Another day in lockdown, another day for all lefties to dream about socialist policies to be enacted, to agree with each other about all the policies that they want for NZ that have been rejected by far left voters in UK and USA (Corbin and Sanders), but feel free to dream….it's free after all, the actual policies not so much!
"… when the failure of the right wing, Neo-liberal policies of the last decades have been so blatantly highlighted …"
By what? By Covid? Are you serious? Look there are plenty of things wrong with neo-liberal policies, but there are countries with higher infection rates than the US that are hardly neo-liberal paradises. Norway and Denmark are two examples. Spain and Italy are two more telling examples.
Covid seems to be uninterested in differentitating on the basis of economic policy.
The country combines a completely socialized medical system that guarantees health care to all with impressive biotech innovations. A Cuban antiviral drug (Interferon Alfa-2B) has been used to combat the coronavirus both inside the country and in China. Cuba also boasts 8.2 doctors per 1,000 people — well over three times the rate in the United States (2.6) or South Korea (2.4), almost five times as many as China (1.8), and nearly twice as many as Italy (4.1).
On top of its impressive medical system, Cuba has a far better track record of protecting its citizens from emergencies than other poor nations
You mean the same Cuba that rations food? Where 15% of the population live in extreme poverty? Who ranks 118th in the world in health spending per capita, when the US ranks #1?
Compare 'response'? How? The only thing that matters are results. That's precisely what I was using for my comparisons. Our rate of infection is considerably higher than Hong Kong's. Based on your argument we should become more neoliberal.
We have done a hell of a job," Trump said, as he sent an ominous message to state and local leaders who have been urging the federal government to do more to help them save lives.
As US is rushing up to 120 000 cases. Most in the world, and increasing at just under 20k per day
trump was revolting during yesterdays presser, telling people they should be appreciative of what he has done… wow.
sonny perdue, their secretary of agriculture was in attendance, quietly sweating in the background, coughing when it was his turn to speak.
Reminded me of a similar presser in Iran a few weeks back, where their health spokesperson was sweating and coughing, later he was diagnosed with the virus.
Lets hope journalists don't get sick with it, right now the USA needs truth tellers more than ever.
If you value your sanity, don't even to try sort out exactly who is responsible for what. There's a byzantine structure with lots of overlaps and lots of gaps. It's a fkn wonder anything works at all.
tRump is thinking of November far more than the health and welfare of the American people – there are reports he wants his signature on all the cheques going out to all (?) Americans. What a campaigning ploy (as well, of course, as being completely immoral)!
USA is known for riots when the President is not listening. At some point people will riot. Now is not the time. Could be worse than the 1960s civil rights.
Neil Young can destroy a venue with a full-on electric attack he can mesmerize an audience with just an acoustic guitar, piano, harmonica, and casual banter, even while playing a suite of songs they’d never heard before. See him do so above in a 1971 concert live at the BBC’s Shepherds Bush Empire Theatre. Young plays four songs that would appear on Harvest: “Out on the Weekend,” “Old Man,” “Heart of Gold,” and “A Man Needs a Maid.” He also does “Journey Through the Past” and “Love in Mind,” which would appear two years later on the bleak 1973 Time Fades Away, and “Don’t Let it Bring You Down,” a song from 1970’s brilliant After the Gold Rush.
Full set list:
Out on the Weekend, Old Man, Journey Through the Past, Cowgirl in the Sand, Heart of Gold, Don't Let It Bring You Down, I Am a Child, There's a World, A Man Needs a Maid, The Needle and the Damage Done, Tell Me Why, Love in Mind, Dance, Dance, Dance
This is interesting out of Iceland and it's way to late for a lockdown to be effective unless it lasts months.
population has contracted the virus and that about half of those who tested positive are non-symptomatic,” said [Iceland’s chief epidemiologist
If you look at that number you could say that we could double our number of known cases comfortably and then on top of that you will have another big number of people with mild symptoms.
I'm pretty confident given we haven't been testing at the airports until very recently Corona is well embedded in our population.
And those NZrs stuck in Peru, they were told they couldn't get on the charter flight to Australia because of the chance they could be stuck at the airport in Australia for more than 24 hours.
Nope. Australians are not a lot different to Kiwis, they're a little more direct in they way they express themselves, but for the most part they're the usual mix like everywhere else.
It's their govt that's the problem here; keep the focus on that.
There is an overall truth in that, but this was an unusual election. If we could magically erase QLD out of the equation it would have been a likely ALP victory.
When you have a number of electorates all swing one way on a single regional issue, perverse outcomes are always likely.
My point to tc is there is no need to resort to bigotry to explain what is happening here.
Seriously Weka? Have you already forgotten the Christchurch earthquake?
Basically the same financial and civil defence remedies applied by the previous govt in 2011, as the present govt has applied, except it was location specific. The big difference being the entire CBD was knocked flat and most roads and underground infrastructure completely destroyed. Which is why it ultimately cost $40 billion. And also daily press conferences back then, same as now.
In fact the current govt has had the big advantage of most of the emergency systems that are available to govt having been well tested in the previous 10 years. So just as NZ did way better than the US over a natural disaster (think Katrina) so are we doing way better with the pandemic.
Partly it is a function of size and partly a function of a unified central govt, as opposed to a federal system. Also we seem, both in 2011 and in 2020, to have a better govt than the US did in Katrina and the present.
Bridges' big turnaround from 'this government doesn't know what it's doing' and 'it's leading us into economic oblivion' to 'we're all in this together' would've probably been difficult for him to swallow but his comms people sensing the public mood would've demanded it. Just look at Australia, US and the UK. We wouldn't have been any different. The sheer magnitude of what's happening now would've meant Bridges looking like a complete idiot if he'd continued with his pathetic attack lines. He's already close to joining the scomo/bojo/trump club as it is – many would say he's already a fully-fledged member.
Your comparison with Christchurch assumes the government did a good job. FFS, there are people down there who still haven't got their houses sorted out, not to mention the thousands who were ripped off by the government putting them in the no-win situation of accepting woefully inadequate payouts for their properties; or the millions spent on idiot boards made up of people who knew nothing about what they were being paid to do, many of whom were your mates.
My view on Chch is that National dealt with the emergency *and prioritised the economy over people. eg the lack of mental health services. Obviously National weren't doing what the US and the UK are doing now, but I think a Labour led govt would have placed a different emphasis on Chch recovery, and National would certainly be placing a different emphasis if they were in power now.
Have to say it's been good to see the more traditional conservatives in National speaking out recently and aligning more with values. This bodes well.
Instead of telling anyone what to focus on, RL, what you need to remember is that the thinking of a nation is coloured, at least in part, by the policies of the prevailing government, and right wing governments have it easier than left wing governments in this regard. So, while you might say aussies are similar to kiwis, at the moment that's not quite the case. The average Australian's attitude towards NZ and NZers has changed a lot over the past decade, and not in a good way.
In about 2 weeks time this sleeper issue is going to hit many 10,000's of kiwis, just as Australia is going to be under a tsunami of COVID 19 deaths and SloMo's govt will be under maximum pressure.
Very bad timing. We need to act now.
Ardern needs to find a way to put some pressure on Morrison to act before it degenerates into something far worse. The best way I can think of is for the NZ govt to announce it will pay a generous UBI to all 650,000 kiwis in Australia. Then wait a few days and announce that it will tax all Australian banks in NZ at 100% until the bill is paid.
Most Aussies can appreciate a robust negotiation like that, and would take pleasure in seeing their banks get a kick in the nuts.
The idea is to embarrass Slo Mo into action. First of all the UBI needs to be generous, significantly more than what the Australian govt has been fumbling about with for the past week. It needs to convey a high clarity message of clean action and taking responsibility.
Then by taxing the banks you get pressure from the big end of town. If that doesn't work, extend it to all Australian owned commercial entities.
The other element that needs to be highlighted is that NZ is taking care of the 60,000 Australians in our country who need help. It may be a much smaller number in total terms, but per head of capita, it’s comparable between the two nations.
Give the issue high visibility profile and Slo Mo will eventually cave. The Australian public are not a lot different to NZ and can see the obvious need here.
Is that the same banks that are allowing kiwis 6 month mortgage holidays. In a game of who's got who by the short and curlier I'm afraid the aussie banks will win .
Those same banks might be quite capable of blocking our payments to Oz-Kiwis in the first place, and sure to block them if a tax were mentioned.. Scomo likely to support them in this, as well.
That would be flat out theft and solid grounds to arrest senior bank officers. It would also play very badly with the public on both sides of the Tasman.
A – human rights breach – yes. That is another way to put pressure on govt, Not that they will always respond. Once you've been there a couple of times and not been hit by lightning then…
Freeman said the Government does need to step in. "We think Government is a key part to help provide a solution."
The council is hearing about multiple scenarios, including hearing from many landlords who are working constructively with tenants in discussing rent relief, including postponements to outright cuts in rents, through to those refusing to pay.
"The biggest issue with this is that we need everybody to come out of this. We need businesses to survive and landlords need to survive," Freeman says.
The problem is this clause in the standard ADLS lease which covers most commercial leases,
No Access in Emergency (27.5)
If there is an emergency and the Tenant is unable to gain access to the premises to fully conduct the Tenant's business from the premises because of reasons of safety of the public or property or the need to prevent reduce or overcome any hazard, harm or loss that may be associated with the emergency including:
(a) prohibited or restricted access cordon applying to the premises; or
(b) prohibition on the use of the premises pending the completion of structural engineering or other reports and appropriate
(c ) restriction on occupation of the premises by any competent authority,
then a fair proportion of the rent and outgoings shall cease to be payable for the period commencing on the date when the Tenant became unable to gain access to the premises to fully conduct the Tenant's business from the premises until the inability ceases.
This clause came into the standard lease after the Christchurch earthquakes and applies to all emergencies, pandemics are included in the definition at the back of the lease.
As a commercial tenant I'm hearing a lot of different outcomes with this, from some landlords who offered their tenants lengthy rent holidays before any restrictions, to others that aren't even returning phone calls or emails. Pretty much the same range of behaviour landlords are reporting, but the other way around.
But both parties entered into the lease, presumably aware of the obligations contained and are bound by them. If a landlord is saying that the clause shouldn't apply, then what else in the lease doesn't apply any more? The whole lease?
