markets and a further underwriting of the over exposed residential mortgage books…..and all for a mere (up to) 2% of GDP.
In Covid times a person is doing well to eat, be housed, have access to health care, be able to find work, (even if it is a fill in job). Swapping the office for an out door job could benefit mental health.
The situation could be a hell of a lot worse, bodies piling up, minimal access to health care for non Covid related issues, soup kitchens, tent city.
The thing about Covid is that being wealthly does not exclude a person from having their health compromised by Covid.
Think we are at cross purposes….the government dosnt need an ACC modelled unemployment insurance scheme because it can respond as needed as they have during covid should the need arise.
Just another layer of sifting and grinding bureaucracy, unneeded and expensive and not cost-efficient, you think Pat?
More than that…its objective is not to benefit working NZers at risk of unemployment
edit
That figures. Everything that is put forward these days is likely to have another agenda. Got to put them all through the Devious Delusion microscope I think – looking for the ‘germs’ of unhealthy ideas (for ordinary people).
Actually the country needs an employment benefit that is paid out due to contributions paid in while working, rather then being the 'generous' benefit being based on a partners income and thus nothing is paid out in many cases, it is today.
And if you actually see on your pay slip the amount of dollars you contribute to the system every week, you might be more inclined to see it as an earned benefit and a right, rather then a generous hand out by a government – any government – that is too little to live on and too much to die of. Which is what we have now.
Having an unemployment benefit that you get (YOU GET!) wen unemployed and knowing what that amount will be as it is based on your past wage will actually help you navigate the time with no income better then that poverty trap that NZ unemployment and benefit is.
Targeted taxes?
There are numerous ways you can structure unemployment assistance but I would suggest that any system needs to be complete…multiple systems and/or inequitable systems are not a desirable position.
The problem with any insurance type scheme, be it state run (such as you describe) or private is the time limitation and contestability, however as I have indicated I dont think the current proposal is designed to address unemployment per se in any case.
Told my boys when the entered the work force when things get tight just make sure the mortgage repayment insurance and income protection is kept up to date.
It does look like that this is basically a state insurance scheme requiring another layer of tax to be introduced. Maybe like the Acc levy, Social Insurance levy is being deducted after (or before?) the general tax (bracket by income). Kiwi saver is for retirement and thus the social welfare portfolio is basically then completely separated. The one thing that needs to be done with such a move is to anchor this legally that it cant be privatized. Buyer be aware.
EQC was an insurance rort and it was full of anomalies and some people went through years of arguments with their insurer about the fine print and rebuild/dodgey repair.
Yes, it is disgraceful what unfolded in Christchurch. Mr. Brownlee has a lot to answer for the grief that people had to endure. Admittingly, some were under insured but still, those botch up jobs and forced homelessness was heart breaking to watch. I belief some are still at it. I always felt that Mr. Brownlee worked for the Insurer despite the taxpayer footing his wage bill. He was responsible of getting Fletcher, the only building company in NZ????? sign up and subcontract to cowboy operators. They should be liable and yet again, nothing happens. Corrupt to the core.
Standby for a flood of stories like this:
Sad for that man to not be able to get an MIQ spot, but this sort of disruption was explained before the travel bubble opened. One of which is clearly that MIQ spots are not held in reserve for potential lockdowns.
People were told in no uncertain terms that in the event of a level change either side of the Tasman, you would be inconvenienced. The NZ government spent months of difficult negotiations working on exactly this sort of thing.
There are clear risks involved with trans-Tasman travel.
Rules change, deal with it.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/news/125267271/covid19-kiwi-stuck-in-melbourne-cant-get-home-to-see-terminally-ill-mum
I would like to see a story with a headline that says Morrison has cancelled his trip to New Zealand.
Why should he be allowed in without going through quarantine just to give a couple of poseurs a chance to pretend they have Covid 19 on the run while wining and dining at our expense in Queenstown?
