The Pook Family pukekos who forage up & down my stream became quite a large extended whanau. Sweety Pook produced broods at least 3 times a year.
ALL the adults, & any adolescent birds who can fly, feed & care for the pooklets. Bluey, the Patriarch or Koro, slept with all broods of pooklets every night, until they were old enough to build their own individual sleeping nests.
Another poster on a forum that I used to post on disagreed with my opinion about something one day, & dismissively suggested I go and talk to my pukekos about it!
So I did ! Aspen Pook just happened to be nearby over the fence at morning tea time.
I gave him a quick summary of the situation, & Aspen duly offered his view (on the poster, not the topic – try as I might I just could not get them interested in politics.)
So I went back to the forum & gave him 🐧 Aspen's opinion! 😎
There have been many "lockdowns" around the world. The word is used for very different approaches. Ours in 2020 was unquestionably a success, while others were half-hearted and failed.
I agree that Delta 2021 is tougher to beat. But when alternative actions to "lockdown" are proposed, we have to be hard-headed and honest about what they really entail.
Part of Victoria's "lockdown" was the use of private security (unlike NZ) and the same has been suggested by opposition parties here. But in Victoria the security breach – and virus outbreak – was so bad it led to a full inquiry and damning findings by the judge.
Unfortunately many of the alternatives are presented as easy options, when they are anything but.
& Victorias lockdown is barely comparable to NZs, apples & oranges. Lockdowns do work, unfortunately, and only work with public buy in. Crys of "we gotta give up!" undermine that public buy in & will ensure we clog up our crappy health system & a lot of sick &/or dead people.
Nope, Labour are doing the right thing, until science says otherwise.
The "no true socialism" thing is a bit like Christians predicting the apocalypse: the general direction might have been outlined, but there aren't any objective milestones along the way. Basically, everyone claims to be on the cusp of it, but heaven has not yet been achieved and everyone who claimed it before was in error: this time we're right, lol.
But NZ and Vic L4 are objectively different, both in specific businesses allowed to be open to the public and in the aggregate stringency index. Also, Vic imposed just enough to induce fatigue, so now they have (possibly superspreader?) anti-lockdown riots.
I’m still waiting for all those who kicked and screamed for the open border with Australia to take personal responsibility for our current situation. After all they were happy to take the revenue and profits.
That squeaky wheel's back with a vengeance. I don't think this government's got the balls to fight it. A particular vaccination rate being enough will be more down to luck than anything else.
Victoria's is recognised as being one of the strictest in the world.
Many, many countries have found a path through covid and are now moving on to a new normal. New Zealand is lagging as our governments policy is lockdown until 90% where there is Delta.
This is completely unrealistic. If you believe the "experts" 90% vaccination won't happen. if you believe lockdown critics, it's unfeasible to keep people locked down until 90% without major societal impacts that will last long after covid is globally accepted.
Dogmatically sticking to lockdowns until 90% is failing this country.
Victoria is far stringent than any other state in lockdown, and it's numbers are beginning to outpace NSW, who are starting to relax lockdown measures.
BTW, what is your problem with the cellphone data from the Google Mobility Report? Don’t like data taken on the ground because it doesn’t suit your ‘critical analysis’ and narrative? Sounds like you’re shooting down the medium (Twitter) instead of addressing the content. Now why would you that?
Please stop spamming this site with your reckons and other brain farts.
For starters, what is/was the stringency index of Victoria during its lockdown. Links required and not to other/more reckons.
What does the Horizon survey show is the possible vaccine uptake of the eligible population of 12+ in NZ? Look it up, Google is your friend. The onus is on you to provide support for your reckons.
Lockdown are not permanent measures, they’re temporary ones. The main reason lockdowns are less effective or fail is because breaches, same as breaches at the border and/or MIQ. When there’s a breach or leak the appropriate action is to correct it not throw away the baby with the bathwater and spit the dummy while getting your nappies in a twist.
Hospitalisation, ICU, and death are major societal impacts too.
Why do you believe “experts” and “lockdown critics” without any critical analysis?
I don't believe them without critical analysis. I'm questioning the pathway through their rhetoric.
Lockdowns cant' be permanent, but when they're the only tool in the toolbox as you haven't been to the hardware store in preparation, you need use your one hammer many times to insert the screws.
Stingency index? does it really matter? the lockdown isn't working. But as a good little authoritarian your response to lockdowns not working is new, better, more stringent lockdowns
Horizons poll is based on the opinion of survey respondents saying they would get the jab, which could take us to 90%. that’s a reckon
Countering rhetoric with reckons is a mug’s game. You believe your own ‘critical analysis’, that much is clear.
Lockdowns are not permanent measures. You seem to want to take them off the table and out of the toolbox forever with a written pledge by Government and Dr Bloomfield that they will never ever use Level 4 lockdowns again even when people are dropping like dead flies. Might have to change at least one Health Act. Mate, you’re dreaming!
Lockdown isn’t working because you say so? ‘kay, enough said.
Correcting breaches and leaks in/of our public health measures is not the same as “more stringent lockdowns”. Before you irk me more with putting words and meanings in my mouth you’d better start reading comments here better.
These results are from an online survey of 2,334 respondents in New Zealand aged 16 years of age or over. The survey was conducted between 24 and 29 August, 2021.
The sample is weighted on age, gender, employment status, ethnicity, personal income and region to match the 16+ population and at the most recent census. It is also weighted to reflect the overall percentage of New Zealanders 16+ vaccinated as at 11:59pm on 29 August 20211.
At a 95% confidence level, the survey has a maximum margin of error of ±2.0% overall.
That’s a whole load of ‘reckons’ there plus a comparison with all the previous surveys. However, as a true hard-out post-modernist, you think that your reckon is equal to that!?
Many, many countries have found a path through covid and are now moving on to a new normal.
The UK's "new normal" yesterday was 34,526 new cases and 167 deaths.
The US's "new normal" yesterday was 61,570 new cases and 1,217 deaths. https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
One reason this "new normal" is 'acceptable' in the USA and the UK is that the governments of those countries failed so abysmally to prioritise health.