The difficulty is working out what is fair. A strong argument can be made that no rent is payable as the tenant cannot conduct any business, but the tenant has the benefit of storage in the landlords premises.
Some sort of ruling is required on this before the end of business on Tuesday, so rent payments on 1 April can either be withheld or paid in part. I don't think and argument can be made that full payment in possible under that clause.
Either the Government does it, or the Property Council and Retail and other business associations get together in Court first thing tomorrow and thrash out a ruling.
It's looking very much that way, despite Robertson saying there wasn't much the Government could do in his stand up yesterday.
The problem goes a long way beyond clause 27.5 . There's also ratchet clauses in commercial leases, the rent cannot be less than the pre-ceeding rent on review. This will make it very hard for many tenants who won't have anything like past business levels as we come out of this, and will be trapped in leases that are killing them very quickly. But I know some here that won't be around if they have to pay the next 3 months rent with no income apart from the wage subsidy.
Then landlords won't have any tenants, or not at the same rental. Who's going to take on a lease at 2019 conditions now, unless you're in the essential group.
Tricky bit will be when one party is going down and becomes very inflexible and irrational. Leases are very enduring creatures that can exploit and be exploited. This would create a lot of un-neccessary pain and most likely a domino effect of landlords and tenant insolvencies.
Will probably come to a point where an exit procedure will have to be instituted where previously solvent parties can get out of contracts before they are sucked dry and become insolvent. This would apply to tenants obligations to their landlords, and landlords obligations further up the chain. Once we get to domino insolvencies there will be very few able to restart businesses to continue the economy.
Sort of. Rates are part of the outgoings, so the landlord pays them and hands the bill to the tenant. Same as the landlords insurance and any management fees, so if you have a dispute with the landlord through the property manager, you tend to pay for both sides of the argument.
If 27.5 applies, which it does in this situation the landlord will not be reimbursed for a proportion of the rates, and other outgoings through the lockdown period.
It's a matter of determining what that 'fair' proportion is. And 'fair' isn't really a thing in commercial negotiations, it's screw as much out of the other party as you can.
4,6,10 weeks time when we have extinguished this C19 from NZ, what then?
International travel (tourism) will be decimated. As we cannot allow a repeat of this to occur, otherwise we have placed NZ of hold for Nothing. As with international contact, the virus will reestablish itself.
Yes that is the crunchy part. NZ will have to revert to the kind of travel conditions that prevailed before the 60's; possible but only if you really need to.
As for how long … there are too many variables. If the CCP is to be believed and they've eliminated COVID 19 from China, then with a coordinated global effort it could be gone everywhere by June. But both believing the CCP and expecting effective global action are unlikely presuppositions.
It's likely by later this year most nations will start to respond more competently. We'll see a combination of universal testing, isolation, social distancing and good hygiene start to bring the numbers down dramatically.
Then it's highly likely we will soon see effective use of anti-retroviral drug treatments reduce the death toll substantially. (I'd personally like to see credible trials of IV-VitC as some Chinese hospitals report success with.)
The magic bullet of a vaccine is by no means certain. After all after decades of trying we still don't have a vaccine for HIV, but there is an enormous high tech effort being put into it by dozens of teams worldwide.
Plus of course we cannot rule out another black swan event emerging in the wake of all this instability. It's easy enough to point to some of the factors that may come into play, but predicting how they will actually weave together in real time is impossible.
It was a way more complex story than I was prepared to relate in a public forum; but essentially yes we're still stranded. Fortunately over the past three days we had a very welcome change for the better in our family position and we are no longer in panic mode thanks.
It's the CCP, they lie like we breath. You have to remember a few things about Chineses politics.
That saving face is a real issue. Lies by omission are not seen as being such a bad thing.
Local officials lie, for a lot of reasons, including for future job prospects.
That the Chineses population has been slowly losing trust in the CCP leadership for a long time. So any lie which helps keep trust – is going to fly in China.
I agree the numbers don't add up – but relax – like all government conspiracies, the truth comes out eventually.
So much work that needs to be done in NZ, I think we can replace tourism.
climate mitigation (forestry, regenerative agriculture, future proofing infrastructure, retro-fitting existing housing and commercial buildings for a CC world)
relocalising food production
new support and health systems
future (near and far) proofing supply lines by re-estabilishing some manufacturing here.
conservation
that's just off the top of my head and all of those require front line/on the ground staff as well as technical, management, design, construction and so on.
that would be some interesting maths but whether accurate or not IF we wish to import (and we do, more than we export) then we need to obtain foreign currency….rebuilding our economy solely with local activity will not facilitate that which leaves us with something of a difficult economic AND political challenge
Our "export" industries borrowings, are way in excess of anything justified by their earnings as an export business.
As too many are running as a speculative capital gains earner, rather than a business. And borrowing to do so.
Removing those will increase, not decrease, our total trade account.
Funnily, often the same people who oppose Government debt and spending, except if it is for them, of course.
Simply put we are paying back too much interests, profits and externalities, offshore.
we dont 'need' to import more than we export, indeed it would be advantageous to export more than we import or at least be balanced but we have imported more than we export for decades and consequently most of our manufactured items come from offshore as do pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, transport and heavy engineering (Wellington are awaiting a pipe from Germany to repair their sewerage system currently)….we make very little of that which is required to maintain our current lifestyles
consistently?…probably in the 1960s or 70s, there has been the odd surplus year since the 80s but we generally run deficits which require foreign borrowing…..it is the most obvious flaw with MMT
According to my MMT understanding if you run an export deficit the foreigners end up earning and holding more of your currency (e.g a bank record in NZ says Johonny foreigner has a bank balance of X). They may then invest that surplus into asset classes resulting in foreign debt (meaning an institution in NZ keeps a record we owe Johonny foreigner X for his loan/investment). So the flaw in that description is where?
again..you assume they desire to hold it (or spend it in NZ, or invest it in NZ)….we produce commonly available commodities and are (until recently) a relatively popular tourist destination….that is by no means a given, indeed they probably wish to buy an airliner. the latest tech, pharmaceuticals, oil, solar panels etc….all the things we want to buy as well and dont have for sale
Its not about assumptions at this point, those are the possible uses for the funds earned. As you suggest, no you wont be able to buy things not manufactured in NZ with your NZ currency, even if you really really wish you could.
Now you said there is a flaw with this description, but have identified no flaws.
lol…im glad you put simple because it is …and completely misses the point. If we desire to be a first world nation we will always have to import as there are very few economies in the world that can produce all that is needed….the U.S and the EU are about it….China at a pinch, but definitely getting close. The Soviet block tried but rapidly fell behind.
Thats isnt to say we couldnt be self sufficient but life would be unrecognisable….hence the political difficulty
we dont have to be all or nothing but you cant replace roughly a quarter of your export dollars with local currency and not expect an impact of what is able to be imported….which if you recall was the original suggestion
Given we're not talking about no imports, what's wrong with replacing 17%? Where's the line where replacing imports with a relocalised economy (where the $ stays in the local economy) becomes unviable for a decent standard of living. What %?
Tourism is New Zealand's largest export industry in terms of foreign exchange earnings. It directly employs one in eight New Zealanders.
Data and statistics
For the year ended March 2019:
Total tourism expenditure was $40.9 billion, an increase of 4 percent ($1.6 billion) from the previous year.
International tourism expenditure increased 5.2 percent ($843 million) to $17.2 billion, and contributed 20.4 percent to New Zealand’s total exports of goods and services.
The number of short-term arrivals to New Zealand increased 1.3 percent over the same period.
Tourism generated a direct contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) of $16.2 billion, or 5.8 percent of GDP.
Tourism is our biggest export industry, contributing 21% of foreign exchange earnings.
The indirect value added of industries supporting tourism generated an additional $11.2 billion, or 4.0 percent of GDP.
229,566 people were directly employed in tourism (8.4 percent of the total number of people employed in New Zealand), an increase of 3.9 percent from the previous year.
Tourists generated $3.8 billion in goods and services tax (GST) revenue, with $1.8 billion coming from international tourists
let's settle on 20% then. I still don't see what the problem is with replacing that with domestic economy. It's not like pre-80s we were a third world country .
which 20% of imports would you like drop then (remembering thats just the tourism industry, there are others impacted as well)?…or maybe a 20% cut across the board?…if we are going to accept that our FX earnings are to reduce then ipso facto what we can purchase offshore will decrease as well (sans deflation).
As stated the other night, whatever programme the Government implements to rebuild the economy is going to have to keep at least one eye on this fact…..straight out fiscal intervention is not going solve it, especially given our supply chain is predominantly offshore
What are the imports for tourists? Fuel, food, souvenirs (no loss there), linen, alcohol.
Pat, it's probably a useful exercise to ask ourselves what we could live without, or live with less frequently, in exchange for a values-based economy and lifestyle, and future proofing NZ.
Maybe we don't replace our consumer electronics so often. We start producing more clothing in NZ again (merino, hemp, harakeke are all industries waiting to grow). Apart from food grown in the tropics, why are we even importing food?
These are also of course climate change and ecology issues.
yes there will be a reduction in tourism related imports among other things but if the plan is to replace that activity with say an infrastructure upgrade or a electrification (decarbonising) of transport/industry then quite obviously they will require significant quantities of imports…our dollar has already dropped considerably and our other main export stream is already at capacity (some say over) and even if it wasnt its nature requires considerable time to ramp up…we have imported inflationary pressures and little ability to reap the benefit on the other side…..fortunately the Saudis are playing chicken with the Russians and the frackers, but for how long?….
Campervans, temporary visa workers, aircraft, helicopters, fuel, exotic foods, are just some things we import at a foreign exchange cost, for tourism.
Then, there are the internal costs of course. Which the tourist industry has passed on to the rest of us, while avoiding paying them, themselves. Pollution, accommodation, overcrowding, low wages, etc. Reducing those also means more resources for New Zealanders.
The really obvious example, at present, is all the air bnb's, that have been freed up for rental housing.
Yes there will be some positive impacts such as Air BRB rentals being freed up and the reduced carbon emissions for example and resources are freed up for local use….one the main resources that will be freed up is labour (post shut down) but as previously stated that dosnt necessarily increase our capability (certainly not in the near term) and while we may have unused capacity there is much we need that capacity cannot supply
That's not a bad idea. Will be interesting to see if cruises survive in their current form though. It's not like this is going to be our only pandemic.
