Wtf have our Dhbs been doing this morning I read we havent actually managed to get a large number of nurses fitted for the N95 masks so they actually work properly.
We've had months to get procedures in place so essential things like this get done before the inevitable happened and delta arrived.
This is a massive H&S failure for our most frontline workers im lost for words at the ineptitude of the management…
Currently the Ministry of Health is wanting to open up another MIQ in Rotorua, the Town, Maori, DHB etc all advised the Ministry of Health and the government that the town could not cope, that the DHB could not cope and so on and so forth.
If the Ministry of health decides that Rotorua can cope, will it be the fault of the DHB if they in the end can't cope or will it be just another frustrating day for Andre Little?
The DHBs have their challenges, and covid has not helped, but surely the Ministry of Health has also some responsability to shoulder in regards to funding, staffing, funding of staffing, and funding and regulating a workplace that is safe and healthy for its workers.
Very true, end of day the Director and ultimately the Minister are responsible when it goes wrong, it's starting to feel like we have done very little in preparation for a delta outbreak despite having so much information from other countries it's like there was a genuine belief it wouldnt get in… we should have had contact tracers trained and ready to hit the ground running, we ran out of quarantine space in a week ffs, no extra intensive care beds…. should have guessed really when Starship was quickly overwhelmed by RSV.
Like many have commented, we in NZ have been so so fortunate that even with this initial outbreak the spread of delta has been limited, and by in large kept within the Auckland area. Think of the potential of the Coromandel or Wellington expand and extend our wonderful health workforce capacity. We are also indebted IMO those who did contract covid with how the individuals and how the church community conducted themselves 👍🏾 (Also from the TV news last night) How well the Church community, Butterbean (David Leteele) group and police (+ others unseen), has come together to support those who are house bound due to not being able to move into The Jet Park. There are some wonderful people out there going well beyond
The farming connection is still too close to Queenstown for Boult to ever stop whining.
Too few tourists – ohmagerd govt needs to help. Too many tourists – ohmagerd some freedom campers aren't being fleeced as much as we want, govt needs to help.
Silly part about it is that most of the Queenstown economy, that's all the non-tourist side, and some tourist players, are booming. Don't even think about getting a tradie this year. And the tourism side of town can't get staff, they've run off and found better paying and more convenient positions elsewhere in town. A large operator who got a government grant to do conservation projects to keep their staff employed has had to try and employ new staff to complete these projects.
And there hasn't been that many businesses go under. Yet.
Attrition has been a bit more than normal, but not up to the usual recession carnage. This is because the property side of town is booming rather than crashing and taking the rest of town with it in the typical Queenstown crash.
This bout of covid could change things for tourist operators, and some high profile groups might come a gutsa. Our beloved mayor is involved in Wayfare and his degree of whine seems inversely proportional to their business levels. Sometimes it seems quite personal.
Unfortunately his whining does nothing positive for the outside perception of the town and it's business community and we end up battling through the negative perceptions for the next 6 months. Once we break through that there's some good trade.
At the lower end of tourism it's pretty grim. A lot of us are hanging on and could be gone at the first opportunity (end of lease) or when we can't pay the rent or bank any longer. Could be a very different town in 6 months.
Good luck. This L4 feels a bit closer to the bone than the last one, I reckon. Hopefully there will be more local tourism come the warmer weather and L2.
Pity the noble U.S. regime, forced to deal with "heinous" and "unsavoury" groups overseas.
RNZ National, Saturday 28 August 2021, 8:12 a.m.
Just over three years ago, on Saturday 16 June 2018, Kim Hill asked her guest Michael Portillo, in apparent seriousness, whether he felt "squeamish" about working with the likes of Nigel Farage. That question was predicated on an assumption that Michael Portillo, a henchman of Margaret Thatcher, was somehow morally superior to Nigel Farage. In fact, Michael Portillo was part of a cabinet that, just to give a few examples, diplomatically and militarily supported Saddam Hussein's Iraq through most of the 1980s, aggressively supported the apartheid states of South Africa and Israel, supported the blood-soaked regimes in Indonesia, Chile, and Saudi Arabia, and waged a brutal war against the working people and the poor in Great Britain.
Yet Kim Hill still treated Portillo as if he was a superior person to Nigel Farage.
Something similar to that happened this morning, when she interviewed Dr Srinjoy Bose about the American defeat in Afghanistan. Dr Bose is a cut above most of the think tank-funded propagandists she usually interviews about international affairs; his comments were mostly judicious and well informed. However, he still allowed himself to lapse into talking about the United States government as if it were morally superior to the "heinous" and "unsavoury" groups it is forced to work with.
I sent the following email to Dame Kim, which she may read out later. Keep listening, guys!