In the US of A, 710,000 tragic deaths have been attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. That's a deaths rate of ~0.21% (i.e. slightly more than one in 500 US citizens), about three and a half times more than the recorded global average. In the UK, one in 500 have also died from COVID-19.
In NZ, 27 deaths have been officially attributed to the pandemic, giving a death rate of 0.00054%, 110 times less than the global average.
The point is, the USA's COVID death rate is ~385 times greater than NZ's. In this particular pandemic, you want to be this bloke (NZ); you do not want to be like these blokes (MUSAGA; FreedumUK).
Your narrative is just a repetition of the opinions of people like Key, Act and the brown nosing mindless mainstream media. The only thing you left out was the bit about Jacinta creating a “ climate of fear”.
An “orchestrated litany of lies” seems to be an apt description.
Dupe of feral with only 8 cases in NZ as opposed to 800 in Victoria you are spreading the virus of misinformation.
Trying to bundle one jurisdiction into a totally different country with borders and NZ's health system which can't cope with even small numbers of covid patients.
Oh dear, it doesn't sound promising next week for Auckland with headlines in Stuff like "Auckland's move to level 2 unlikely if status quo continues". When you click on the article the headline changes to below that doesn't sound as bad.
For the Labour right, success in elections comes from reassuring the ruling class that its wealth and power are safe in Labour’s hands. The left must be reduced to its customary role of marching, demonstrating, a political sideshow. Rupert Murdoch will put his arm round Starmer or his successor, as he did with Blair.
In a way it is useful for everyone to know for certain that UK Labour is no place for progressives, rather than deluding themselves. Will an alternative emerge?
That show of might may be to shore up his image at home, similar to what the Russians used to do, and North Korea. Things are faltering in their economy.
It can definitely dominate the South China Sea, maybe take Taiwan if it's happy to get a bloody nose in the process, but there are a number of areas that will still take decades to develop.
Their carrier force is still small and not yet anywhere close to the ballpark of 0 supercarrier task forces.
Their long range strike capabilities are apparently limited by their engine tech (something about forming the turbine blades as cohernet individual crystal structures).
Their hypersonic missiles are well-touted, but you need something to point them at. They mght or might not be able to have ubiqitous surveillance over SCS good enough to target vessels, but the Pacific in general? Probably not.
And a lot of their tech is relatively untested. E.g. Russia sent SU57s to Syria along with personell and ground equipment (and a dismal effort by Kuznetsov).
Anyone wonder why several NZ banks have had DDOS attacks and a major supermarket chain have sever IT disruptions recently? Someone's having fun: maybe a state actor just probing our infrastructure.
Agreed. War with China will wipe out civilization in a flash. We were incredibly close. Trump was psychotic enough to push the red button. De-escalation please.
I’ve come to the conclusion that Xi wants any de-escalation to be on China’s terms. And unfortunately the Americans want it to be on the US’s terms.
Both sides are really pushing hard at the edges of provoking the other. The Chinese by harrassing US & other foreign ships & planes, & the US and others by pointedly sailing into areas China’s claiming as ITS territorial waters.
A major live-firing incident might not be all THAT far off. Then we will see whether one or both sides can calm down & negotiate. Xi, I worry, is possibly wanting to actually TEST China’s military against the US in some kind of a skirmish. What the US then does will be the critical factor, I imagine.
Sorry Ad. Didn’t mean as “uncritical war porn”. Saw it as relevant to the recent post on the CPTPP VS NUCLEAR SUBS, & the extensive commenting that that generated on China’s armament drive & its worryingly muscular foreign & military postures, re Taiwan & its claims to the South China Sea.
This brief Aljaz tv news item looks at some of the most recent military hardware that the PRC is clearly adverstising to its potential adversaries. That drone they show is the biggest drone I think I’ve seen.
There used to be in some quarters a belief that the Chinese weren’t great at inventing stuff, that they were basically copiers (same argument was often made about the Japanese). They’ve certainly been long-criticised for basically forcing foreign companies operating there to hand over details of their trade secrets – effectively purloining their intellectual property.
But it appears to me that China is now fadt developing its own inventions – in areas such as AI & integrated military systems and hardware. It now seems to be past the point where it needs to get hold of other countries’ secrets.
Presumably at the same time they will publish the modelling that tells them the number of cases to be expected, and the number of deaths.
As another consequence of their plan, they also release their plans for instantly upgrading the ICU awards and how they are going to recruit the required doctors and nurses.
They care about their donor's businesses, not lives.
Judith Collins says the National Party plan to let Kiwis into the country for Christmas has been "expert-reviewed", but it apparently doesn't put a number on how many could die as a result.
But like driving, Collins says it will include some risk.
"When we drive cars, we understand that there are going to be some people who are injured and occasionally people will lose their lives," she told The AM Show on Wednesday. "It doesn't stop us driving cars."
Wrong analogy. When they find a technical fault with a type of plane all those planes tend to be grounded until checked and fixed if necessary. Driving a car is too innocuous, unless it is a car without WOF & Rego by an unlicensed and uninsured driver who’s over the limit and in bad weather conditions.
Innocuous. Definition "not harmful or offensive". Synonyms include " unexceptionable, harmless, unremarkable, commonplace."
There were about 350 New Zealand road deaths in 2019 and 320 in 2020. That is an unremarkable number is it? At what point would you begin to worry and how does the number that might bother you compare to the number of Covid 19 deaths that you will accept?
Obviously, the analogy was, as was Judith’s, to create a certain perception with the average Kiwi, who’d find driving a car rather innocuous indeed, I reckon, and generally considers themselves a better than average driver. That same person is unlikely to grasp for statistics of deaths caused by traffic accidents and compare those to predictions of fatalities caused by Covid-19, unless they’re you, obviously.
You’re grasping for straws to score a silly point, as per usual.
Your comment is dismissed as useless and irrelevant, as per usual.
Perhaps Judith has a car that once it has an accident, causes the car it just hit to careen of wildly and crash into another 3 or 4 cars, which in turn do the same, and so on, infinitely. (Or at least till all the cars on the road at the time are munted.)