What is domestic travel in NZ going to be like? AirNZ will still exist of course, but in a scaled back version for some time, and I can't see an immediate return to the cheap seats of the main trunk routes we're accustomed to in a hurry.
Already there's the subtle push going on to promote domestic tourism after this over, and fair enough. But there will also be the ongoing need for people to get from A to B for work and personal/family reasons, so how is that going to look?
I tend to view travel through a non-driver's lens out of necessity, and being in the low income bracket, from the cost perspective. My main travel has been Wgtn-Auck to visit family by way of cheap flights. But I'm old enough to remember the days of the Silver Fern/Silver Star Main trunk line being a passenger service, not a tourist one, and the predominant mode of transport for students and lower income people at a time that plans were the preserve of business and higher income travellers. And passenger trains ran the length of NZ from Auckland to Dunedin, complimented with a good railways-Intercity bus system.
NZ is of course, a country of car drivers, and we are so price sensitive so I can anticipate than on principle many will choose to drive rather than pay more for an airfare because it's faster and more convenient than the Intercity buses that have been scaled back to the bone (and are quite uncomfortable long distance). So would this be our opportunity to restart those mothballed main passenger lines, change the tourist ones back into affordable passenger, so Auck-Wgtn, Picton-Invercargill, Chch-Greymouth, Wgtn-Napier-Tauranga-Auckland? (With wifi of course)With a lot of people unable to affordable fares andstill needing to get places, this might be a great opportunity to get people back to the concept of overland travel.
It could also be part of the major infastructure projects needed to help kick start things economically, and perhaps there's a lot of ex-AirNZ staff whose skills might be transferable to a new type of transport?
Trains seem a no brainer because of CC too. I'm not sure we can rely on converting the whole NZ fleet to e-vehicles now, will be interesting to see what happens to the global economy and trade systems around that.
I suspect we are going to go through extended periods of time where some regions are able to have more travel than others. Possibly limited travel between regions.
Agreed. The idea of replacing our present vehicle fleet with electric has always been a silly pipe dream. Our present ~80% renewable electricity generation is already used for other purposes. We will need to drastically increase our generation to charge ev's as well.
I for one don't relish the idea of wind turbines & solar farms everywhere just so we can continue driving as we've become used to. Extensive public transport & revamping our towns so amenities and jobs are closer to where people live will be required. This also means walking & cycling will be feasible for the majority of journeys.
During the last election I was pleased when Jacinda referred to climate change as our nuclear free issue. I've come to realise that was not a good comparison. Going nuclear free didn't actually require us as individuals to change at all. Preventing climate change will require significant change in life styles.
quite agree. I think we will find we have some spare power generation once Tiwai Point closes, and with increase in solar on housing and commercial buildings. But I don't think we should be using that up on EVs, and the sooner we get to the idea of a steady state economy the better. People need to wake up to power generation from renewables still being a finite resource.
I would prefer to travel from Auckland to Wellington by train. I recently traveled both ways by bus for $44. Another time it was still below $50 return. Hard to compete with that.
This is what the $500,000 govt backed business loans are supposed to cover. Landlords giving say a 50% reduction for 3 months and the tenant paying 50% with the loan.
The other possibility is that it reflects a sudden increase in the number of properties available for rent, because the airbnb market has crashed due to tourism ceasing.
I haven't seen any local figures but it's reported Dublin has seen a 64% rise in listings since the beginning of the month.
Modi in India has a humanitarian crisis before a health emergency.
Some of my closest friends are from India. It is always interesting to hear their point of view on how differently they think from me. Their survival instincts are an example.
This virus may with luck go the way of other Sars virus and even Mers in that they disappeared after a number of months especially with the sort of containment regimes we have now. Mers almost mysteriously just faded out and it appears that this Covid pathogen is not exactly robust as soap and water breaks it down effectivly dissolving the fatty acid coating that binds the elements together. We can but hope. It may already be happening in Wuhan if their reports can be believed.
Interesting… There was a pretty distinct shift in demographics over the last couple of weeks. Admittedly there has been an increase in total unique users from 5800 odd to 6500 between the two weeks.
Week 1 of March
Week 4 of March
Good to see that google thinks we nearly have now gotten to almost an even split on the genders.
Remember when we talked about climate change and my response is we need to reduce the world population? That was met with horror on here along with 'the world has plenty of food'.
Well, you see the most affected places during covid19 are population dense places. One of the reasons why NZ may fair a bit better.
*sigh* You really are pretty damn ignorant about your own country aren't you?
Well, you see the most affected places during covid19 are population dense places. One of the reasons why NZ may fair a bit better.
As you point out it is the density of population in a country that is an issue in epidemics. But when you're describing 'density', you're probably doing something completely inane like people per square km.
Now that is dumb – it really doesn't matter for the purposes of any disease to count areas where are only cows, sheep or bush.
A good surrogate for that population density is to look at urbanisation measures. That is to say, looking at the areas where there are significiant number of neighbours close to you.
NZ is amongst the highest in the world – 86.54%. That puts up amongst the most urbanised countries in the world – 27th in the wikilist
To give you an idea just picking out OECD countries current and trying to join
Belgium 98%
Iceland 93.8%
Israel 92.4%
Japan 91.6%
Netherlands 91.5%
Luxemberg 91.0%
Denmark 87.5%
Sweden 87.4%
Brazil 86.6%
New Zealand 86.5%
… and some of the rest
Austrailia 86.0%
UK 83.0%
US 82.3%
Norway 82.2%
South Korea 81.5%
Canada 81.4%
France 80.4%
Germany 77.3%
On your other point
…climate change and my response is we need to reduce the world population…
If you ever look at the issues of climate change without your idiot blinkers on, then you'd be aware that concentrating people into cities is actually one of the best ways to reduce climate change.
The distances between people reduces virtually every climate change measure per person. Less transport emissions from routine travel and distribution through both reducing the transport web and allowing more use of communal public transport. More efficiency in the use of high green house gas emitting building materials especially concrete and road asphalt. Just eliminating unproductive paved roads in favour of rail would be a massive improvement.
Not to mention that if we eliminated the climate unproductive use of farmland for food, for instance stopping meat, wool and dairy production, that would massively reduce emissions of methane – a really significiant climate change gas. It'd also allow more room for forests and peat bogs which are pretty effective short-term (by my earth science standards) sinks of carbon. It'd also allow more plant based food to be grown if we needed it and as close to the urban centres as possible.
You have to remember that the cities are the driving force of all modern economies. Most rural economies are pretty peripheral to the real economy in most developed countries, and even in many of the developing countries. There isn't that much wealth in the rural world. There are mostly just a few relatively wealthy. That is because concentrations of people are very very good at generating wealth.
This whole concept of relying on the rural economy as the only productive part of the economy is something that I'd only expect to hear from damn fool 18th century aristocrat. One who likes consorting with bats, pigs, pangolins, birds, and apes. They appear to be mainly there to give urbanites disgusting diseases.
Fortunately I'm too polite to describe some of the disgusting methods of consorting… 😈
What on earth is happening in the US to explain this lift?
They're plagiarising Churchill speeches and making it sound like war pres tRump and the 5th Marine Division are going to storm Iwo Jima and fight Covid 19 on the beach.
It may be no more than a rally-around-the-flag-in-a-crisis thing that Americans are big on. In which case, it's a remarkably small bump in support considering the scale of the problem and likely to dissipate quickly as it sinks in just how venal and incompetent the Fifth Avenue Fraud's response has been.
Yes. They are into flags in a big way in Yankee land. Not content with one maybe two fluttering in the breeze like most other countries, they have to have rows of them all over the place. Jingoism at its worst.
When the body count starts to rise in the thousands I think they might have a little re-think – at least those who are capable of thinking at all.
And if you watch the 6pm news – no screaming 'buy buy buy' and 'sale must end Monday' ads from the likes of Harvey Norman, The Warehouse or Briscoes etc.
Now I don't bother muting the tv when the ads come on, lol.
Good news is, the population are seeing through it, and one of the accused has effectively turned on his ghoulish friends.
Gotta wonder if the Bank of England will give the money it stole back to the people of Venezuela after the person they stole it for, is about to be charged?
“There is no [protective gear] to be bought on the private market through vendors,” said Kevin Donovan, president of Lakes Regional HealthCare, which has two hospitals in central New Hampshire. “We order but don’t have any money to pay for it,” because companies manufacturing masks and other emergency gear are demanding cash payments on delivery. Donovan said his hospitals, like others, are low on cash because they have canceled the elective procedures that are their moneymakers.
“Unless we start getting material from the national stockpile,” Donovan said, “I don’t know where we are going to get it.”
maybe this event will teach us that public hospitals should not be run as 'for profit'.
World wide the issue is that hospitals are under equipped, under staffed, and that the staff is underpaid and burdened with huge student loans.
Castro with his fee education and his doctor/nurses program had it quite right. And instead of plastic crap Cuba exports doctors. Maybe that is the big big lesson to be learned from this.
I also hope that the doctors and nurses here on the frontline will have their student loans cancelled in full. That is the very least the country can do for them.
June the 1st Is gypsy day (the day the change farms)for dairy farmers. Might pay for the government to put their thinking caps on how this will go if we are still level 4 or 3
As kjt says it's the day farms change hands . It's always been this day so as most arnt milking atthat time and have time to get there systems set up before july /august calving.
South Korea flattened their curve around the 7th of March, but a quarter of all new cases occurred since then and despite the number of new cases dropping since the 12th of March, half of all deaths have occurred the over the past 12 days or so. But if they take the foot off restrictions they'll be in for a second round.
Say goodbye to the rest of 2020, we're in for a long, long haul.
"For Korea one of the big issues is starting school again. We’re expecting a decision from 6 April, and that will be based on where the outbreaks are happening, how they're being controlled and how comfortable the government feels about being able to get on top of new cases quickly."
Professor Gye Cheol Kwon said Korea’s success is down to a dedicated system of trace, test and treat.
"Testing, isolating, contact tracing and quarantine is the only way Koreans have outperformed others."