Which state is "heinous" and "unsavoury"?
Dear Kim,
Your guest Dr Srinjoy Bose spoke this morning of the "heinous" and "unsavoury" groups that the United States has endorsed in the past and continues to endorse.
The U.S. regime has endorsed, armed and diplomatically supported the brutal regimes in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the apartheid states of South Africa and Israel. It has destroyed, or helped to destroy, democratic popular governments in (to name just a selection) Vietnam, Congo, Guatemala, Iran, Indonesia, Chile, Nicaragua, Bolivia, and Honduras. It is still trying to undermine the democratically elected government of Venezuela.
The U.S. repressed and terrorised the poorest and most vulnerable populations in South America (Operação Condor ) and in South-East Asia (the Phoenix Program). After being ousted from Vietnam, the U.S. cooperated with and endorsed the Khmer Rouge in its war against Vietnam.
By any standards, the United States has been, and continues to be, a heinous and unsavoury regime. It is interesting, to say the least, to hear an academic like Dr Bose apply those epithets not to the boss but to the boss's accomplices.
Any country with American intervention is worse off for a long time after, America is poison to these places, better to let a country work out it's own destiny. American intervention as in Iraq has turned an A grade country into a poverty stricken place with the added burden of depleted uranium cancers given to them by the American military regime's intervention. Stay home yank.
The country ruled by a Baathist thug who excelled in politically/religiously/ethnically motivated reprisals, state sponsored terror, torture, mass murder, rape, deportation, extrajudicial executions, forced disappearances, and the use of chemical weapons to inflict blindness, asphyxiation and death on men, women and children.
Whatever. It was for the people of Iraq to make changes, not for the yanks to interfere with depleted uranium or with the chemical weapons like they used against Vietnam. But I see by your posts that you have been well brainwashed by western news media
How often do these state ‘interventions’, however well-intentioned, result in sustainable improvements in living conditions for the citizenry? If you plan to ‘replace’ a regime, best check that the replacement is fit for purpose, imho.
How to Fail at Regime Change [Sam Meyerson, 22 Jan 2020] The United States justified its military interventions by arguing that removing the political leaders of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya would improve prospects for stability and security in each country. However, looking back on each of these conflicts, it is difficult to conclude that these American-led interventions actually improved the situation on the ground.
You mean the country that under Saddam Hussein ( a major US American Invention – https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2003/9/4/when-rumsfeld-was-chummy-with-saddam – did most of what you mentioned above, pretty much with the permission of the US? After all, it was Poppy Bush that abandoned the Shias after they rebelled against Saddam Hussein.
Yeah, really what could have been or what should have Mesopotamia been were it not for constant interference by the English and the us americans, Never mind the sanctions, depleted uranium being the gift that keeps on giving, Abu Graib and all the other Jazz.
Sometimes really the last sadistic fuck to run rough shed over any of these country is not the worst. But just really the last. I doubt that Iraq today is in any better stage then it was before the Invasion in 2003 and the subsequent US American/Coalition of the Willing Occupation.
Luke Wijohn gets told by cops he’s not allowed to stop on his daily walk and will be arrested if he doesn’t comply with instructions. Anyone know if the covid laws allow this from the police?
Luke; "I am on my daily walk, picking up my girlfriend from work. I heard someone scream so I came over to see if they were OK. I am filming because it is not the first time police have been over zealous when making an arrest."
Police Officer; "OK sir, we appreciate your concern and rest assured the miscreant is safe in our hands. You have a good evening, and thank your girlfriend for being part of keeping the team of 5 million fed. "
Luke; "I'll tell her that Officer, and thank you for your good work."
True respect for young Luke. I would have told them they could fuck right off.
That's a 100% government-owned corporation, thankyou. Did our fucking useless Minister David Clark (Minister of State Owned Enterprises) raise his little finger?
Still no sign of this government's first MECA BTW.
I wonder why ScoMo is going with 70% of over 16's when children can catch Covid-400 have died in the USA. (No link for this sorry-read it somewhere this morning).
Why not aim to vaccinate 95% of ALL of the population before very gradual opening of borders? Hope NZ does this.
Even with a “highly effective vaccine and high total update”, reopening New Zealand's borders will result in increased cases of Covid-19, hospitalisations and death, the authors found.
Modelling allows experts to run simulations for different scenarios and strategies.
A Te Punaha Matatini study suggested Māori would be 50 per cent more likely to die than non-Maori if Covid-19 ran wild in New Zealand. In the 40-59 age group, Māori could be almost five times as likely to die as Pākehā.
“Prioritising vaccinations for those most at risk of severe outcomes from COVID-19 infection (including Māori and Pasifika) benefits the whole population as well as protecting those groups,” Sporle said.
But model predictions are only as good as the input data.