According to Collins and Bishop, the plan has been peer reviewed by experts. However, during today's announcement the pair declined to reveal any names. "We're not naming the experts we engaged with publicly, because they're in prominent positions and don't wish to be named publicly," said Bishop.
Paora Goldsmith has become camera-shy in fear of falling into more self-inflicted holes. The good man has a reputation to uphold for when he has to find a new job at the end of 2023.
"So nothing that is not already either being done, or in the pipeline.".
Are the current Government really supercharging the rollout? The figures say the the opposite seems to be happening. In the first week of September, when they seemed to be trying, there were 387,000 first doses. Last week there were only 144,000. Why the slowdown? We have only vaccinated 65% of the total population so far so there would appear to be about 1,800,000 people who have had a single dose yet..
Have our Government ordered vaccine boosters? When did they do it, how many have been ordered and what are the delivery dates for these?
Expand our ICU capacity? Have the current Government really done that? We may have a bit more equipment but we don't appear to have the people to use them. According to ICU doctor Craig Carr, who is the New Zealand regional chair of the Australia NZ Intensive Care Society. "We now have more equipment compared with 18 months ago, but we actually have very few extra staff, and in some instances, we've got fewer staff,"
That is just 3 of the 10 items but I can't see that, as you appear to believe, the current Government is already doing these things. I haven't bothered to check out the other 7 items but I don't really expect to find the Ardern Government is doing any better there. Perhaps you could provide some evidence that they are, if you can find any.
The number of ICU beds has increased from 150 to nearly 700.
But that would need to increase to 2,000 or3,000 just to cope with Nationals policy.that would require 1,000's more trained staff do we steal them from other countries who are struggling.or do we wait 6 to 10 years of training to bring up the numbers.
National can make any claims they like but none can be met because by the time they theoretically get into power 2023 the world will be different.
Alwyn the govt has ordered nearly 6 million doses of astra zeneca. Millions of Johnson and johnson's vaccine.
Then the govt will have over 2 million spare doses of Pfizer enough to give all vulnerable groups a booster dose.
Mixing vaccines may give higher immunity.
Luckily we have the research from countries in a far worse situation than us.
i see that Hooton has crawled out from under his rock again. calls for govt to give up its Covid response, and civil disobedience if he doesn’t get his way. what a dork.
The scenes of violence and rioting in Australia against covid mandates and restrictions inflamed by Far Right figures and personalities.
Convince me that Mathew Hooton is a far worst than a dork.
Dictionary definition: Dork – A person regarded as stupid, foolish, awkward, clumsy, etc.
Calling for, (inciting), civil disobedience, against the government's efforts to contain the virus, needs to be condemned in the harshest terms. In my opinion the words sabateur and traitor are not too harsh to describe Mathew Hooton.
Nah, I’m trying to capture Jenny’s apparent ‘reasoning’ in simple logical language, i.e. the enemy of enemy is my friend kind of stuff and everything else flowing from there. Way too much focus on who some of the protesters are and not enough of the reasons why some do join the protests. Another variation is shooting the messenger but not addressing the message. You can also see this here on TS in how some commenters want to deal with people who have questions, doubts, reservations, hesitations about getting vaccinated against Covid-19; it is not open-minded listening to others’ concerns but hardline exlusion to far-out corners of our public health system if not of our society in general. A public debate is needed, as always, but not on those terms. IMHO.
Nah, I’m trying to capture Jenny’s apparent ‘reasoning’ in simple logical language,….
…….A public debate is needed, as always, but not on those terms. IMHO.
I have been very clear, that I think that this debate should be held with the various grass roots stake holders in society. Faith Groups, Unions, Employers, Sports Associations, etc.
It would be great if you could tell us where and with whom in your Honest Opininion this needed public debate should be held.
I looked it up, interesting story. Yes Hooton is a propaganda merchant for the other team. I think some of his Covid reckons are dangerous and irresponsible, in the middle of a life threatening pandemic, but not quite in the category of treasonous communications in wartime
A few other RW "influencers" have also been hyping civil disobedience, & sad we're not like the Australians. I bet Hooton would be nowhere near the Frontline.
In better & more sane news, the port workers are at 95% vaccinated! Showing disinformation can be fought against, & also very few people listen to fucking Hooton
On Monday, as the deadline for vaccinations for about 600,000 nursing home and hospital workers arrived, it seemed that bet had proved to be at least partially correct.
With just days or even hours to spare, thousands of health care workers got inoculated, according to health officials across the state. And while thousands more workers remained unvaccinated, and thus in danger of being suspended or fired, the rush of last-minute vaccinations appeared to blunt the worst-case scenarios for staffing shortages that some institutions had feared.
[…]
In the Bronx, Dr. Eric Appelbaum, the chief medical officer at St. Barnabas Hospital, said that some unvaccinated employees who had been anxious about getting the shot had simply put the matter out of their minds — until the mandate made it impossible to ignore any longer.
As recently as last Wednesday, more than 20 percent of the hospital’s roughly 3,000 staff members had yet to get their first dose. By late Monday morning, that number had plummeted to just 6 percent, Dr. Appelbaum said.
Top down, mandated restrictions by the appointed authorities work to a point. But only to the point where they start to encounter resistance, non-compliance and possibly even hostile defiance.
To get to 90% vaccination coverage, mandates, regulation and compulsion alone, will not be enough. We need to win hearts and minds as well.
The government need to fund a society wide targeted information blitz.
Every sector; Faith Groups, Unions, Employers, Sports Associations, need to be on board, and provided with the resources to encourage their parishoners, union members, employees, players & supporters, to get vaccinated.
Henry Cooke never mentioned the word mandate. I never said he did. I was talking about the government's mandated lockdowns, and other mandated restrictions, the internal border between Auckland and the rest of the country, and the MIQ facilities at the national border, both of which are continually dealings with openly defiant rule breakers. And more and more breaches.
I was pointing out that these government mandated restrictions on freedom of movement, (which I support), have their limitations, especially if the government can't take the people with them.