He added that it is difficult to predict how long the current restrictions will last.
But some experts don't believe life in Korea will truly return to normality until there is a viable vaccine that is proven to be effective against Covid-19.
Dr Kim, himself a vaccine specialist, said a vaccine is likely to be at least a year to 18 months away. Until then some restrictions are likely to remain in place.
"Really if you want to return to the way things were, going out at night, going to concerts, to pubs, or going out to dinner, you really need to have a vaccine," he said.
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8. The universe was ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
Peter Dunne writes – The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor Former opposition leader Matthew Wale has been announced as the second prime ministerial candidate ahead of the election in Solomon Islands tomorrow. He will face off against former foreign affairs minister Jeremiah Manele, who was announced by the Coalition for National Unity and Transformation ...
The Government’s spending cuts are again targeting support for Māori with proposed reform of the agency charged with advising on Māori wellbeing and development. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Douglas, Honorary Senior Lecturer, UNSW Aviation., UNSW Sydney The history of budget jet airlines in Australia is a long road littered with broken dreams. New entrants have consistently struggled to get a foothold. Low-cost carrier Bonza has just become the industry’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rosalind Dixon, Director, Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law, UNSW Sydney Australia is finally having a sustained conversation about violence against women and what we can do about it. It is more than time. Australian women and girls continue to experience ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne stockfour/Shutterstock Preliminary bulk billing data released this week shows a 2.1% rise in bulk billing up to March. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samantha Schulz, Senior Lecturer, University of Adelaide Australia is once again grappling with how we can stop gendered violence in our country. Protests over the weekend show there is enormous community anger over the number of women who are dying and National ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University AnastasiaDudka/Shutterstock What if the government was doing everything it could to stop thieves making off with our money, except the one thing that could really work? That’s how it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Erin Harrington, Senior Lecturer in English and Cultural Studies, University of Canterbury The Conversation It seems to be a time of old favourites. This month our experts have recommended two new seasons – the second season of Alone Australia (although ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland A bright Eta Aquariid meteor photobombed this photo of comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN) in May 2020.Jonti Horner Meteors – commonly known as shooting stars – can be seen on any night of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Flannery, Honorary fellow, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock Current concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in Earth’s atmosphere are unprecedented in human history. But CO₂ levels today, and those that might occur in coming decades, did occur millions of years ago. ...
Winston Peters has been keen to dismiss speculation on our involvement in Aukus but will give a speech tonight on the direction of our foreign policy, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Usmar, Lecturer in Critical Media Literacies, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images With the coalition government’s ban of student mobile phones in New Zealand schools coming into effect this week, reaction has ranged from the sceptical (kids will just get ...
A new report on protecting journalism and democracy in New Zealand recommends a levy be charged on global platforms like Facebook and Google to fund media firms undertaking public interest reporting. It also calls for the reinstatement of a powerful Broadcasting Commission to distribute public funding for journalism and other ...
On International Workers' Day, also known as May Day, the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi and the wider union movement are celebrating the proud history of the labour movement during a tough time for working people. ...
From bills to beards, a walk through the former Green co-leader’s time in politics. After close to a decade in politics, James Shaw is preparing to bid farewell to parliament. Tonight will see the former minister deliver his valedictory address, certain to be a speech filled with Shaw’s trademark wit ...
Two months ago, MPs unanimously voted to give themselves a week off in Efeso Collins’ honour. On Tuesday, most were too busy to give even an hour of their time. The day Fa’anānā Efeso Collins died, parliament felt different. In a building that operates at a breakneck pace, everyone stopped ...
India’s election involves hundreds of millions of people and is a months-long affair. Here’s how voting works and what’s at stake.The biggest-ever election in world history started on April 19, with more than 10% of the world’s population eligible to vote. Elections in India, the world’s most populous country ...
Emotional scenes played out in the Invercargill courthouse on the first two days of the coronial inquest into the death of Gore toddler Lachlan Jones, in which the boy’s mother was accused of disposing of her son’s body. The second season of Newsroom’s award-nominated podcast The Boy in the Water ...
Opinion: The impression from the carpark is very inviting. The area is well fenced but barred so there is easy visibility of loved ones. Inside, the spaces are welcoming and clean and staff are friendly and clearly comfortable. I am greeted by ‘Kim’. She has worked here for three years, ...
After the Christchurch earthquake, the then-national civil defence boss compared his experience to “putting a team on the rugby field who have never ever played together before”. Now, eight years later – and following a damning inquiry into the emergency response of cyclones Gabrielle, Hale and the Auckland anniversary weekend floods – ...
“I had just come off the end of a major robbery case which I had been working on for six months when I got a call on the afternoon of September 1, 1992, that some remains had been found at a building site in Devonport, so I drove over with ...
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Comment: Journalists are very good at telling other people’s stories, but they fall well short when writing about their own profession. Perhaps that is why it is so undervalued. Every successive poll on the public’s attitude toward journalism is more alarming than the last. In the last month we have ...
Opinion: A young Māori woman and her Pacific partner arrive at their local hospital by ambulance. She has gone into labour at just under 24 weeks, but the couple haven’t recognised the symptoms – and don’t know the risks of premature birth for their baby. By the time they arrive, ...
Behind closed doors, NZ First will be arguing fiercely against any watering down of the ministerial decision-making powers in the Bill The post Bishop backtracks after fast-track backlash appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Asia Pacific Report A Pacific civil society alliance has condemned French neocolonial policies in Kanaky New Caledonia, saying Paris is set on “maintaining the status quo” and denying the indigenous Kanak people their inalienable right to self-determination. The Pacific Regional Non-Governmental Organisations (PRNGOs) Alliance, representing some 15 groups, said in ...
Koi Tū New Zealand cannot sit back and see the collapse of its Fourth Estate, the director of Koi Tū: The Centre for Informed Futures, Sir Peter Gluckman, says in the foreword of a paper published today. The paper, “If not journalists, then who?” paints a picture of an industry ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Foreign investment proposals with implications for Australia’s strategic or economic security will face tougher scrutiny, under a policy overhaul to be announced by Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Wednesday. At the same time, the government ...
A Waitangi Tribunal inquiry report has warned government that a repeal of Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act could cause harm to children in care. ...
The Treasury has published today three new papers covering government consumption multipliers, automatic stabilisers and the impacts of global shocks on New Zealand’s economy. ...
Asia Pacific Report The Pacific state of Hawai’i’s House of Representatives has joined the state’s Senate in calling for a ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza, becoming the first state to pass such a resolution, reports Hawaii News Now. In March, the Senate passed a ceasefire resolution with a 24–1 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Ferrie, A/Prof, UTS Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Research and ARC DECRA Fellow, University of Technology Sydney PsiQuantum The Australian government has announced a pledge of approximately A$940 million (US$617 million) to PsiQuantum, a quantum computing start-up company based in Silicon Valley. Half ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hunter Bennett, Lecturer in Exercise Science, University of South Australia Cameron Prins/Shutterstock If you spend a lot of time exploring fitness content online, you might have come across the concept of heart rate zones. Heart rate zone training has become more ...
SPECIAL REPORT:By Eugene Doyle He is the most popular Palestinian leader alive today — and yet few people in the West even know his name. Absolutely no one in Gaza or the West Bank does not know him. That difference speaks volumes about who dominates the media narrative that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Will McCallum, PhD Candidate – School of Communication and Creative Arts, Deakin University Earlier this year, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of not supporting Operation Sovereign Borders – the military-led border security operation that has “closed Australia’s borders ...
By Melyne Baroi in Port Moresby A Papua New Guinea MP, Peter Isoaimo, who had been ousted by the National Court in an alleged bribery case, has been reinstated by the Supreme Court on appeal. A three-member Supreme Court bench found that the National Court had erred in finding that ...
Publisher Chris Holdaway reflects on the unique project of collecting the work of the late, terrific poet Schaeffer Lemalu. One of the nice things you can do as a truly independent publisher is to make the books that writers want to make, whatever they happen to be. That’s how I’ve ...
Those profiled in the stamp series served on overseas deployments from 1995 onwards, and all have been awarded theNew Zealand Operational Service Medal. ...
Last night’s dismal poll result for the coalition government shows the limits of trying to govern as an opposition, argues Joel MacManus. There’s a quote from the American political activist Barbara Deming: “Vengeance is not the point; change is. But the trouble is that in most people’s minds, the thought ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shireen Morris, Associate Professor and Director of the Radical Centre Reform Lab at Macquarie University Law School, Macquarie University Leonid Andronov/Shutterstock Foreign interference in Australian democracy poses a growing risk to our national sovereignty. It refers to coercive, corrupt or ...
A defendant charged by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has pleaded guilty to four charges of obtaining by deception in relation to a mortgage fraud scheme. Sentencing has been scheduled for 14 August 2024. ...
What to say when pesky journalists ask gotcha questions like ‘can you name a single book you’ve ever read?’ and ‘did you read it, or did you just see the movie?’This week, Act Party arts spokesperson Todd Stephenson foolishly agreed to an interview with Newsroom’s Steve Braunias regarding his ...
Explainer - What will a ban on cellphones in schools achieve? Can students use them during lunch breaks? And what happens if you need to contact your child? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jodi Rowley, Curator, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation Biology, Australian Museum, UNSW Sydney Jodi Rowley, CC BY-NC-ND In winter 2021, Australia’s frogs started dropping dead. People began posting images of dead frogs on social media. Unable to travel to investigate the deaths ...
In the year ended March 2024, 0.4 percent of home transfers were to people who didn’t hold New Zealand citizenship or a resident visa, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Wasay Majid, Research Assistant , University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau New Zealand’s accommodation supplement scheme is facing scrutiny, with Social Development Minister Louise Upston recently saying “there is merit in considering whether the current settings are fair and sustainable long-term”. The ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor The first prime ministerial candidate has been announced in Solomon Islands and it is not Manasseh Sogavare. The man of the hour is Jeremiah Manele, the MP for Hograno/Kia/Havulei constituency in Isabel Province, who served as minister of foreign affairs in the last government. ...
Protesting the removal of bins by leaving piles of your dog’s shit for others to deal with doesn’t make you a hero – it’s precious and entitled behaviour. You haven’t truly lived until you’ve stood on the shoreline of Auckland’s Cheltenham beach, desperately trying to scoop increasingly liquid dog shit ...