If they want to talk about her wedding plans do it via Skype. He can come and visit after New Zealand has, if ever, got people at serious risk from Covid 19 vaccinated.
I believe Alwyn, that Morrison is flying in from Canberra (ACT), like anyone coming from anywhere else in Australia other than from (VIC).
Are you suggesting that there shouldn't be a bubble at all? or are you a little confused about Geography?
I'll treat your snide and petty comments of weddings with the silence and contempt it deserves.
Had my first Vaccination, waiting for my second, woohoo, thank you NZ for keeping us safe.
I presume you are not aware that Morrison was in Melbourne on 20 May? If you were you probably wouldn't make such a silly remark. I'll treat your ignorance with the contempt it deserves.
Every person now in New Zealand who was there on that day are being told to self-isolate. Wouldn't it be easier for him just not to come.
Had a first vaccination have you? Where do you live? I have been totally unable to find out when I can expect anything to happen. The DHB tell me that they have no idea and my Doctor hasn't got any news either. I guess you are just lucky, or you know people who know people.
And what you neglected to tell us with your question was actually he may not be allowed in, so it was a silly question to start with.
I live in Northland so yeah I guess I'm lucky. I don't know people anymore than I'm sure you do. I just patiently waited until I heard Chris Hipkins give advice that anyone who can get it should and as the local Vaccination Centre welcomed me with open arms (metaphorically) I was and am very grateful to get the first jab.
Patience is a virtue my dear friend. Until you get your turn, keep scanning furiously wherever you go (as I'm sure you are) and stay safe.
Why is it so hard to simply admit that you were not aware of something? You simply have to say so and then take note of the new information.
You now say " he may not be allowed in, so it was a silly question". The operative word is "may". Were he not to be allowed in I would be quite happy, in exactly the same way as if he chose not to come. We don't know whether that is going to happen though, do we? So it is not a silly question.
In practice of course we wouldn't ever hear that we weren't going to let him. He would be told but that would be kept very, very quiet. Then we would have a face-saving "I think it best that I do not travel. Although the risk is negligible blah blah blah I have chosen not to make the trip"
Quarantine doesn't apply to ACT.
The order simply says "isolate or quarantine". Then get tested. Then isolate as advised by a medical officer of health.
So as a one-off, if he returns a negative test and doesn't go hugging crowds, they might say a negative test is fine.
Maybe he'll delay until next week. Maybe not. But inter-government business is backing up.
Agreed alwyn, but how likely is it that Morrison will set a good example at this time?
Actually I think it will be a much worse look for the New Zealand Prime Minister.
What effect do you think it will have if there is a special ruling, just for Morrison, that says he doesn't have to isolate because he's special? That ruling will, of course, have to be given by the New Zealand Government. And that of course he can be trusted not to have Covid 19. Yeah sure.
Theres always exemptions for quarantine free travel ( this was only an isolation situation), diplomats , foreign heads of state , breavement and so on.
Part of the actual wording in the Melbourne restrictions issued 3 days ago
So its for those who attended the 'locations of interest' in Melbourne or places that are known to be visited by positive covid people. Mossrison was in Packenham will is SE edge of the urban area
Not the first time 2 bit professors of politics dont do their research
I'm afraid you really should have done a little bit more research.
You are looking at the wrong part of the order. On 27 May the notification was extended to anyone who had been in Greater Melbourne. It was no longer limited to a specified set of locations.
You aren't going to claim that Morrison wasn't in Greater Melbourne are you? Really, can't you read the things you link to properly?
Not the first time I suppose.
The one you quote was at 9.00 am
The extension was just below it at 4.00 pm
That was the bit. Did you do this by typing it in, or by cut and paste? I couldn't do it by the cut and paste. I don't see why but it wouldn't work for me. I thought it might be because it was a pdf but I didn't have time just then to look further.
Being lazy, and out of time, I just typed in the info to identify where to look.