I was suggesting that we need to win people over to willingly support measures like vaccination, rather than force people to have vaccinations by top down mandates.
I think this is a fair comment. I don't know how you can possibley make out that this comment, makes me an 'authoritarian, fearful control freak'?
I am in fact a convinced democrat.
The more democracy the better.
So I can understand where you are coming from; Maybe you would like to explain your reasoning behind your ad hominem insults.
You said that “[t]op down, mandated restrictions by the appointed authorities work to a point” and that “[t]o get to 90% vaccination coverage, mandates [my bold], regulation and compulsion alone, will not be enough”. I suggest you learn to word your comments better if you’re not actually in favour of and advocating for mandates from above. As it stands, very many comments of yours come across with a distinct whiff of authoritarianism and its handmaid absolutism. Just saying.
"As it stands, very many comments of yours come across with a distinct whiff of authoritarianism and its handmaid absolutism. Just saying." Incognito
You keep saying this, but never give an example. How about give us just one example, just one, of my "very many comments" that you claim "come across with a distinct whiff of authoritarianism".*
|Even in this case. Dispite how you try and twist my meaning. I was very clear, I was not calling for more top down mandates. i was instead advocating an appeal to all groups to willingly support the government's vaccination campaign, How on earth you can claim that calling for more grass roots consultation with all the stakeholders in society rather than top down imposed mandates is something "Only authoritarians and other fearful control freaks do" escapes me.
“Has a whiff of…” is an admission by you that your disagreement is a subjective view.
This is not the first time that you have said you don't like "the smell" of my comments.
An emotional response, suggestive of smell, whiff etc, are not objective fact based criticisms.
(Typed words literally don't have a smell, even less so on a computer screen).
I am sorry you disagree with my views, but I do not apologise for them, just because you disagree with them.
All I ask is that if you don't like my views, but feel moved to comment on them, instead of indulging in fact free personal ad hominem insults, provide a rational fact based critique, of why I am wrong,
You never know, we all might learn something.
At the very least it will lift the level of debate.
You wrote this, and I’ve added my emphasis, so that you can follow my reading of it:
To get to 90% vaccination coverage, mandates, regulation andcompulsion alone, will not be enough. We need to win hearts and minds as well.
That doesn’t read to me as “i [sic] was instead [my bold] advocating an appeal to all groups to willingly [my bold] support the government's vaccination campaign”.
It reads to as in addition to. Your comments are ambiguous and lack clarity of meaning and they often don’t pass the sniff test.
I used the word 'instead' in the context of instead of mandated compliance alone. Not instead of all mandated compliance. You are deliberately trying to twist my meaning with selective cherry picking.
I am not against all regulation, (and never said I was) My view is that it needs, as much as is possible to be done with a mandate. Simply imposing regulations especially around sensitive areas of people's freedom of movement, (lockdowns), and bodily intrusion, (injections). Disempowers people and leads to the sort of scenes we saw in Australia. We don't want that here. If we want to get to 90% vaccine coverage, (which is a very high bar,) it is my opinion, that it can't be done with compulsion alone.
Therefore I suggested that the governent begin an outreach program to win over the various grass roots stakeholders in society. Unions, Faitth Groups, Sports Bodies, Employers, etc.
I really can't understand your objection to such an idea.
As usual, you’re going around in circles; so many words, so little clarity.
Let’s see whether you can shed any light on what you actually mean.
What specific “mandate”, “mandated compliance”, “regulation”, or “compulsion” do you have in mind when trying to achieve 90% vaccination coverage of the 12+ eligible population if it is not a mandate to get vaccinated?
Try keep your answer under 100 words and to the point, please.
Human beings are social creatures, generally speaking, where our peers go, we go.
If all the various disparate groups and organisations that make up our society can we won over to the vaccine campaign, their members will be won over too.
This initiative is being done in a partunership between the Canterbury District Health Board and local Businesses.
If we are to achieve the 90% target, which is something few countries have been able to achiever. It is my opinion; We need lots more initiatives like this.
…..An ambitious campaign has been launched to get 90 per cent of eligible Cantabrians jabbed by Labour Weekend – in less than four weeks time.
Businesses have thrown their weight behind the plan, which aims to make Canterbury the most Covid-19 protected region in the country.
…..Local marketing and communications company Harvey Cameron has collaborated with the Canterbury Clinical Network, the Canterbury District Health Board and the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce to produce a quick fire campaign – dubbed ‘90% Canterbury – we’re worth it’ – within days.
That doesn’t answer the question not does it provide any clarity of what you meant, just more bedazzled befuzzled irrelevant nonsense. At least you kept it <100 words, this time although you replied to yourself (!?) with something else that has no hint of “mandate”, “mandated compliance”, “regulation”, or “compulsion”, which is consistent with the piece by their colleague and fellow Stuff author Henry Cooke, as I commented on previously.
"Social media should shut down conspiracy theorists or at the very least promote science and vaccine efficacy."
Shutting them down is giving them currency. They simply find another platform, and scream how true they must be because they were shut down. Some real medical professionals giving simple explanations of the actual science is the way to go IMHO.
"As farmers, families like mine received an enormous amount of benefit from the state, had almost no constraints on our actions, and often paid almost nothing in tax. In terms of per capita investment by the state, there has never been such a privileged class in New Zealand history."
"At heart their message is simply a plea to stop the clocks. For some, it is proving very hard to move on from living in a past version of New Zealand where they were the nation’s most privileged citizens."
The politics of nostalgia in the Groundswell protests.
The ones that dont pay alot of tax (some do by the way) are the ones heavily indebted, the system is rigged in favour of the those that borrow and pour any money left over from interest rates into spending on capital development.
They dont want people debt free because they will be less productive, I read a ealy 1900s nz article that stated this but have never been able to find it again sorry.
As for the groundswell I'd love to see a reporter go ask a good number of them next time what they are in fact protesting, I'd imagine most haven't a clue,
Fonterra have many farmers in a bind. Banks have high self interest, so unless you are factory farming life can get difficult. Those farmers trying to pivot to less destructive farming methods need support with $ incentives to transition imo.