Analysis - Christopher Luxon will be alert to the factors driving the dire polling, but won't be waving the white flag just yet, RNZ political editor Jo Moir writes. ...
Writer, teacher and academic Vincent O’Sullivan died on Sunday 28 April. Here we gather tributes from friends, colleagues, and students who remember his extraordinary contributions. I went down to the garage tonight. There was a bird shrieking out in the bush, in the dark, maybe a kākā. Miraculously, through the ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a burnt-out corporate escapee explains how she gets by ‘working as little as possible’. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.Gender: Female Age: 31 Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: Contractor in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Schmidt, Professor of Chemistry, UNSW Sydney Albert Russ / Shutterstock The icebreaker of many a barbeque conversation is something like “what do you do for a crust?” “I teach chemistry at university,” is what we usually reply. Then silence. Our ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Asher Flynn, Associate Professor of Criminology, Monash University Shutterstock Sexual harassment is often considered to be a person-to-person act, but new research shows Australians are also experiencing and perpetrating workplace harassment in large numbers through technology. Our latest study shows one ...
A petition signed by more than 16,500 people, demanding the government take stronger action to halt the genocide of Palestinians by the State of Israel, is being presented to the House of Representatives today by Hon Phil Twyford. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Burnett, Honorary Associate Professor, ANU College of Law, Australian National University jenmartin/Shutterstock April has been a bad month for the Australian environment. The Great Barrier Reef was hit, yet again, by intense coral bleaching. And Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek delayed ...
Another day in lockdown, another day for all lefties to dream about socialist policies to be enacted, to agree with each other about all the policies that they want for NZ that have been rejected by far left voters in UK and USA (Corbin and Sanders), but feel free to dream….it's free after all, the actual policies not so much!
At a time when the failure of the right wing, Neo-liberal policies of the last decades have been so blatantly highlighted.
You would think the right wing shills, would have the brains to realise it.
The only thing wrong with socialism, is that it allows fools to survive to adulthood, to claim it doesn't work.
Don’t waste your breath on this brainless troll, as he won’t be replying.
"… when the failure of the right wing, Neo-liberal policies of the last decades have been so blatantly highlighted …"
By what? By Covid? Are you serious? Look there are plenty of things wrong with neo-liberal policies, but there are countries with higher infection rates than the US that are hardly neo-liberal paradises. Norway and Denmark are two examples. Spain and Italy are two more telling examples.
Covid seems to be uninterested in differentitating on the basis of economic policy.
Not when you allow for other factors, like land borders.
Or other factors, like population density.
Oslo's is 3,500. Copenhagen's is 18,000. Madrid's is 14,000. Rome's is 5781.
NYC's is 26,403.
BTW – Hungary is a totally landlocked (by no less than 7 countries), and yet has a far lower contraction rate than we do.
Just compare Australia's response, to South Korea. Or even, ours.
Not to mention what the Neo-liberal running down of our hospitals is causing, right now.
Or Cuba's response with it's extensive medical system.
Note. National pandemic stores in New Zealand since 2017!
You mean the same Cuba that rations food? Where 15% of the population live in extreme poverty? Who ranks 118th in the world in health spending per capita, when the US ranks #1?
Who have a longer life expectancy than in the USA.
The “only thing that matters is results” does it not?
By 1 year. And I wouldn't hold up the US citizens lifestyle as ideal for longevity. Food certainly isn't scarce in the US!
BTW…
Cuba, 60 Years On—Misery Is Communism’s Only Real Legacy
https://www.independent.org/news/article.asp?id=11690
Seems a bit harsh to be putting a ‘Jan. 2019 boot’ into Cuba now?
http://theconversation.com/by-sending-doctors-to-italy-cuba-continues-its-long-campaign-of-medical-diplomacy-134429
I've worked with Cubans. They don't appear to think so.
Certainly a lot less miserable than Appalachians.
Compare 'response'? How? The only thing that matters are results. That's precisely what I was using for my comparisons. Our rate of infection is considerably higher than Hong Kong's. Based on your argument we should become more neoliberal.
Or more communist. LOL.
Well HK is many things, communist it is not.
We have done a hell of a job," Trump said, as he sent an ominous message to state and local leaders who have been urging the federal government to do more to help them save lives.
As US is rushing up to 120 000 cases. Most in the world, and increasing at just under 20k per day
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/donald-trumps-america/120654446/coronavirus-donald-trump-mulls-quarantines-for-new-york-new-jersey-and-connecticut
trump was revolting during yesterdays presser, telling people they should be appreciative of what he has done… wow.
sonny perdue, their secretary of agriculture was in attendance, quietly sweating in the background, coughing when it was his turn to speak.
Reminded me of a similar presser in Iran a few weeks back, where their health spokesperson was sweating and coughing, later he was diagnosed with the virus.
Lets hope journalists don't get sick with it, right now the USA needs truth tellers more than ever.
Trump has had it. He put making money before the health of Americans. In New York the full impact is 5-7 days away.
The world is going to undergo a reset which will be evolutionary, economic, humanitarian, medical and self sufficiency will need to occur.
Yes, USA have over 120k cases, and will probably break 20k new cases today.
Cuomo Mayor of New York is not thinking how he needs to think either. Gone Burger as well.
New York
Cases 53,316 Today+7,054
Deaths 883 Today +277
Bill de Blasio is mayor of New York City. Andrew Cuomo is Governor of the state of New York.
Thanks for that. I apologise to the New York Mayor.
Who holds the power the Mayor of New York City or the Governor of the state of New York?
If you value your sanity, don't even to try sort out exactly who is responsible for what. There's a byzantine structure with lots of overlaps and lots of gaps. It's a fkn wonder anything works at all.
I value my sanity.
Trump didn't get elected in New York. As we know, Trump isn't interested in anyone who doesn't support him fully and without their brains engaged.
And their wallet open.
tRump is thinking of November far more than the health and welfare of the American people – there are reports he wants his signature on all the cheques going out to all (?) Americans. What a campaigning ploy (as well, of course, as being completely immoral)!
USA is known for riots when the President is not listening. At some point people will riot. Now is not the time. Could be worse than the 1960s civil rights.
Yes completely immoral.
Everyone on the planet should watch this right now. It's a masterpiece of visual mathematics that anyone can understand.
Thank you!
Compelling stuff there.
Informative and full of commonsense.
Full set list:
Out on the Weekend, Old Man, Journey Through the Past, Cowgirl in the Sand, Heart of Gold, Don't Let It Bring You Down, I Am a Child, There's a World, A Man Needs a Maid, The Needle and the Damage Done, Tell Me Why, Love in Mind, Dance, Dance, Dance
Young is a genius…seen him in 4 different countries, always superb.
I've never had the privilege.
This phenomenon is very interesting:
https://www.facebook.com/justinobrooks/videos/10157908556381142/
Cross-continental collaboration, individually isolated by bonded by circumstance, enabled by technology – nice combo.
Most recent live stream.
Lots more here.
https://www.youtube.com/user/PlayingForChange
This is interesting out of Iceland and it's way to late for a lockdown to be effective unless it lasts months.
population has contracted the virus and that about half of those who tested positive are non-symptomatic,” said [Iceland’s chief epidemiologist
If you look at that number you could say that we could double our number of known cases comfortably and then on top of that you will have another big number of people with mild symptoms.
I'm pretty confident given we haven't been testing at the airports until very recently Corona is well embedded in our population.
For those Kiwi's stuck in Aussie with no income, no welfare, no way out…surely this is some kind of international human rights breach?
And those NZrs stuck in Peru, they were told they couldn't get on the charter flight to Australia because of the chance they could be stuck at the airport in Australia for more than 24 hours.
Sadly Oz is showing some true colors cobbah.
Nope. Australians are not a lot different to Kiwis, they're a little more direct in they way they express themselves, but for the most part they're the usual mix like everywhere else.
It's their govt that's the problem here; keep the focus on that.
While remembering who voted that government in, of course!
There is an overall truth in that, but this was an unusual election. If we could magically erase QLD out of the equation it would have been a likely ALP victory.
When you have a number of electorates all swing one way on a single regional issue, perverse outcomes are always likely.
My point to tc is there is no need to resort to bigotry to explain what is happening here.
It's simply a matter of luck and timing that we don't have a RW govt focused on protecting neoliberalism right now.
Seriously Weka? Have you already forgotten the Christchurch earthquake?
Basically the same financial and civil defence remedies applied by the previous govt in 2011, as the present govt has applied, except it was location specific. The big difference being the entire CBD was knocked flat and most roads and underground infrastructure completely destroyed. Which is why it ultimately cost $40 billion. And also daily press conferences back then, same as now.
In fact the current govt has had the big advantage of most of the emergency systems that are available to govt having been well tested in the previous 10 years. So just as NZ did way better than the US over a natural disaster (think Katrina) so are we doing way better with the pandemic.
Partly it is a function of size and partly a function of a unified central govt, as opposed to a federal system. Also we seem, both in 2011 and in 2020, to have a better govt than the US did in Katrina and the present.
Bridges' big turnaround from 'this government doesn't know what it's doing' and 'it's leading us into economic oblivion' to 'we're all in this together' would've probably been difficult for him to swallow but his comms people sensing the public mood would've demanded it. Just look at Australia, US and the UK. We wouldn't have been any different. The sheer magnitude of what's happening now would've meant Bridges looking like a complete idiot if he'd continued with his pathetic attack lines. He's already close to joining the scomo/bojo/trump club as it is – many would say he's already a fully-fledged member.
Your comparison with Christchurch assumes the government did a good job. FFS, there are people down there who still haven't got their houses sorted out, not to mention the thousands who were ripped off by the government putting them in the no-win situation of accepting woefully inadequate payouts for their properties; or the millions spent on idiot boards made up of people who knew nothing about what they were being paid to do, many of whom were your mates.
My view on Chch is that National dealt with the emergency *and prioritised the economy over people. eg the lack of mental health services. Obviously National weren't doing what the US and the UK are doing now, but I think a Labour led govt would have placed a different emphasis on Chch recovery, and National would certainly be placing a different emphasis if they were in power now.
