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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What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
Open access notablesImproving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society:To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Foo, Lecturer, Physiotherapy, Monash University pikselstock/Shutterstock In the next 40 years in Australia, it’s predicted the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of people aged 85 and over will more than triple. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Grant, Research Associate, Power Institute for Arts and Visual Culture, University of Sydney Jonas Åkerström’s 1790 work, Session of the Accademia dell’Arcadia on August 17 1788.Nationalmuseum/Cecilia Heisser Ever wondered whether you’d have a better chance at winning an Olympic gold ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Program Lead, Food Governance, George Institute for Global Health wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock On Thursday, Australian and New Zealand food ministers at state, federal and national levels met to thrash out what’s next for health star ratings on packaged foods. Now, after ...
The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
If you haven’t started watching yet, Tara Ward begs you to reconsider. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. In the world of New Zealand reality television, we have many gems in our crown. There’s the delicious second season of the Celebrity Treasure ...
A new poem by Fiona Kidman. The clothes of the dead I did not keep my mother’s furry red beret for long nor the stringy scarves that adorned the necks of my aunts, although I have kept tag ends of gold, the rings and trinkets they wore, the brooches no ...
The government’s announcement that it will re-open the foreshore and seabed controversy by changing the rules on recognising centuries-old Māori customary title for a third time goes against the rule of law and New Zealand values,” Mr Tipa says. ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Lioness by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury, $25) Roarrrr! Perkins’ brilliant, award-winning, Marian-Keyes anointed, darkly funny, long ...
The 2004 Act vested ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown, extinguishing any Māori claims to ownership and causing widespread outrage and protests among Māori communities. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Antje Deckert, Associate Professor (Criminology), Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Despite the connection between institutional harm and gang membership made clear in this week’s mammoth royal commission abuse-in care report, the government seems unlikely to soften its “get tough on ...
From Lewis Clareburt in the swimming to the start of the rowing – the first seven days of Paris 2024 promise to be big for New Zealand. There are few events that bring the country together quite like an Olympic Games. Nothing quite matches the excitement of getting up in ...
Groundbreaking local science just showed up in the most surprising of places: the season finale of The Kardashians. In the season five finale of The Kardashians last night, several members of the family gathered together in one of their signature empty, cream-coloured rooms to hear test results that had been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University The Middle East is on the brink of a possibly devastating regional war, with hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reaching an extremely dangerous level. Washington has engaged in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Elizabeth Eades, Rheumatologist, Monash University Lupus is an inflammatory autoimmune illness, where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks itself. Lupus can affect virtually any part of the body, although it most commonly affects the skin, joints and kidneys. The symptoms ...
A law firm that specialises in working with survivors of abuse in State care is disappointed that the Government fails to recognise that its boot camps can be directly compared to previous boot camps from the 1990s and 2000s. ...
Dying is a natural part of life, like updating your Wof or seeing your hairdresser, but without the word-of-mouth recs that help guarantee a good service. What if we changed that? Dying Reviews received by The Spinoff have had the names of organisations redacted while Hospice NZ collects further data. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland Mike Lewinski/Flickr, CC BY On any clear night, if you gaze skywards long enough, chances are you’ll see a meteor streaking through the sky. Some nights, however, are better than others. At ...
Despite having no bars or other designated spaces for lesbians, Auckland boasts a small but mighty lesbian museum. So how did it get here? The past 18 months has brought increasing hostility towards the queer community across Aotearoa. Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull’s anti-trans rally in Tamaki Makaurau last March led to a ...
Poneke Antifascist Coalition has invited Wellingtonians to stand in solidarity with the Kanak people at 12pm today outside the French Embassy in Wellington. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Layton, Visiting Fellow, Strategic Studies, Griffith University Drones are the signature technology of the Ukraine war. A few miniature aircraft designs were used in the war’s early days, but an incredible array of drones have now evolved. There are different types, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Slee, Associate Professor, Clinical Academic Neurologist, Flinders University Francisco Gonzelez/Unsplash Migraine is many things, but one thing it’s not is “just a headache”. “Migraine” comes from the Greek word “hemicrania”, referring to the common experience of migraine being predominantly ...
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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