A bit sad really in that the farmers are not able to give a clear slant on just what their prime beef is. Is Groundswell really a farming lobby or people with a purely right wing political agenda? Not Fed Farmers or National Party? Hmmm?
Groundswell? Loose affiliation of the disgruntled, the disorientated and the dismayed. Bound to succeed in overturning what the rest of us have already come to terms with 🙂
It isn't just political power they want the clocks wound back for. A return to a time where the primary producer is paramaount in their local market, as opposed to having to meet the supermarkets often one-sided terms and conditions.
How is Stuff funding the daily stories about people missing out on MIQ spots? When ever they have comments on the story, the main theme is "yes, it's tough for everyone but we have to manage returns so our people and our economy are safeguarded". Yet story, after story, after story – it feels like a funded campaign.
Where is the story after story about people catching covid-19 in the community and having their lives turned upside down – where is the balance? Or just anyone who has been screwed by lockdown – funerals, hospital visits etc.
Yes. The media supported campaign to denigrate this government reminds me of similar campaigns from past political climes including the latter half of the Helen Clark regime followed by the insidious campaigns against David Shearer and his successor, David Cunliffe – not to mention the officially sanctioned effort (at least in part) to discredit Phil Goff. I noted Barry Soper's latest diatribe has another go at the "governmentruling by fear" meme :
These second rate tabloid journos are an integral ingredient of these insidious campaigns, while the first-class journalists and commentators have been banished to the back of the room. You find them in places like newsroom;
"he media supported campaign to denigrate this government "
You have got to be joking.
Tova O'Brien and Jessica Mutch McKay are might as well just put cheerleader outfits on with big "A"s on them at Ardern's pressers and when they write about the current govt
Do you know who said that? David Shearer. Labour didn't need the media to point out their shortcomings…they were eating each other from within. Watching National over recent months is almost like experiencing deja-vu.
Disclosure: I'm currently in MIQ – day one at the Crowne Plaza after returning from the UK where I've been living and working the past 3 years until my visa expired in August.
I've been (and still am) on 4 different private FB groups as I've gone through the process of securing an MIQ voucher over the past 4 months. There are 1000's of people in the groups, and there are often requests made to them/us from journalists/reporters for returnees stories. (and no shortage of stories). No funded campaign needed.
It was the loveliest of sights. Followed by hearing the familiar cadence of the kiwi accent, and the army/defence man on the bus telling us we'd be 'sweet as' once we'd had our first clear PCR and could have a daily walk. I didn't realise how much I missed the voices of people who sound like me! (Mind you, I've been living in Newcastle where the Geordie accent reigns and I'm not sure who had more trouble initially being understood- me, or them.)
Welcome back. Our son posted a video of a crowd of Kiwis doing a spontaneous haka on the Gold Coast. It was really rousing, and was greeted with cheers and clapping. Grant said he felt a real sense of "us".
This virus has made us rethink much. Hope it goes well for you. Feel free to chat here about your experiences. We haven't quite turned into Hobbits yet.
It would be interesting to know what kind of stories the journalists/reporters are after… whether they are interested in the good experiences or just the bad ones.
From what we have heard thus far, it seems to be mainly the bad ones.
Generally the reporters requests are for returnees experiences with specific aspects of the MIQ booking system and its evolution. For example, back in June/July they wanted to communicate with returning citizens about the use of third parties; the reasons people were resorting to it, and the actual technical process of booking. (This was when you had to sit at your computer refreshing constantly for hours at a time for weeks if you wanted any chance at all to book a spot – this was my experience, with a few all-nighters as well thrown into the mix)
There was also a call out for stories from people living with disabilities who were unable to use the system at all, as it wasn't set up to be accessible for them. (Kiwi citizens who are blind for example, or those with physical disabilities that wouldn't allow for the use of lightening fast keyboard use for hours on end)
There were requests from reporters for kiwi citizens who were being refused emergency allocations under the different criteria. (there are around 350 emergency allocations set aside every 2 weeks, but only 50% of them are generally allocated. Brigadier Rose King, joint head of MIQ, has said that "this is a limit, not a target".
Now they are interested in stories from returning citizens who are navigating the new MIQ booking system, which is more of a lottery system – so you enter your passport number when the lobby opens, and are then assigned a random number, which indicates where you will be in the queue for that specific room release. (They have just run the second room release under the new system yesterday)
There have been a couple of independent film-makers in the ex-pat community who put a call out for returnees to follow them through to their returns, and their experiences when back in NZ. (I don't like to be filmed so never put my hand up for these! Or any of the other requests.)
I guess the reality is that good news doesn't really get the ratings, and unfortunately, from the returning citizen's perspective, the MIQ booking system itself has been pretty horrible to navigate. And it really is the booking system itself, rather than the need to isolate/quarantine at a facility, that has so many returning citizens despairing.
I do feel very lucky to have been able to come home. It was a bit scary there for a while, as I didn't want to be an illegal overstayer in the UK, and be unable to work or rent. Thankfully the UK govt put in place a visa extension scheme called 'Exceptional Assurance' for citizens from countries with no flights home, or in the case of New Zealand, 'no room at the inn' so to speak, to at least make sure we don't end up with black marks on our passports. I don't know how much longer they will continue the scheme though, as they extended it somewhat begrudgingly again only after an intervention from the NZ High Commissioner.
Thankyou for your in-depth reply. It will take some time to digest it all.
I understand how stressful it must be for those desperate to return to NZ but I guess the government is trying to manage and absorb not too large a number of returnees at a time so as not to run the risk of compromising our Delta variant status. Hence the need to stagger the MIQ places over a longer period. Hopefully most will be able to return by Xmas or soon afterwards.
There was also a call out for stories from people living with disabilities who were unable to use the system at all, as it wasn't set up to be accessible for them. (Kiwi citizens who are blind for example,…
I find it a bit disingenuous they concentrate on the disabled because of course we are disadvantaged no matter what situation we find ourselves in. As someone who now has to live with severe arthritis I can attest to that. It comes across to me as an opportunity to include a few sob stories because they think it will create a stir among the great unwashed. I use the term "unwashed" only in a rhetorical sense.