Sporle said more information about vaccination rates among different age groups and ethnicities was needed, rather than the broad-brush data currently provided.
There are 82 new Covid community cases today – and an expert modeller is predicting a tough week ahead for the country.
The new cases bring the total number of cases in the Delta outbreak to 429. The total number of community cases in Auckland is now 415 and in Wellington it is 14.
[…]
"It's the wrong question. You can't ask that question with Delta – Delta behaves differently. It works differently to the wild form. It has shorter waves. You have a day or two where you think you are getting on top of it. Then you get hit by a bad day," he said.
"The curve is bending but not fast enough."
Jones said the Government should not make the mistake other countries had made by focusing on whether transmission was only occurring within households.
"The point is Delta is ferocious and it represents another challenge. We are going to have to come up with something more," Jones said.
He said the Government could look at things like diverting all vaccines to South Auckland to ensure that at least everyone there had one dose.
University of Auckland Covid-19 modeller Shaun Hendy said the Government may need to look at tightening alert level 4 restrictions if the outbreak did not plateau soon.
This could include shutting some supermarkets and other essential businesses.
"If it doesn't plateau over the next few days then we may need to be thinking about tightening alert level 4 restrictions. The real worry is if we continue to see spread through businesses that are operating."
It should beggar belief there are employers out there who think like this guy. Makes you wonder how many there are and how many people's lives are a misery because of it:
Evidently the number of people self isolating around the town after the two corporate events up north is considerable. I'm very surprised there hasn't been something pop up. But the country don't seem to have a Mitre10 or Bayleys cluster either.
But keeping the adventurous souls locked down has been a challenge here. Last lockdown there was a fairly high profile backpacker party, although they were technically in their hostel bubble, just got a tad off their faces and loud. This lot were the local mountain bike club, who do some good stuff but are pretty loose. Actual situation probably not that dissimilar to the photos of 50+ people walking down a beach in Auckland, just these were people riding reasonably gentle tracks on their bikes. The more extreme tracks / jumps were closed off so a possibility some of the more hard core riders were on the intermediate trails with and going a bit hard. Wouldn't have been hard to get 50+ people there out of the local Fernhill community, lots of young people live up there and they've got a top notch bike park catering to all levels on their door step.
Unbelievable that people will self medicate using animal medicine, ask random people on the net for the correct dosage, yet avoid approved medicines because of right wing conservatives playing politics.
That comment where it's asked if it's 1cc per 100lbs made me laugh. I'd have wrote back – With you being a yank, best take 3cc and haz moar cheeseburgers.
Alcohol is another preventable disabler and killer. State power to minimise harm is limited to the easy targets like Covid 19 because in New Zealand the state uses public opinion to validate its actions. Public opinion trumps the evidence.
From a public health perspective, I tend to agree. But the problem with alcohol is that people like it, and it can be easily created with household items.
Which makes elimination impossible, so it needs to be controlled instead.
So the yank intelligence services have come up with no source for the 'rona. Probably not engineered. Probably not even associated with a lab (at a 4:1 ratio of opinions).
PRC has done a lot of bad shit, but making a global pandemic (even by accident) probably ain't on that list.
In the absence of a known animal reservoir,an accidental lab leak is probable.
This is the third outbreak of SARS to have been traced to a laboratory: small outbreaks occurred in Taiwan and Singapore last year. “The WHO may call for a containment policy for SARS to reduce the number of samples of the virus and the number of laboratories handling it,” said Dr Hall.
Well, several intelligence agencies focused on this specific instance disagree with your assumption (my italics):
“These analysts give weight to China’s officials’ lack of foreknowledge, the numerous vectors for natural exposure, and other factors,” the report states.
Another agency agrees with you:
“These analysts give weight to the inherently risky nature of work on coronaviruses,” the report states.
I've believe that while it's highly unlikely there will ever be definitive proof either way – the circumstantial or indirect evidence is highly weighted toward the lab leak hypothesis.
The geographic coincidence cannot be ignored. The WIV is absolutely known to have been working with the same family of corona's and the first definitive outbreak occurs in close proximity.
The virus when it first appears is already highly adapted for both infectivity and transmission in humans. It is highly unlikely any zoonotic origin virus will master both tricks at once – but almost certain one of GoF origin will already have.
It has a number of genetic features already well known to virologists – the infamous furin cleavage site being the most outstanding – that have been routinely used experimentally to increase infectivity in the lab for at least a decade. There is a direct professional chain from people involved to those who invented the technique.
For all other major zoonotic origin virus's (HIV, SAR's MER's etc) we fairly quickly found not only the animal host, but the sequence of the virus progressively evolving to become a human pandemic. Despite over 18months of intense, highly motivated effort, no such chain of evidence has emerged for COVID.