You may want to have a look at Schedule 1.
https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/documents/pages/27052021161157-0001.pdf
shit, I keep forgetting: Always read the fine print when tory concern trolls are concerned.
I mean, Morrison might have transited through a restricted suburb to get there, but if he was in a car and didn't stop he should probably get a pass lol
I’m not familiar with Melbourne; is Pakenham part of Greater Melbourne as listed in Schedule 1?
Fraid so…Cardinia
Ta
Just been widened to the whole state…but Morrison and co are still coming. Pre tested.
Ah.
Okey dokey. So the "no quarantine" still applies. Lucky that.
@incognito 4.34 pm
Here is a rough map of Greater Melbourne.It has an area of about 10,000 sq km, ie it is enormous. The population is around 4.5 million
https://www.travelvictoria.com.au/victoria/metropolitancouncils/
As Pat says it is in Cardinia, number 5 on the map. Within that it is about a third of the way across from the Western Boundary and about midway between the Northern and Southern Boundaries.
Scott Morrison should be quarantining for 14 days if he wants to come here and benefit from the glow of Jacinda Ardern.
Or not come at all.
Well, he's been vaccinated. He'll be tested regardless of whether he comes. All his contacts will be traced, if only for security purposes, so if he tests positive in the next week the response can be highly targeted. If he caught it in a quick visit to an area of 4 million that is still in the low double figures for active cases.
If he's just coming for a rugby match and photo op with no additional diplomatic discussions, fair call, he can wait a couple of weeks.
But there are bilateral conversations coming to a head (deportees and refugees) and of course the geopolitical problems du jour, and sometimes zoom isn't the best for that sort of thing. Huawei hardware to use a US company’s platform, for a start 🙂
Diplomats etc have to quarantine – they just quarantine at a separate facility from NZers (IIRC). Bereavement is not an exception.
Diplomats dont…. some have voluntarily 'isolated at home'
List of exceptions here, Diplomats specifically ruled out due to Vienna convention
'The diplomatic exception, which allows re-entry to those who normally live here, is being expanded to include diplomats taking up new posts in New Zealand.
'Think', alwyn, or hope? Kia kaha – keep on thinking/hoping
You're probably like me – you can think of 501 reasons he shouldn't come there.
I wish I had thought of that. As Drowsy says
I'd prefer to see a story that NZ has cancelled his trip.
7 days may turn into another 7 days, have people thought about that?
An interesting little story about history for a break from politics today.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/us-canada-island-dispute
This more than anything tells me that the no debate part of the trans rights movements is illiberal. If you can’t express solidarity with detrans people, or you seek to minimise or marginalise them and their experiences, I’m going to assume no ability for class analysis. Which is a neoliberal position.
https://twitter.com/imwatson91/status/1397984035876577282
Detransitioners???
People who medically and/or surgically transitioned to the opposite of their biological sex, and then later reversed that to the extent they are able (some transition tech is permanent). The trans activist response has often been to deny they exists, to minimise, to tell them to shut up as talking about detrans harms trans people and so on.
many detrans people are lesbians, who transitioned originally due to intense pressure in society that tells young women being female is terrible and wrong. It’s easier to transition to be a trans man than to be out as a lesbian. Much of the gender critical debate is in response to the over medicalisation of gender dysphoria leading to transition that is later regretted. There’s just been a high profile judicial review in the UK that’s ruled that children and teens cannot give consent to some treatments. This case was taken by a young detrans woman.
It’s easier to transition to be a trans man than to be out as a lesbian.
I really don't believe that.
It might be helpful to understand the (origins of) views of the increasing number of young females who see transitioning as the preferred option. My concern over this trend is not free from personal bias.
A selection of relevant links (playing both 'sides'):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irreversible_Damage
U.S. Sex Reassignment Surgery Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Gender Transition (Male To Female, Female To Male), And Segment Forecasts, 2020 – 2027
https://www.cedars-sinai.org/newsroom/most-gender-dysphoria-established-by-age-7-study-finds/
"I really don't believe that."