Years ago I worked in a NZTV entity so I know a little bit how the journos' and broadcasters' minds work.
Anne, yes, that request did feel opportunistic – it came after an RNZ story on the 30 complaints to the Human Rights Commission about the lack of accessibility, one of which was spurred by the President of the Blind Union being unable to utilise the system. It felt like other media outlets were trying to play catch up with their own versions.
What feels yucky to me also, is the attempts to make MIQ and the issues of returning citizens into a political football game. It just ends up creating even more division between Kiwis who need to come home, and Kiwis at home. I really don't believe for a minute that Seymour or Collins care about Kiwis stuck overseas – it feels like they just see a crack in Labours wall, and want to wedge it open wider to score political points, flapping our stories about like gloating bait. But there is a crack…
I think given that New Zealand's ex-pat community is so large, and the ability to facilitate the numbers seeking to return is constrained by the infrastructure available to keep everybody safe – both returning kiwis and kiwis on the ground – sadly, it may be well into 2022 before the appx 30,000 who tried for spots in yesterdays room release can return. I really wish it was otherwise.
My goodness, you've got it sussed and you have only just arrived back into the country.
You are right about Seymour and Collins – and Chris Bishop. They have been playing politics with Covid from the start and with some success. They don't give a damn about the plight of overseas Kiwis. They're just using them as a stick to beat the government with. Sad that a lot of NZers are falling for it.
That was an enlightening piece on RNZ this morning. When FADS was highlighted the way it was, I couldn't help but think there was a 'deserving sick' vibe to the PTB thinking.
By alcohol industry, you mean consumers of alcohol.
I'm saying the public would barely notice the increase if it was simply passed on to them…..however under the philosophy of never let a chance go by I could easily imagine alcohol manufacturers and importers wail loudly so as to make additional profit under the mask of "It's a TAX"
Building specialised MIQ away from Auckland is actually a good idea. Just not in the way National intends. When the Northern Hemisphere Winter brings mountains of fresh corpses, New Zealand will belatedly realise it can't re-open borders in 2022 either
Personal statement: Brian Tamaki and his ungodly protest do not represent me. He is a public menace and a wolf in sheep's clothing, seeking to profit from a public health crisis. 2 Corinthians 11:5 warns against "super-apostles"
The Bible requires masking, quarantines and arguably vaccine passports:
45 “Anyone with such a defiling disease must wear torn clothes, let their hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of their face and cry out, “Unclean! Unclean!” 46 As long as they have the disease they remain unclean. They must live alone; they must live outside the camp.
It's not as bad as it sounds: 33 of the 45 are household contacts, of the 12 remaining, 6 have known links at the moment. And most of these cases were expected.
Chippie summed it up well at the presser: National promises Covid for Christmas!
Still at least 6 out and about probably another 6 on top… covids tentacles are winding back into the community… think thats the number to watch because Aucklands pretty damn busy and social distance is reducing… work bubbles are mixing… in the line for a pie and a coffee…
Do we hold our nerve, or do we go back to level 4 in a bid to stamp it out? Look how efficiently it spreads in NSW which is sorta in a level 3 lockdown…
Damn this second jab I had yesterday is washing me out much worse than the first one. I'm about 20% down in energy today whereas I was 10% down on the first one.
I won't go into too much detail on my first one as don't want to put anyone off except it involved a bit of vomiting the next day, but I was the opposite.
I thought I was good to go after the second – for a little over 24 hours and then it hit me. Came over all hot and flustered and generally feeling like shit so I took to the scratcher. Got up next AM as good as gold.
looks like I lucked out on those, then – barely any problems whatsoever. To the degree that I had a wee sore bit on my arm from the injection, then realised that I'd gotten the shot on the other arm lol.
2nd shot had nothing I can recall (except the memory loss maybe? lol).
First dose I was a bit crook second dose pretty much flattened me – runny nose, exhausted and aching all over = about 3 days of snoozing with sedatives and pain killers (from my prescription supply)
I found the best bet if you are working during the week is just try to get it if you can either on a Friday arvo' or Saturday. Then if you have a bit of a reaction you have a day or 2 to get over it.
When the world goes crazy about someone 'crossing the border' or 'escaping,' the report of the Auckland cop helping his whanau or friends doesn't read well at all.
The stories of the hardship and the harrowing stories about people missing funerals and weddings are legend already.
Accepting the news story as is, the man put his personal feelings and wishes ahead of his responsibilities. Fair enough, good for him. No doubt he weighed things up, looked at all the angles. He came to the right decision for him, the wrong decision for all others who have have suffered adverse border rulings.
But, the system expects everyone who is in a fraught position to bite the bullet and not cross. The system expects that border checks will stop them. Most will turn and go home, their attempt foiled. On the surface it is easy to infer the guy abused his position, his word or uniform to get through.
If his priority is to his family or friends let him leave the police and do other things. His mana will be enhanced in his whanau because he was prepared to sacrifice his job for them. Sure he was in a tough position. It's 2021, he and they haven't got that on their own.
He is a pillock, I'm sure his superiors will want his guts for garters.
They really haven't got a clue. When this virus passes and that will probably be 'hopefully faster than we might assume what then with all the excess beds and very expensive equipment that needs replacing even if isn't doing anything because of redundancy of the technology. In normal circumstances we have plenty of ICU/HDU beds. Now nurses, it takes a long time to train an ICU nurse .
1, they need patients to train on, even now we only have an extra 3 or 4 covid ones a day.
2.. there is a huge array of equipment to master it is almost a 5 year apprenticeship.
3.. it takes a pretty special person to be one. It is one on one care usually for 12 hours with very little time off ( 12 hours so that the number of nurse changes a day is minimised because changeovers are when mistakes happen ) and the expert observational skills required to look after someone who is pretty much comatose take a long time to acquire.
Its a 2 semester course at Auckland University , a few hours per week plus study. of course supervision still needed once graduated.