The Obama Administration banned funding of GoF research after considerable pressure from experts in the field concerned about the highly realistic possibility of lab leaks. Even when conducted at high levels of security it was already well understood that the consequences could be so catastrophic as to completely negate any possible benefit. Yet it turns out the WIV struggled to maintain the Level-4 safety standards the lab was supposed to provide – and was actually performing much of it's corona work at the far less stringent Level 2 standard. This made a leak almost inevitable.
Finally – if the WIV was genuinely convinced that the work it was doing was completely unrelated to SARS-COVID-2 it would have absolutely been in it's best interests to have supported a full open book, pockets out investigation by a recognised team of trusted independent experts sometime back in Jan 2020. Instead the exact opposite has occurred.
The reason why the origin of the virus is important has relatively little to do with the politics of blame. On that score it seems both Chinese and US authorities could be held accountable, but probably never will be. The real reason is that if this virus truly did arise in a GoF environment – which is by definition a process of forced evolution – this would tell us a great deal about what it is optimised to do, and how efficiently it might respond to selection pressure.
Interestingly I’m starting to see this realisation start to seep to the surface in some of the science papers and public conversations now taking place. The idea that something worse could well come after Delta is now being openly discussed.
I've believe that while it's highly unlikely there will ever be definitive proof either way – the circumstantial or indirect evidence is highly weighted toward the lab leak hypothesis.
It will remain an open problem,as there is no absolute truth aside from a full disclosure.
Now the response is to prohibit GOF research globally,(which should never have been undertaken) and undertake policy initiatives that will constrain the next mutation of either covid or other species with an increased probability of doubling in future decades including significant constraints on international travel.
Regardless of Covid-19s origins, you have to admire the PR job done by the CCP with the (Marxist) director of WHO.
Getting it named sort of anonymously, Covid-19, rather than from its place of origin, the Wuhan virus like most other infectious diseases, has enabled the CCP to distance itself from the outbreak.
And that is just one step away (and is happening inside China) from denying they were responsible at all.
On May 19, one teacher, who was not vaccinated against the coronavirus, began feeling fatigued and had some nasal congestion. She dismissed it as allergies and powered through.
She got a test
While she was usually masked, she made an exception for story time so she could read to the class.
By the time she learned she was positive for the coronavirus two days later, half her class of 24 had been infected – nearly all of them in the two rows closest to her desk – and the outbreak had spread to other classes, siblings and parents, including some who were fully vaccinated.
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Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Pacific Media Watch Earthwise hosts Lois and Martin Griffiths. Earthwise presenters Lois and Martin Griffiths on Plains FM 96.9 community radio talk to Dr David Robie, a New Zealand author, independent journalist and media educator with a passion for the Asia-Pacific region. David talks about the struggle to raise awareness ...
Pacific Media Watch Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who was held for 12 hours at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital, says Israeli forces rounded up Palestinian journalists at the facility and made them kneel on the ground for hours, while naked and blindfolded. “The occupation forces handcuffed and blindfolded us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute chinasong, Shutterstock Electricity customers in four Australian states can breathe a sigh of relief. After two years in a row of 20% price increases, power prices have finally stabilised. In many places they’re ...
Chumbawamba have reportedly issued the deputy PM a cease-and-desist notice after he used their song 'Tubthumping' before his state of the nation speech. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
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Wtf have our Dhbs been doing this morning I read we havent actually managed to get a large number of nurses fitted for the N95 masks so they actually work properly.
We've had months to get procedures in place so essential things like this get done before the inevitable happened and delta arrived.
This is a massive H&S failure for our most frontline workers im lost for words at the ineptitude of the management…
Might pay to actually ask the Ministry of Health as they would distribute funds and set expectations?
As Andrew Little said, they had become "silos.'
Separate disparate, with meaningless duplication and top heavy, each would have their own systems, providers and internet services. Power islands!!
Buying the best mask? No no the cheapest! That is why their days are numbered. imo
However Bloomfield needs to intervene where poor choices have been made.
Currently the Ministry of Health is wanting to open up another MIQ in Rotorua, the Town, Maori, DHB etc all advised the Ministry of Health and the government that the town could not cope, that the DHB could not cope and so on and so forth.
If the Ministry of health decides that Rotorua can cope, will it be the fault of the DHB if they in the end can't cope or will it be just another frustrating day for Andre Little?
The DHBs have their challenges, and covid has not helped, but surely the Ministry of Health has also some responsability to shoulder in regards to funding, staffing, funding of staffing, and funding and regulating a workplace that is safe and healthy for its workers.