Have to say it's been good to see the more traditional conservatives in National speaking out recently and aligning more with values. This bodes well.
Quick question. Who decided to pump up the pandemic reserves in 2017, which we are relying on now?
National, or this Government?
Instead of telling anyone what to focus on, RL, what you need to remember is that the thinking of a nation is coloured, at least in part, by the policies of the prevailing government, and right wing governments have it easier than left wing governments in this regard. So, while you might say aussies are similar to kiwis, at the moment that's not quite the case. The average Australian's attitude towards NZ and NZers has changed a lot over the past decade, and not in a good way.
The question that should challenge us all at this moment is … is what I am doing building trust or dismantling it?
Didn't Scomo refer to the ANZAC spirit a while back?
He needs to look at the word.
Scomofo would probably define ANZAC spirit rather differently from us.
As a matter of interest did Aussie pay us for the firefighters we sent across to the fire?
SComo = AnZAC = Another Zombie Aussie Critter?
Big brothers can be fuckwits
In about 2 weeks time this sleeper issue is going to hit many 10,000's of kiwis, just as Australia is going to be under a tsunami of COVID 19 deaths and SloMo's govt will be under maximum pressure.
Very bad timing. We need to act now.
Ardern needs to find a way to put some pressure on Morrison to act before it degenerates into something far worse. The best way I can think of is for the NZ govt to announce it will pay a generous UBI to all 650,000 kiwis in Australia. Then wait a few days and announce that it will tax all Australian banks in NZ at 100% until the bill is paid.
Most Aussies can appreciate a robust negotiation like that, and would take pleasure in seeing their banks get a kick in the nuts.
"Socialism" who would have thunk it!
The idea is to embarrass Slo Mo into action. First of all the UBI needs to be generous, significantly more than what the Australian govt has been fumbling about with for the past week. It needs to convey a high clarity message of clean action and taking responsibility.
Then by taxing the banks you get pressure from the big end of town. If that doesn't work, extend it to all Australian owned commercial entities.
The other element that needs to be highlighted is that NZ is taking care of the 60,000 Australians in our country who need help. It may be a much smaller number in total terms, but per head of capita, it’s comparable between the two nations.
Give the issue high visibility profile and Slo Mo will eventually cave. The Australian public are not a lot different to NZ and can see the obvious need here.
Or Scomofo will decide to send the seck ones back over.
Is that the same banks that are allowing kiwis 6 month mortgage holidays. In a game of who's got who by the short and curlier I'm afraid the aussie banks will win .
Govt is also providing the funding guarantees for these mortgage holidays … and in any game of curly grabbing they will always win.
Those same banks might be quite capable of blocking our payments to Oz-Kiwis in the first place, and sure to block them if a tax were mentioned.. Scomo likely to support them in this, as well.
That would be flat out theft and solid grounds to arrest senior bank officers. It would also play very badly with the public on both sides of the Tasman.
Think about the PR catastrophe that would result from the banks revoking those mortgage holidays. They'd be as popular as a scorching case of herpes.
Yep. Nothing less will get through that government's thick skull.
Brilliant. I'm all for that.
Morrison will not say no to NZ health workers in Australia.
CER (closer economic relations) nothing in CER when it comes to NZers living in Australia and paying tax being supported.
Put it on the reset list
I predict a flood of migration of expats returning from Australia.
A – human rights breach – yes. That is another way to put pressure on govt, Not that they will always respond. Once you've been there a couple of times and not been hit by lightning then…
Add it to their list. They don't care.
This could get messy, commercial landlords are shitting themselves
The problem is this clause in the standard ADLS lease which covers most commercial leases,
This clause came into the standard lease after the Christchurch earthquakes and applies to all emergencies, pandemics are included in the definition at the back of the lease.
As a commercial tenant I'm hearing a lot of different outcomes with this, from some landlords who offered their tenants lengthy rent holidays before any restrictions, to others that aren't even returning phone calls or emails. Pretty much the same range of behaviour landlords are reporting, but the other way around.
But both parties entered into the lease, presumably aware of the obligations contained and are bound by them. If a landlord is saying that the clause shouldn't apply, then what else in the lease doesn't apply any more? The whole lease?
The difficulty is working out what is fair. A strong argument can be made that no rent is payable as the tenant cannot conduct any business, but the tenant has the benefit of storage in the landlords premises.
Some sort of ruling is required on this before the end of business on Tuesday, so rent payments on 1 April can either be withheld or paid in part. I don't think and argument can be made that full payment in possible under that clause.
Either the Government does it, or the Property Council and Retail and other business associations get together in Court first thing tomorrow and thrash out a ruling.
Bob Jones and his illk will be getting testy, he might start a new polly party.
I suspect this issue is being examined as we speak….wouldnt be surprised if there is a directive within the next few days
It's looking very much that way, despite Robertson saying there wasn't much the Government could do in his stand up yesterday.
The problem goes a long way beyond clause 27.5 . There's also ratchet clauses in commercial leases, the rent cannot be less than the pre-ceeding rent on review. This will make it very hard for many tenants who won't have anything like past business levels as we come out of this, and will be trapped in leases that are killing them very quickly. But I know some here that won't be around if they have to pay the next 3 months rent with no income apart from the wage subsidy.
Then landlords won't have any tenants, or not at the same rental. Who's going to take on a lease at 2019 conditions now, unless you're in the essential group.
it will require a lot of flexibility from the banks as well as reduced expectations from landlords but the reality is they have Hobsons choice
Tricky bit will be when one party is going down and becomes very inflexible and irrational. Leases are very enduring creatures that can exploit and be exploited. This would create a lot of un-neccessary pain and most likely a domino effect of landlords and tenant insolvencies.
Will probably come to a point where an exit procedure will have to be instituted where previously solvent parties can get out of contracts before they are sucked dry and become insolvent. This would apply to tenants obligations to their landlords, and landlords obligations further up the chain. Once we get to domino insolvencies there will be very few able to restart businesses to continue the economy.
Is there a similar deal with commercial rates?
Sort of. Rates are part of the outgoings, so the landlord pays them and hands the bill to the tenant. Same as the landlords insurance and any management fees, so if you have a dispute with the landlord through the property manager, you tend to pay for both sides of the argument.
If 27.5 applies, which it does in this situation the landlord will not be reimbursed for a proportion of the rates, and other outgoings through the lockdown period.
It's a matter of determining what that 'fair' proportion is. And 'fair' isn't really a thing in commercial negotiations, it's screw as much out of the other party as you can.
4,6,10 weeks time when we have extinguished this C19 from NZ, what then?
International travel (tourism) will be decimated. As we cannot allow a repeat of this to occur, otherwise we have placed NZ of hold for Nothing. As with international contact, the virus will reestablish itself.
Yes that is the crunchy part. NZ will have to revert to the kind of travel conditions that prevailed before the 60's; possible but only if you really need to.
As for how long … there are too many variables. If the CCP is to be believed and they've eliminated COVID 19 from China, then with a coordinated global effort it could be gone everywhere by June. But both believing the CCP and expecting effective global action are unlikely presuppositions.
It's likely by later this year most nations will start to respond more competently. We'll see a combination of universal testing, isolation, social distancing and good hygiene start to bring the numbers down dramatically.
Then it's highly likely we will soon see effective use of anti-retroviral drug treatments reduce the death toll substantially. (I'd personally like to see credible trials of IV-VitC as some Chinese hospitals report success with.)
The magic bullet of a vaccine is by no means certain. After all after decades of trying we still don't have a vaccine for HIV, but there is an enormous high tech effort being put into it by dozens of teams worldwide.
Plus of course we cannot rule out another black swan event emerging in the wake of all this instability. It's easy enough to point to some of the factors that may come into play, but predicting how they will actually weave together in real time is impossible.
Are you still stranded?
It was a way more complex story than I was prepared to relate in a public forum; but essentially yes we're still stranded. Fortunately over the past three days we had a very welcome change for the better in our family position and we are no longer in panic mode thanks.
China is full of shit. How can China only have 80k cases with so little that have died. It's a sham.
I think the cellphone subscription decline has some truth to it (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-23/china-s-mobile-carriers-lose-15-million-users-as-virus-bites)
Just look at the US taking off now. We all know the US has been useless on this, specifically Trump, but China's stats don't stack up.
It's the CCP, they lie like we breath. You have to remember a few things about Chineses politics.
That saving face is a real issue. Lies by omission are not seen as being such a bad thing.
Local officials lie, for a lot of reasons, including for future job prospects.
That the Chineses population has been slowly losing trust in the CCP leadership for a long time. So any lie which helps keep trust – is going to fly in China.
I agree the numbers don't add up – but relax – like all government conspiracies, the truth comes out eventually.
It is slowly https://time.com/5811222/wuhan-coronavirus-death-toll/
Build a nice quarantine centre adjacent to every airport. Visitors welcome, but allow an additional 2 weeks.
So much work that needs to be done in NZ, I think we can replace tourism.
that's just off the top of my head and all of those require front line/on the ground staff as well as technical, management, design, construction and so on.
but none replace the lost foreign currency
Which we actually need mostly to repay debt. We do not need it for resources and human labour in New Zealand.
you arnt serious are you?
I did the sums some time ago. Many of our, so called, export industries, cost us at least as much as they earn.
that would be some interesting maths but whether accurate or not IF we wish to import (and we do, more than we export) then we need to obtain foreign currency….rebuilding our economy solely with local activity will not facilitate that which leaves us with something of a difficult economic AND political challenge
https://www.stats.govt.nz/reports/overseas-goods-trade-2018-in-review
Why do we need to import more than we export?
Our "export" industries borrowings, are way in excess of anything justified by their earnings as an export business.
As too many are running as a speculative capital gains earner, rather than a business. And borrowing to do so.
Removing those will increase, not decrease, our total trade account.
Funnily, often the same people who oppose Government debt and spending, except if it is for them, of course.
Simply put we are paying back too much interests, profits and externalities, offshore.
we dont 'need' to import more than we export, indeed it would be advantageous to export more than we import or at least be balanced but we have imported more than we export for decades and consequently most of our manufactured items come from offshore as do pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, transport and heavy engineering (Wellington are awaiting a pipe from Germany to repair their sewerage system currently)….we make very little of that which is required to maintain our current lifestyles
The results of decades of destroying local manufacturing, and services, in support of the "Globalisation" religion.