For this course, you can expect 40 hours of lectures, 160 hours of reading and thinking about the content and 100 hours of work on assignments and/or test preparation.
Its like teaching, to become 'fully qualified' means you have reached top of scale after 8-10 years. Still can be a classroom teacher during that time with mentoring
I think you mean surgical registrars – yes, as it so happens, I have heard of them.
As you rightly point out, training an ICU (Critical Care) Nurse requires much more than one course at University.
The question was not what nurses (or doctors) in training can do in and as part of their training, but how long it takes to train them and complete their training. It is even in National’s Plan, strangely enough:
It takes around a decade to train specialist nurses and doctors for ICU, which is time we don’t have.
Who would have thought?
Different candidates have different entry levels and thus different entry points. Well, duh!!
I think taking the vote on leadership away from labour members and allowing caucus to pick the leadership should be opposed, it's nothing but a power grab from the labour right, caucus may have given us Ardern but also Goff and Shearer there's nothing to say Ardern couldn't have won a primary.
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 27 were:1. The Minister for Ford Rangers strikes againTransport Minister Simeon Brown was again the busiest of the Cabinet ministers this week, announcing an ...
You got a fast carAnd I want a ticket to anywhereMaybe we make a dealMaybe together we can get somewhereAny place is betterYesterday’s newsletter, Trust In Me, on the report of abuse in state care, and by religious organisations, between 1950 and 2019, coupled with the hypocrisy of Christopher Luxon ...
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
Te Rangi e tu nei (The sky above us) Te Papa e takoto nei (The land beneath us) Tatou katoa te hunga ora (To us all the living) Tena koutou katoa (Greetings) ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Foo, Lecturer, Physiotherapy, Monash University pikselstock/Shutterstock In the next 40 years in Australia, it’s predicted the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of people aged 85 and over will more than triple. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Grant, Research Associate, Power Institute for Arts and Visual Culture, University of Sydney Jonas Åkerström’s 1790 work, Session of the Accademia dell’Arcadia on August 17 1788.Nationalmuseum/Cecilia Heisser Ever wondered whether you’d have a better chance at winning an Olympic gold ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Program Lead, Food Governance, George Institute for Global Health wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock On Thursday, Australian and New Zealand food ministers at state, federal and national levels met to thrash out what’s next for health star ratings on packaged foods. Now, after ...
The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
If you haven’t started watching yet, Tara Ward begs you to reconsider. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. In the world of New Zealand reality television, we have many gems in our crown. There’s the delicious second season of the Celebrity Treasure ...
A new poem by Fiona Kidman. The clothes of the dead I did not keep my mother’s furry red beret for long nor the stringy scarves that adorned the necks of my aunts, although I have kept tag ends of gold, the rings and trinkets they wore, the brooches no ...
The government’s announcement that it will re-open the foreshore and seabed controversy by changing the rules on recognising centuries-old Māori customary title for a third time goes against the rule of law and New Zealand values,” Mr Tipa says. ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Lioness by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury, $25) Roarrrr! Perkins’ brilliant, award-winning, Marian-Keyes anointed, darkly funny, long ...
The 2004 Act vested ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown, extinguishing any Māori claims to ownership and causing widespread outrage and protests among Māori communities. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Antje Deckert, Associate Professor (Criminology), Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Despite the connection between institutional harm and gang membership made clear in this week’s mammoth royal commission abuse-in care report, the government seems unlikely to soften its “get tough on ...
From Lewis Clareburt in the swimming to the start of the rowing – the first seven days of Paris 2024 promise to be big for New Zealand. There are few events that bring the country together quite like an Olympic Games. Nothing quite matches the excitement of getting up in ...
Groundbreaking local science just showed up in the most surprising of places: the season finale of The Kardashians. In the season five finale of The Kardashians last night, several members of the family gathered together in one of their signature empty, cream-coloured rooms to hear test results that had been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University The Middle East is on the brink of a possibly devastating regional war, with hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reaching an extremely dangerous level. Washington has engaged in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Elizabeth Eades, Rheumatologist, Monash University Lupus is an inflammatory autoimmune illness, where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks itself. Lupus can affect virtually any part of the body, although it most commonly affects the skin, joints and kidneys. The symptoms ...
A law firm that specialises in working with survivors of abuse in State care is disappointed that the Government fails to recognise that its boot camps can be directly compared to previous boot camps from the 1990s and 2000s. ...
Dying is a natural part of life, like updating your Wof or seeing your hairdresser, but without the word-of-mouth recs that help guarantee a good service. What if we changed that? Dying Reviews received by The Spinoff have had the names of organisations redacted while Hospice NZ collects further data. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland Mike Lewinski/Flickr, CC BY On any clear night, if you gaze skywards long enough, chances are you’ll see a meteor streaking through the sky. Some nights, however, are better than others. At ...
Despite having no bars or other designated spaces for lesbians, Auckland boasts a small but mighty lesbian museum. So how did it get here? The past 18 months has brought increasing hostility towards the queer community across Aotearoa. Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull’s anti-trans rally in Tamaki Makaurau last March led to a ...
Poneke Antifascist Coalition has invited Wellingtonians to stand in solidarity with the Kanak people at 12pm today outside the French Embassy in Wellington. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Layton, Visiting Fellow, Strategic Studies, Griffith University Drones are the signature technology of the Ukraine war. A few miniature aircraft designs were used in the war’s early days, but an incredible array of drones have now evolved. There are different types, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Slee, Associate Professor, Clinical Academic Neurologist, Flinders University Francisco Gonzelez/Unsplash Migraine is many things, but one thing it’s not is “just a headache”. “Migraine” comes from the Greek word “hemicrania”, referring to the common experience of migraine being predominantly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lee White, Senior Lecturer and Horizon Fellow, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney Australia was slow to introduce minimum building standards for energy efficiency. The Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) only came into force in 2003. Older homes ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Sherwood, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, Climate Change Research Centre, UNSW Sydney The past century of human-induced warming has increased rainfall variability over 75% of the Earth’s land area – particularly over Australia, Europe and eastern North America, new research shows. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Heynen, Program Coordinator, Sustainable Energy, The University of Queensland A temporary stadium in the Champ-de-Mars, ParisEkaterina Pokrovsky/Shutterstock As Paris prepares to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the sustainability of the event is coming under scrutiny. The organisers have promoted ...