Very true, end of day the Director and ultimately the Minister are responsible when it goes wrong, it's starting to feel like we have done very little in preparation for a delta outbreak despite having so much information from other countries it's like there was a genuine belief it wouldnt get in… we should have had contact tracers trained and ready to hit the ground running, we ran out of quarantine space in a week ffs, no extra intensive care beds…. should have guessed really when Starship was quickly overwhelmed by RSV.
Like many have commented, we in NZ have been so so fortunate that even with this initial outbreak the spread of delta has been limited, and by in large kept within the Auckland area. Think of the potential of the Coromandel or Wellington expand and extend our wonderful health workforce capacity. We are also indebted IMO those who did contract covid with how the individuals and how the church community conducted themselves 👍🏾 (Also from the TV news last night) How well the Church community, Butterbean (David Leteele) group and police (+ others unseen), has come together to support those who are house bound due to not being able to move into The Jet Park. There are some wonderful people out there going well beyond
Jim Boult volunteers Q'town for a quarantine centre, he promises to stop his funking whining if they get one.
The farming connection is still too close to Queenstown for Boult to ever stop whining.
Too few tourists – ohmagerd govt needs to help. Too many tourists – ohmagerd some freedom campers aren't being fleeced as much as we want, govt needs to help.
Silly part about it is that most of the Queenstown economy, that's all the non-tourist side, and some tourist players, are booming. Don't even think about getting a tradie this year. And the tourism side of town can't get staff, they've run off and found better paying and more convenient positions elsewhere in town. A large operator who got a government grant to do conservation projects to keep their staff employed has had to try and employ new staff to complete these projects.
And there hasn't been that many businesses go under. Yet.
Attrition has been a bit more than normal, but not up to the usual recession carnage. This is because the property side of town is booming rather than crashing and taking the rest of town with it in the typical Queenstown crash.
This bout of covid could change things for tourist operators, and some high profile groups might come a gutsa. Our beloved mayor is involved in Wayfare and his degree of whine seems inversely proportional to their business levels. Sometimes it seems quite personal.
Unfortunately his whining does nothing positive for the outside perception of the town and it's business community and we end up battling through the negative perceptions for the next 6 months. Once we break through that there's some good trade.
At the lower end of tourism it's pretty grim. A lot of us are hanging on and could be gone at the first opportunity (end of lease) or when we can't pay the rent or bank any longer. Could be a very different town in 6 months.
Good luck. This L4 feels a bit closer to the bone than the last one, I reckon. Hopefully there will be more local tourism come the warmer weather and L2.
The ex Queenstown MP Hamish Walker didn't want returnees from India, Pakistan and Korea.
Apparently he was reflecting community views.
Is Jim Boult happy to take them now?
Think of the money saved though.
Relax, the sky is not falling. They have masks to wear in Auckland City Hospital and a fit seal check is ok and more floor staff are using them.
Meanwhile…Auckland and Waikato DHB's didn't know which of their staff were vaccinated.
And the 18 other DHBs?
I would really hope they were better. But I wouldn't bet on it.
Pity the noble U.S. regime, forced to deal with "heinous" and "unsavoury" groups overseas.
RNZ National, Saturday 28 August 2021, 8:12 a.m.
Just over three years ago, on Saturday 16 June 2018, Kim Hill asked her guest Michael Portillo, in apparent seriousness, whether he felt "squeamish" about working with the likes of Nigel Farage. That question was predicated on an assumption that Michael Portillo, a henchman of Margaret Thatcher, was somehow morally superior to Nigel Farage. In fact, Michael Portillo was part of a cabinet that, just to give a few examples, diplomatically and militarily supported Saddam Hussein's Iraq through most of the 1980s, aggressively supported the apartheid states of South Africa and Israel, supported the blood-soaked regimes in Indonesia, Chile, and Saudi Arabia, and waged a brutal war against the working people and the poor in Great Britain.
Yet Kim Hill still treated Portillo as if he was a superior person to Nigel Farage.
Something similar to that happened this morning, when she interviewed Dr Srinjoy Bose about the American defeat in Afghanistan. Dr Bose is a cut above most of the think tank-funded propagandists she usually interviews about international affairs; his comments were mostly judicious and well informed. However, he still allowed himself to lapse into talking about the United States government as if it were morally superior to the "heinous" and "unsavoury" groups it is forced to work with.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/audio/2018810082/dr-srinjoy-bose-what-s-next-for-afghanistan
I sent the following email to Dame Kim, which she may read out later. Keep listening, guys!
Which state is "heinous" and "unsavoury"?
Dear Kim,
Your guest Dr Srinjoy Bose spoke this morning of the "heinous" and "unsavoury" groups that the United States has endorsed in the past and continues to endorse.