Hopefully this will be a good lesson on that fallacy.
@pat, right. So the idea about future proofing is that we change that and don't end up so vulnerable.
When was the last time we exported more than we imported?
consistently?…probably in the 1960s or 70s, there has been the odd surplus year since the 80s but we generally run deficits which require foreign borrowing…..it is the most obvious flaw with MMT
According to my MMT understanding if you run an export deficit the foreigners end up earning and holding more of your currency (e.g a bank record in NZ says Johonny foreigner has a bank balance of X). They may then invest that surplus into asset classes resulting in foreign debt (meaning an institution in NZ keeps a record we owe Johonny foreigner X for his loan/investment). So the flaw in that description is where?
you assume they desire to hold our currency, that is by no means a given…..theres a reason the bulk of international trade is conducted in USD
No, i didnt assume that at all. They will have exactly 3 options 1) hold it 2) spend it (presumably in NZ) or 3) invest it (presumably in NZ).
What you didn't identify is where this description is inaccurate in any way, e.g what the alleged flaw is.
again..you assume they desire to hold it (or spend it in NZ, or invest it in NZ)….we produce commonly available commodities and are (until recently) a relatively popular tourist destination….that is by no means a given, indeed they probably wish to buy an airliner. the latest tech, pharmaceuticals, oil, solar panels etc….all the things we want to buy as well and dont have for sale
Its not about assumptions at this point, those are the possible uses for the funds earned. As you suggest, no you wont be able to buy things not manufactured in NZ with your NZ currency, even if you really really wish you could.
Now you said there is a flaw with this description, but have identified no flaws.
given the choice who would buy from "the Company Store"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Company_store
Actually simple addition and subtraction on a spreadsheet. From publicly available information.
lol…im glad you put simple because it is …and completely misses the point. If we desire to be a first world nation we will always have to import as there are very few economies in the world that can produce all that is needed….the U.S and the EU are about it….China at a pinch, but definitely getting close. The Soviet block tried but rapidly fell behind.
Thats isnt to say we couldnt be self sufficient but life would be unrecognisable….hence the political difficulty
Who said we have to be totally self sufficient?
It is not an all or nothing.
There are proportions of our export industries we could well do without.
As well as many things, which we would be better off, if we produced locally.
we dont have to be all or nothing but you cant replace roughly a quarter of your export dollars with local currency and not expect an impact of what is able to be imported….which if you recall was the original suggestion
17% according to wikipedia.
Given we're not talking about no imports, what's wrong with replacing 17%? Where's the line where replacing imports with a relocalised economy (where the $ stays in the local economy) becomes unviable for a decent standard of living. What %?
17 Dec 2019
Tourism is New Zealand's largest export industry in terms of foreign exchange earnings. It directly employs one in eight New Zealanders.
Data and statistics
For the year ended March 2019:
(Source: Tourism Satellite Account 2019, Statistics New Zealand)
let's settle on 20% then. I still don't see what the problem is with replacing that with domestic economy. It's not like pre-80s we were a third world country .
Well. We are going to find out soon, how we get on without it.
Shit. We may even have to "produce things" like Germany.
which 20% of imports would you like drop then (remembering thats just the tourism industry, there are others impacted as well)?…or maybe a 20% cut across the board?…if we are going to accept that our FX earnings are to reduce then ipso facto what we can purchase offshore will decrease as well (sans deflation).
As stated the other night, whatever programme the Government implements to rebuild the economy is going to have to keep at least one eye on this fact…..straight out fiscal intervention is not going solve it, especially given our supply chain is predominantly offshore
You will find that the net benefit of the tourist industry is much less than stated.
It will also be much less than 20% of imports we have to cut.
In fact a lot of those imports were to supply, and pay for, the tourist industry.
Like many who try and enumerate economic benefits from exports, you forget a ledger has two columns.
You are also making apparent the obvious stupidity of abandoning almost all local production, in pursuit of illusory “free trade” benefits.
What are the imports for tourists? Fuel, food, souvenirs (no loss there), linen, alcohol.
Pat, it's probably a useful exercise to ask ourselves what we could live without, or live with less frequently, in exchange for a values-based economy and lifestyle, and future proofing NZ.
Maybe we don't replace our consumer electronics so often. We start producing more clothing in NZ again (merino, hemp, harakeke are all industries waiting to grow). Apart from food grown in the tropics, why are we even importing food?
These are also of course climate change and ecology issues.
yes there will be a reduction in tourism related imports among other things but if the plan is to replace that activity with say an infrastructure upgrade or a electrification (decarbonising) of transport/industry then quite obviously they will require significant quantities of imports…our dollar has already dropped considerably and our other main export stream is already at capacity (some say over) and even if it wasnt its nature requires considerable time to ramp up…we have imported inflationary pressures and little ability to reap the benefit on the other side…..fortunately the Saudis are playing chicken with the Russians and the frackers, but for how long?….
the ledger is looking pretty red
Increasing dairying for export would be extremely daft.
Cutting over 9 billion in oil exports in half would certainly help our balance of trade.
@ weka…yes it would be a useful exercise and we do import a lot of stuff we dont need to but try getting agreement on what that is
Quickly just off the top of my head.
Campervans, temporary visa workers, aircraft, helicopters, fuel, exotic foods, are just some things we import at a foreign exchange cost, for tourism.
Then, there are the internal costs of course. Which the tourist industry has passed on to the rest of us, while avoiding paying them, themselves. Pollution, accommodation, overcrowding, low wages, etc. Reducing those also means more resources for New Zealanders.
The really obvious example, at present, is all the air bnb's, that have been freed up for rental housing.
@ KJT
Yes there will be some positive impacts such as Air BRB rentals being freed up and the reduced carbon emissions for example and resources are freed up for local use….one the main resources that will be freed up is labour (post shut down) but as previously stated that dosnt necessarily increase our capability (certainly not in the near term) and while we may have unused capacity there is much we need that capacity cannot supply
Not all economic activity is interchangeable
Visit by cruise line only with more than 2 weeks sailing before they land
That's not a bad idea. Will be interesting to see if cruises survive in their current form though. It's not like this is going to be our only pandemic.
Thinking ahead to the future a bit here.
What is domestic travel in NZ going to be like? AirNZ will still exist of course, but in a scaled back version for some time, and I can't see an immediate return to the cheap seats of the main trunk routes we're accustomed to in a hurry.
Already there's the subtle push going on to promote domestic tourism after this over, and fair enough. But there will also be the ongoing need for people to get from A to B for work and personal/family reasons, so how is that going to look?
I tend to view travel through a non-driver's lens out of necessity, and being in the low income bracket, from the cost perspective. My main travel has been Wgtn-Auck to visit family by way of cheap flights. But I'm old enough to remember the days of the Silver Fern/Silver Star Main trunk line being a passenger service, not a tourist one, and the predominant mode of transport for students and lower income people at a time that plans were the preserve of business and higher income travellers. And passenger trains ran the length of NZ from Auckland to Dunedin, complimented with a good railways-Intercity bus system.
NZ is of course, a country of car drivers, and we are so price sensitive so I can anticipate than on principle many will choose to drive rather than pay more for an airfare because it's faster and more convenient than the Intercity buses that have been scaled back to the bone (and are quite uncomfortable long distance). So would this be our opportunity to restart those mothballed main passenger lines, change the tourist ones back into affordable passenger, so Auck-Wgtn, Picton-Invercargill, Chch-Greymouth, Wgtn-Napier-Tauranga-Auckland? (With wifi of course)With a lot of people unable to affordable fares andstill needing to get places, this might be a great opportunity to get people back to the concept of overland travel.
It could also be part of the major infastructure projects needed to help kick start things economically, and perhaps there's a lot of ex-AirNZ staff whose skills might be transferable to a new type of transport?
Trains seem a no brainer because of CC too. I'm not sure we can rely on converting the whole NZ fleet to e-vehicles now, will be interesting to see what happens to the global economy and trade systems around that.
I suspect we are going to go through extended periods of time where some regions are able to have more travel than others. Possibly limited travel between regions.
Agreed. The idea of replacing our present vehicle fleet with electric has always been a silly pipe dream. Our present ~80% renewable electricity generation is already used for other purposes. We will need to drastically increase our generation to charge ev's as well.
I for one don't relish the idea of wind turbines & solar farms everywhere just so we can continue driving as we've become used to. Extensive public transport & revamping our towns so amenities and jobs are closer to where people live will be required. This also means walking & cycling will be feasible for the majority of journeys.
During the last election I was pleased when Jacinda referred to climate change as our nuclear free issue. I've come to realise that was not a good comparison. Going nuclear free didn't actually require us as individuals to change at all. Preventing climate change will require significant change in life styles.
quite agree. I think we will find we have some spare power generation once Tiwai Point closes, and with increase in solar on housing and commercial buildings. But I don't think we should be using that up on EVs, and the sooner we get to the idea of a steady state economy the better. People need to wake up to power generation from renewables still being a finite resource.
Yes. People often assume new technology will simply replace the way it is done with older technology.
Better to look at the goal, rather than simply replacing what we had.
Golf cart type vehicles, rather than Teslas, for in city travel. Working at home rather than in an office?
Agree. Climate change is more like our WW2.
I would prefer to travel from Auckland to Wellington by train. I recently traveled both ways by bus for $44. Another time it was still below $50 return. Hard to compete with that.
This is what the $500,000 govt backed business loans are supposed to cover. Landlords giving say a 50% reduction for 3 months and the tenant paying 50% with the loan.
well the government should have put that clause in the bail out bill then.
Going forward the Govt should introduce a zero immigration policy.
All empty homes (without good reason)should be requisitioned.
Limit the number of residential properties an individual can own.
Interesting to note that the Press reports that all the homeless in Christchurch, bar two who demurred, have been housed.
Am I being cynical that the homeless matter when community safety is at stake?
The other possibility is that it reflects a sudden increase in the number of properties available for rent, because the airbnb market has crashed due to tourism ceasing.
I haven't seen any local figures but it's reported Dublin has seen a 64% rise in listings since the beginning of the month.
https://www.independent.ie/world-news/coronavirus/homes-for-rent-climb-as-airbnb-market-tumbles-39063281.html
Yes on the reset list.