Maybe try listening to detransition lesbians then.
Like Ky Scheevers?
https://kyschevers.medium.com/transphobia-in-the-detrans-womens-community-447d68247dcf
Please explain how their experience relates to the pressure on young women to not be female or lesbian.
https://slate.com/human-interest/2021/02/detransition-movement-star-ex-gay-explained.html
Not sure what your point is tbh. Did you read the Twitter thread? No one here has said all gender dysphoria is false and it’s not a common option among the detrans people I follow.
the example you quote lends to the argument of social culture pressures harming lots of different people.
He seems to be saying that for him it was the opposite:
https://aninjusticemag.com/detransition-as-conversion-therapy-a-survivor-speaks-out-7abd4a9782fa
Worth a watch for a perspective on ROGD and detransition.
Wow High rise dystopia. Coming our way?
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/ballard-high-rise-inspiration
Are banks in difficulties and cannot pay out when needed?
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/tsb-bank-freezes-tauranga-pensioners-accounts-to-protect-funds/CLUKDBGEBKRD4R65GY552SF7KA/
Last week it was Westpac. Is there a need to look closer?
Banking Ombudsman (women) the team was working closely with the parties to find a resolution before deciding whether to commence a formal investigation. hahahahahahaha… yeah right, what its Tui time again?
They only needed money for groceries, not a few billion for their hedge fund.
Big mistake, I can tell.
This may be a somewhat naive or clumsy perspective on middle east politics. However I thought maybe Joe Biden should approach the various leaders tied in to the Israel-Palestine issue as basically being assholes. See them as assholes and treat them as assholes and sort things out that way.
See Netanyahu and others in his administration as a pack of assholes. Tell them to stop shelling Palestine, stop the settlement of Palestinian lands, sort out a deal with Jerusalem and keep their noses out of Iranian affairs. If they act like assholes again and start shelling Gaza then they can kiss good bye to billions of dollars on US military aid, the aid stops if they continue acting like assholes.
See Hamas leaders as a pack of assholes. Tell them to stop sending rockets into Israel and confirm Israels right to exist without threat of violence. if they want things to get better for the Palestinian people stop acting like assholes.
See the Iranian leaders as a pack of assholes. tell them to keep their noses out of Israel affair and confirm Israel right to exist without threat of violence. if they want sanctions lifted then stop building nuclear bombs, sign a deal on that and enjoy some better times. if not, continue to act like a pack of assholes.
Its already illegal for the US to send AID to a place where its used for attacks on a civilian population. Its also widely understood Israel would back off from the worst attacks were it not receiving this AID.
so maybe the US needs to grow some and treat Netanyahu like an asshole and cut the military aid. he of course would moan and complain about it but things might chance quite quickly. essentially understand no one is "right" or "wrong". they are all wrong and acting like pricks. continue being pricks and things continue as they are. Act like decent human beings and maybe things have a chance. Yes I realise that is a very simplistic view, I am just sick of them acting like pricks and trying to justify their actions as being righteous or some moral cause. Forget being pro Palestine or pro Israel or anti Israel etc. Take the view that both and all are run by pricks and treat them accordingly. continue being pricks and things continue as they are. Act like decent human beings and maybe things have a chance.
The quick answer to your proposal is that all current rulers in the Middle East are assholes, and, being assholes, none of them can be trusted not to attack the other. So that's not a very helpful approach to diplomacy.
Fair enough you are sick of them; me too.
I'd much rather listen to palaeolithic southern Turkish archaeology.
no probably not a helpful approach to diplomacy and probably said with a degree of hyperbole on my part. perhaps what prompted my outburst, at least in part, was the seeming lack of condemnation from Biden of Netanyahus actions. Personally I do not have any 'soft spot' for Israel. Nor for Palestine for that matter however. Neither have a monopoly on being right nor wrong, having a 'moral' or 'just' cause. Probably about time Netanyahu went off to jail for corruption and a new Israeli PM took over.