The U.S. regime has endorsed, armed and diplomatically supported the brutal regimes in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the apartheid states of South Africa and Israel. It has destroyed, or helped to destroy, democratic popular governments in (to name just a selection) Vietnam, Congo, Guatemala, Iran, Indonesia, Chile, Nicaragua, Bolivia, and Honduras. It is still trying to undermine the democratically elected government of Venezuela.
The U.S. repressed and terrorised the poorest and most vulnerable populations in South America (Operação Condor ) and in South-East Asia (the Phoenix Program). After being ousted from Vietnam, the U.S. cooperated with and endorsed the Khmer Rouge in its war against Vietnam.
By any standards, the United States has been, and continues to be, a heinous and unsavoury regime. It is interesting, to say the least, to hear an academic like Dr Bose apply those epithets not to the boss but to the boss's accomplices.
Yours in wonderment at selective morality,
Morrissey Breen
Northcote Point
What would the modern world look like in those countries you cite if the United States had not intervened?
Any country with American intervention is worse off for a long time after, America is poison to these places, better to let a country work out it's own destiny. American intervention as in Iraq has turned an A grade country into a poverty stricken place with the added burden of depleted uranium cancers given to them by the American military regime's intervention. Stay home yank.
The country ruled by a Baathist thug who excelled in politically/religiously/ethnically motivated reprisals, state sponsored terror, torture, mass murder, rape, deportation, extrajudicial executions, forced disappearances, and the use of chemical weapons to inflict blindness, asphyxiation and death on men, women and children.
That A grade country?
/
Geopolitics AKA war has always been a musical chairs of thugs.
And binary tankies are tankies.
Whatever. It was for the people of Iraq to make changes, not for the yanks to interfere with depleted uranium or with the chemical weapons like they used against Vietnam. But I see by your posts that you have been well brainwashed by western news media
Your depraved whatever indifference to the suffering endured at the hands of thugs because 'Murica is astonishing. Fucking trash.
How often do these state ‘interventions’, however well-intentioned, result in sustainable improvements in living conditions for the citizenry? If you plan to ‘replace’ a regime, best check that the replacement is fit for purpose, imho.
You mean the country that got fucked up by the english well before the americans? – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraqi_revolt_of_1920 ?
You mean the country that under Saddam Hussein ( a major US American Invention – https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2003/9/4/when-rumsfeld-was-chummy-with-saddam – did most of what you mentioned above, pretty much with the permission of the US? After all, it was Poppy Bush that abandoned the Shias after they rebelled against Saddam Hussein.
Thatcountry? https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/2003/04/12/the-ghosts-of-1991/243cd128-1201-42c6-ae99-33a05d4264bf/
This country that gassed people with the knowledge of the US? https://www.institutkurde.org/en/info/latest/when-saddam-gassed-thousands-of-kurds-at-halabja-7942/
Yeah, really what could have been or what should have Mesopotamia been were it not for constant interference by the English and the us americans, Never mind the sanctions, depleted uranium being the gift that keeps on giving, Abu Graib and all the other Jazz.
Sometimes really the last sadistic fuck to run rough shed over any of these country is not the worst. But just really the last. I doubt that Iraq today is in any better stage then it was before the Invasion in 2003 and the subsequent US American/Coalition of the Willing Occupation.
Are you saying those cited countries had to be ravaged by the US for the sake of the modern world?
'Intervention', as it's so glibly called, by the US, was not what they wanted.
Luke Wijohn gets told by cops he’s not allowed to stop on his daily walk and will be arrested if he doesn’t comply with instructions. Anyone know if the covid laws allow this from the police?
https://twitter.com/wekatweets/status/1431396925769535489?s=21
How it should have panned out…
Luke; "I am on my daily walk, picking up my girlfriend from work. I heard someone scream so I came over to see if they were OK. I am filming because it is not the first time police have been over zealous when making an arrest."
Police Officer; "OK sir, we appreciate your concern and rest assured the miscreant is safe in our hands. You have a good evening, and thank your girlfriend for being part of keeping the team of 5 million fed. "
Luke; "I'll tell her that Officer, and thank you for your good work."
True respect for young Luke. I would have told them they could fuck right off.
I would have been weighing up whether I could afford a night locked up.
They were really intimidating towards him, but just the dude that took his details. I wonder what else was going on that caused them to overreact.
looks like he's taken the videos down.
Pity. fecking wrote screeds as almost a breakdown, lol
A frank conversation that is worth a listen….some difficult questions to be answered.
https://thekaka.substack.com/p/the-week-that-was-for-the-weeks-end-a6c
Corporations taking the piss: 1, workers: 0.
https://twitter.com/NewsroomNZ/status/1431399888680534024
That's a 100% government-owned corporation, thankyou. Did our fucking useless Minister David Clark (Minister of State Owned Enterprises) raise his little finger?