No more land/house banking.
With a bit of luck they could sell their home to the government and actually provide a home to a needy person/family.
Every cloud has a silver lining.
Modi in India has a humanitarian crisis before a health emergency.
Some of my closest friends are from India. It is always interesting to hear their point of view on how differently they think from me. Their survival instincts are an example.
I've been thinking about this too.
This looks interesting and another possible tool in monitoring the prevalence of COVID-19 in the community.
https://www.dutchwatersector.com/news/sewage-water-as-indicator-for-spreading-of-covid-19
Possums, pukekos, and hedgehogs should feel safer for four weeks.
and rabbits and cats.
Yup, pretty much all wildlife, and power poles too.
Not at my place. They're as fat as butter and great eating.
at least that way their death serves a good purpose.
They are stewing.
This virus may with luck go the way of other Sars virus and even Mers in that they disappeared after a number of months especially with the sort of containment regimes we have now. Mers almost mysteriously just faded out and it appears that this Covid pathogen is not exactly robust as soap and water breaks it down effectivly dissolving the fatty acid coating that binds the elements together. We can but hope. It may already be happening in Wuhan if their reports can be believed.
But meanwhile we must follow the best advice.
Interesting… There was a pretty distinct shift in demographics over the last couple of weeks. Admittedly there has been an increase in total unique users from 5800 odd to 6500 between the two weeks.
Week 1 of March
Week 4 of March
Good to see that google thinks we nearly have now gotten to almost an even split on the genders.
Remember when we talked about climate change and my response is we need to reduce the world population? That was met with horror on here along with 'the world has plenty of food'.
Well, you see the most affected places during covid19 are population dense places. One of the reasons why NZ may fair a bit better.
*sigh* You really are pretty damn ignorant about your own country aren't you?
As you point out it is the density of population in a country that is an issue in epidemics. But when you're describing 'density', you're probably doing something completely inane like people per square km.
Now that is dumb – it really doesn't matter for the purposes of any disease to count areas where are only cows, sheep or bush.
A good surrogate for that population density is to look at urbanisation measures. That is to say, looking at the areas where there are significiant number of neighbours close to you.
NZ is amongst the highest in the world – 86.54%. That puts up amongst the most urbanised countries in the world – 27th in the wikilist
To give you an idea just picking out OECD countries current and trying to join
Belgium 98%
Iceland 93.8%
Israel 92.4%
Japan 91.6%
Netherlands 91.5%
Luxemberg 91.0%
Denmark 87.5%
Sweden 87.4%
Brazil 86.6%
New Zealand 86.5%
… and some of the rest
Austrailia 86.0%
UK 83.0%
US 82.3%
Norway 82.2%
South Korea 81.5%
Canada 81.4%
France 80.4%
Germany 77.3%
On your other point
If you ever look at the issues of climate change without your idiot blinkers on, then you'd be aware that concentrating people into cities is actually one of the best ways to reduce climate change.
The distances between people reduces virtually every climate change measure per person. Less transport emissions from routine travel and distribution through both reducing the transport web and allowing more use of communal public transport. More efficiency in the use of high green house gas emitting building materials especially concrete and road asphalt. Just eliminating unproductive paved roads in favour of rail would be a massive improvement.
Not to mention that if we eliminated the climate unproductive use of farmland for food, for instance stopping meat, wool and dairy production, that would massively reduce emissions of methane – a really significiant climate change gas. It'd also allow more room for forests and peat bogs which are pretty effective short-term (by my earth science standards) sinks of carbon. It'd also allow more plant based food to be grown if we needed it and as close to the urban centres as possible.
You have to remember that the cities are the driving force of all modern economies. Most rural economies are pretty peripheral to the real economy in most developed countries, and even in many of the developing countries. There isn't that much wealth in the rural world. There are mostly just a few relatively wealthy. That is because concentrations of people are very very good at generating wealth.
This whole concept of relying on the rural economy as the only productive part of the economy is something that I'd only expect to hear from damn fool 18th century aristocrat. One who likes consorting with bats, pigs, pangolins, birds, and apes. They appear to be mainly there to give urbanites disgusting diseases.
Fortunately I'm too polite to describe some of the disgusting methods of consorting… 😈
Huge lift in Trump’s approval ratings, post Covid. See the graph at the Real Clear Politics website. An election winning four percent and rising.
What on earth is happening in the US to explain this lift?
I blame a ‘support the leader’ impulse, in the face of a mortal danger. Even when that leader’s actions make that danger worse. Lemmings, meet cliff.
They're plagiarising Churchill speeches and making it sound like war pres tRump and the 5th Marine Division are going to storm Iwo Jima and fight Covid 19 on the beach.
It may be no more than a rally-around-the-flag-in-a-crisis thing that Americans are big on. In which case, it's a remarkably small bump in support considering the scale of the problem and likely to dissipate quickly as it sinks in just how venal and incompetent the Fifth Avenue Fraud's response has been.
Yes. They are into flags in a big way in Yankee land. Not content with one maybe two fluttering in the breeze like most other countries, they have to have rows of them all over the place. Jingoism at its worst.
When the body count starts to rise in the thousands I think they might have a little re-think – at least those who are capable of thinking at all.
The US under Trump is well on it's way to becoming a fascist theocracy.
"Huge" is overstating it a bit.
Incumbents tend to benefit from crises….until the chickens come home to roost when the economy and Dow Jones crumble.
Real Clear Politics
Disaster capitalism.
https://twitter.com/mahtowin1/status/1243732462380949504
https://twitter.com/mtnycz/status/1243944070239617024
http://archive.li/AQuMm (wapo)
The words I thought I never never utter.
Britney Spears, I'm a fan.
Your newfound admiration for an elite multi-millionaire does show just how transportable your convictions are.
/
Hey! Leave Britney Alone!
I'm guessing you didn't watch the video.
But I'm guessing you think the russians did it.
IMO we need to comment on small positives of our situation:
Hit 100 teddy bears on walks
Rubbish day last Friday – Recycling was minimal – No Junk mail 😀, Gaia is smiling for small mercies
And if you watch the 6pm news – no screaming 'buy buy buy' and 'sale must end Monday' ads from the likes of Harvey Norman, The Warehouse or Briscoes etc.
Now I don't bother muting the tv when the ads come on, lol.
Midday news on Ch 1 that seniors funeral insurance ad has to go.
In the world of Covid-19 the USA still do the best dick moves.
https://thegrayzone.com/2020/03/27/trump-bounty-maduro-guaido-plot/#more-22582
Good news is, the population are seeing through it, and one of the accused has effectively turned on his ghoulish friends.
Gotta wonder if the Bank of England will give the money it stole back to the people of Venezuela after the person they stole it for, is about to be charged?
A crime against humanity/
https://twitter.com/JesseLehrich/status/1244053944554401800
USA Today and the Washington Post reported U.S. virus deaths so far totaled more than 2,000 as of Saturday, doubling in less than 72 hours.
https://www.starherald.com/news/national/us-virus-deaths-top-doubling-in-two-days/article_576f112c-3af4-5862-9f8c-65c1ef8494d6.html
file this under
but her fucking emails.
The joys of for-profit health care.
“There is no [protective gear] to be bought on the private market through vendors,” said Kevin Donovan, president of Lakes Regional HealthCare, which has two hospitals in central New Hampshire. “We order but don’t have any money to pay for it,” because companies manufacturing masks and other emergency gear are demanding cash payments on delivery. Donovan said his hospitals, like others, are low on cash because they have canceled the elective procedures that are their moneymakers.
“Unless we start getting material from the national stockpile,” Donovan said, “I don’t know where we are going to get it.”
http://archive.li/6dAY2 (wapo)
maybe this event will teach us that public hospitals should not be run as 'for profit'.
World wide the issue is that hospitals are under equipped, under staffed, and that the staff is underpaid and burdened with huge student loans.
Castro with his fee education and his doctor/nurses program had it quite right. And instead of plastic crap Cuba exports doctors. Maybe that is the big big lesson to be learned from this.
I also hope that the doctors and nurses here on the frontline will have their student loans cancelled in full. That is the very least the country can do for them.
He appears to have written off his chances in Michigan, judging from his comments aimed at Whitmer. So he has to try extra hard not to lose Florida.
It looks plain and simple, quid pro quo. Vote for me, be a critical state, you won't die.
She called it.
https://twitter.com/HouseJudiciary/status/1202271057253687297
And California received 170 ventilators from the Federal Govt and none of them worked.
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/live-blog/live-coronavirus-updates-u-s-first-top-100-000-cases-n1171011/ncrd1171351#liveBlogHeader
June the 1st Is gypsy day (the day the change farms)for dairy farmers. Might pay for the government to put their thinking caps on how this will go if we are still level 4 or 3
what's gypsy day?
Farming contractors, sharemilkers, and farm workers renew contracts and move around.
As kjt says it's the day farms change hands . It's always been this day so as most arnt milking atthat time and have time to get there systems set up before july /august calving.
South Korea flattened their curve around the 7th of March, but a quarter of all new cases occurred since then and despite the number of new cases dropping since the 12th of March, half of all deaths have occurred the over the past 12 days or so. But if they take the foot off restrictions they'll be in for a second round.
Say goodbye to the rest of 2020, we're in for a long, long haul.
"For Korea one of the big issues is starting school again. We’re expecting a decision from 6 April, and that will be based on where the outbreaks are happening, how they're being controlled and how comfortable the government feels about being able to get on top of new cases quickly."
Professor Gye Cheol Kwon said Korea’s success is down to a dedicated system of trace, test and treat.
"Testing, isolating, contact tracing and quarantine is the only way Koreans have outperformed others."
He added that it is difficult to predict how long the current restrictions will last.
But some experts don't believe life in Korea will truly return to normality until there is a viable vaccine that is proven to be effective against Covid-19.
Dr Kim, himself a vaccine specialist, said a vaccine is likely to be at least a year to 18 months away. Until then some restrictions are likely to remain in place.
"Really if you want to return to the way things were, going out at night, going to concerts, to pubs, or going out to dinner, you really need to have a vaccine," he said.
https://www.rte.ie/news/2020/0329/1127023-what-south-korea-can-teach-ireland/