Still no sign of this government's first MECA BTW.
Ad, unfortunately We’ve got this plonker as our MP through those border changes,Damn what bad luck.
Tough break.
Dunedin should be pumping out a great new generation of Labour wannabe-MPs.
Well, one worker 1.
Might be a lucrative way out of the industry, though – when your knees and back are screwed, get a payout rather than just a goodbye.
China leads the way with a new form of energy generation.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-28/china-thorium-molten-salt-nuclear-reactor-energy/100351932
I already can hear the tribal drums in the distance.
Interesting article here on ScoMo's Covid policy, or lack of it.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/aug/28/morrisons-safe-plan-for-living-with-covid-may-be-necessary-even-sensible-but-it-wont-be-safe
I wonder why ScoMo is going with 70% of over 16's when children can catch Covid-400 have died in the USA. (No link for this sorry-read it somewhere this morning).
Why not aim to vaccinate 95% of ALL of the population before very gradual opening of borders? Hope NZ does this.
The non-binary message is quite clear:
Modelling allows experts to run simulations for different scenarios and strategies.
But model predictions are only as good as the input data.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/126211034/longterm-public-health-measures-needed-alongside-vaccination-for-borders-to-reopen
Amazing kid.
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CTEqVHsnKz7/?
Rather discouraging.
There are 82 new Covid community cases today – and an expert modeller is predicting a tough week ahead for the country.
The new cases bring the total number of cases in the Delta outbreak to 429. The total number of community cases in Auckland is now 415 and in Wellington it is 14.
[…]
"It's the wrong question. You can't ask that question with Delta – Delta behaves differently. It works differently to the wild form. It has shorter waves. You have a day or two where you think you are getting on top of it. Then you get hit by a bad day," he said.
"The curve is bending but not fast enough."
Jones said the Government should not make the mistake other countries had made by focusing on whether transmission was only occurring within households.
"The point is Delta is ferocious and it represents another challenge. We are going to have to come up with something more," Jones said.
He said the Government could look at things like diverting all vaccines to South Auckland to ensure that at least everyone there had one dose.
University of Auckland Covid-19 modeller Shaun Hendy said the Government may need to look at tightening alert level 4 restrictions if the outbreak did not plateau soon.
This could include shutting some supermarkets and other essential businesses.
"If it doesn't plateau over the next few days then we may need to be thinking about tightening alert level 4 restrictions. The real worry is if we continue to see spread through businesses that are operating."
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-coronavirus-delta-outbreak-82-new-community-cases-today-police-patrols-intensify-expert-warns-tough-week-ahead-possible-delta-is-ferocious/24FKRNQBIO56MS2YVQ7Z6JBN6M/
Always wondered if there's an L5.
How would they decide which supermarkets to close?
The PTB have told petrol stations to stop selling food.
What are the chances that supermarkets are told to stop selling petrol?
well, shit.
Perspective.
https://twitter.com/SiouxsieW/status/1431442811438596097
It should beggar belief there are employers out there who think like this guy. Makes you wonder how many there are and how many people's lives are a misery because of it:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/126209523/covid19-employers-cant-just-decide-to-pay-staff-80-in-lockdown-lawyers-say
Covid-19 live: Queenstown police find 50 people on lockdown mountain bike ride
FFS, And people will whine if lockdown is extended.
"educated".
Line 'em up and ticket every one of 'em. That would bloody educate them.
Did they ticket David Clark last year?
Was he in a group of 50?
No. He was simply breaking his own governments lock down rules and eventually lost the health portfolio.
Cool. So not breaking bubbles with dozens of others, and faced repercussions for what he actually did. Thanks for clearing that up.
How many hats was he wearing? John Key had a few.
Worse, he was the Minister of Health.
And lost his job over it.
He was the worst Minister of health
Impound the bikes.
No Covid down south so mass gathering are alwhite in Queenstown.
Evidently the number of people self isolating around the town after the two corporate events up north is considerable. I'm very surprised there hasn't been something pop up. But the country don't seem to have a Mitre10 or Bayleys cluster either.
But keeping the adventurous souls locked down has been a challenge here. Last lockdown there was a fairly high profile backpacker party, although they were technically in their hostel bubble, just got a tad off their faces and loud. This lot were the local mountain bike club, who do some good stuff but are pretty loose. Actual situation probably not that dissimilar to the photos of 50+ people walking down a beach in Auckland, just these were people riding reasonably gentle tracks on their bikes. The more extreme tracks / jumps were closed off so a possibility some of the more hard core riders were on the intermediate trails with and going a bit hard. Wouldn't have been hard to get 50+ people there out of the local Fernhill community, lots of young people live up there and they've got a top notch bike park catering to all levels on their door step.
Ivermectin using cop who opposed vaccines claiming "don't care as long as it works." dies from covid.
On August 14th, for instance, Manning posted a meme that stated, "If we lose on vaccines we will completely lose our right to sovereignty over our own bodies." That very same day, Manning informed his friends that "Wayne Feed and Seed has some liquid and past Ivermectin get it while supplies last." When someone asked Manning in the comments if he needed to be dewormed, Manning replied, "don't care as long as it works."
Side effects may include swelling of the hind quarters..
https://twitter.com/RyanEGraney/status/1430856835997868032
thread
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1430856835997868032.html
edit:
https://twitter.com/iamgabesanchez/status/1431409899339087874
Unbelievable that people will self medicate using animal medicine, ask random people on the net for the correct dosage, yet avoid approved medicines because of right wing conservatives playing politics.
That comment where it's asked if it's 1cc per 100lbs made me laugh. I'd have wrote back – With you being a yank, best take 3cc and haz moar cheeseburgers.
good for social distancing, though
like a dosing strip
Roy Morgan Poll – August 2021
Labour Party 39.5%
National 25%
Act NZ 13%
Greens 12%
Maori Party 2.5%
NZ First 2.5%
TOP 2%
https://www.roymorgan.com/findings/8789-nz-national-voting-intention-august-2021-202108270635
Labour have not yet hit bottom.
100% command of the news cycle, total popularity of their leader.
Must be some thing else people aren't liking anymore.
16.5% sitting on the fence.
Poor bloody fence
Lab/Gr/MP 68 seats (54/95×120)…fairly comfortable.
Alcohol is another preventable disabler and killer. State power to minimise harm is limited to the easy targets like Covid 19 because in New Zealand the state uses public opinion to validate its actions. Public opinion trumps the evidence.
https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/documents/publications/alcohol-factsheets.pdf
https://www.actionpoint.org.nz/the-alcohol-industry-in-new-zealand
The problem is you live in a democracy…the politicians will always have at least one eye on where the votes are….would you prefer something else?
From a public health perspective, I tend to agree. But the problem with alcohol is that people like it, and it can be easily created with household items.
Which makes elimination impossible, so it needs to be controlled instead.
So the yank intelligence services have come up with no source for the 'rona. Probably not engineered. Probably not even associated with a lab (at a 4:1 ratio of opinions).
PRC has done a lot of bad shit, but making a global pandemic (even by accident) probably ain't on that list.
In the absence of a known animal reservoir,an accidental lab leak is probable.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC416634/
Well, several intelligence agencies focused on this specific instance disagree with your assumption (my italics):
Another agency agrees with you:
And some have no idea either way.
I've believe that while it's highly unlikely there will ever be definitive proof either way – the circumstantial or indirect evidence is highly weighted toward the lab leak hypothesis.
The reason why the origin of the virus is important has relatively little to do with the politics of blame. On that score it seems both Chinese and US authorities could be held accountable, but probably never will be. The real reason is that if this virus truly did arise in a GoF environment – which is by definition a process of forced evolution – this would tell us a great deal about what it is optimised to do, and how efficiently it might respond to selection pressure.
Interestingly I’m starting to see this realisation start to seep to the surface in some of the science papers and public conversations now taking place. The idea that something worse could well come after Delta is now being openly discussed.
I've believe that while it's highly unlikely there will ever be definitive proof either way – the circumstantial or indirect evidence is highly weighted toward the lab leak hypothesis.
It will remain an open problem,as there is no absolute truth aside from a full disclosure.
Now the response is to prohibit GOF research globally,(which should never have been undertaken) and undertake policy initiatives that will constrain the next mutation of either covid or other species with an increased probability of doubling in future decades including significant constraints on international travel.
https://www.pnas.org/content/118/35/e2105482118
Regardless of Covid-19s origins, you have to admire the PR job done by the CCP with the (Marxist) director of WHO.
Getting it named sort of anonymously, Covid-19, rather than from its place of origin, the Wuhan virus like most other infectious diseases, has enabled the CCP to distance itself from the outbreak.
And that is just one step away (and is happening inside China) from denying they were responsible at all.
It may take awhile.
https://twitter.com/JoshRosenau/status/1430732707072458755
Thursday, 31 October 2013
A decade after the SARS pandemic, scientists have found the strongest evidence to date it originated in bats.
A team of mostly Chinese researchers report today in the journal Nature they have isolated two new viruses that are closely related to the SARS virus.
https://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2013/10/31/3880358.htm
Report in stuff
A US elementary school teacher took off her mask for a read-aloud. Within days, half her class was positive for Delta
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/300393908/a-us-elementary-school-teacher-took-off-her-mask-for-a-readaloud-within-days-half-her-class-was-positive-for-delta