A night of karaoke and community in a pub that feels like a memory. You’d barely even notice it, unless you knew to look. Tucked away behind a liquor store on busy Constable Street is the capital’s last great pub. Newtown Sports Bar is an emblem of the pub culture ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Wright, Professor in Marine Geology, University of Canterbury Louise Corcoran/Getty Images The decline in the number of doctoral candidates at New Zealand universities is a worrying sign for the country’s effort to build a knowledge-based economy. Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laurie Berg, Associate Professor, University of Technology Sydney defotoberg/Shutterstock Migrant worker exploitation is entrenched in workplaces across Australia. Tragically, a deep fear of immigration consequences means most unlawful employer conduct goes unreported. On Wednesday, however, the government officially launched a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vaughan Cruickshank, Senior Lecturer in Health and Physical Education, University of Tasmania Paris is about to host its third summer Olympics. While we don’t yet know what the legacy of this year’s games will be, let’s take the opportunity to reflect on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hugh Breakey, Deputy Director, Institute for Ethics, Governance & Law, Griffith University In the wake of the assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump, there were calls from bothsides of US politics, as well as internationally, to reduce the brutal, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Keith Rathbone, Senior Lecturer, Modern European History and Sports History, Macquarie University Two high-profile assaults on Australians in Paris have raised concerns about security ahead of the Olympic Games. On Saturday evening, a young woman was allegedly sexually assaulted by a ...
Dying is inevitable and, so it seems, is it costing a lot, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here.The cost of dying ...
The government took Joyce Harris's first baby and sent her off to a girls' home. Half a century on - and out of oceans of hurt - it asked her to be a mother figure. ...
It’s the deadliest fictional town in the country, but which death has been the most bonkers? Alex Casey looks back at 10 seasons of The Brokenwood Mysteries to find out. Warning: The following ranking story contains famous New Zealand actors appearing to be dead (not alive). The Spinoff has been ...
Water cremation is the biggest thing to happen to the death industry in the last 100 years. Alex Casey meets the people trying to bring it to Aotearoa. Through a set of mirrored doors down the industrial end of Christchurch’s St Asaph Street, death is getting a new lease on ...
The Department of Conservation is in greater need of a commissioner than Health NZ, a veteran scientist says The post The risks and rewards of remaking DoC appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Can we stop or slow climate change?
A 15.45 minute video sponsored by the Gates Foundation which makes sobering viewing.
The conclusion seems to be: yes, we can, but by God, we’d better start acting quickly.
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The Pook Family pukekos who forage up & down my stream became quite a large extended whanau. Sweety Pook produced broods at least 3 times a year.
ALL the adults, & any adolescent birds who can fly, feed & care for the pooklets. Bluey, the Patriarch or Koro, slept with all broods of pooklets every night, until they were old enough to build their own individual sleeping nests.
Another poster on a forum that I used to post on disagreed with my opinion about something one day, & dismissively suggested I go and talk to my pukekos about it!
So I did ! Aspen Pook just happened to be nearby over the fence at morning tea time.
I gave him a quick summary of the situation, & Aspen duly offered his view (on the poster, not the topic – try as I might I just could not get them interested in politics.)
So I went back to the forum & gave him 🐧 Aspen's opinion! 😎
"Living with Covid" https://amp.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/sep/29/victorias-hospitals-strain-under-extraordinary-demand-as-covid-cases-surge
Our hospitals could not cope with this.
But Victoria is in lockdown, 270+ days of it. And it’s been world beating and lockdowns work to stop the spread.
time for Dan Andrews and Jacinda Adern to admit defeat and allow that lockdowns won’t beat delta.
There have been many "lockdowns" around the world. The word is used for very different approaches. Ours in 2020 was unquestionably a success, while others were half-hearted and failed.
I agree that Delta 2021 is tougher to beat. But when alternative actions to "lockdown" are proposed, we have to be hard-headed and honest about what they really entail.
Part of Victoria's "lockdown" was the use of private security (unlike NZ) and the same has been suggested by opposition parties here. But in Victoria the security breach – and virus outbreak – was so bad it led to a full inquiry and damning findings by the judge.
Unfortunately many of the alternatives are presented as easy options, when they are anything but.
& Victorias lockdown is barely comparable to NZs, apples & oranges. Lockdowns do work, unfortunately, and only work with public buy in. Crys of "we gotta give up!" undermine that public buy in & will ensure we clog up our crappy health system & a lot of sick &/or dead people.
Nope, Labour are doing the right thing, until science says otherwise.
We've had an incredibly successful response… now being consciously undermined by muppets (and a quite clear media narrative).
Yes, Level 4 with Bunnings. And aussies still marched.
Sounds the like arguments for socialism, <i> it wasn't real socialism</i>
Of course if you get the little flu you couldn’t in all good conscience partake of our socialist health facilities.
I'm double jabbed, wear a mask and don't have comorbities. As i'm responsible for my part in society beating this, it's unlikely i'll need too.
buuuutttt.. If i did need it then that's the price society pays for me paying taxes and acting responsibly.
Public goods aren't socialism.
Not quite.
The "no true socialism" thing is a bit like Christians predicting the apocalypse: the general direction might have been outlined, but there aren't any objective milestones along the way. Basically, everyone claims to be on the cusp of it, but heaven has not yet been achieved and everyone who claimed it before was in error: this time we're right, lol.
But NZ and Vic L4 are objectively different, both in specific businesses allowed to be open to the public and in the aggregate stringency index. Also, Vic imposed just enough to induce fatigue, so now they have (possibly superspreader?) anti-lockdown riots.
If we hadn't opened the aussie bubble we would most likely be ok still. Its Arderns on misstepon covid imho.
Pays to ignore the squeaky wheel sometimes.
I’m still waiting for all those who kicked and screamed for the open border with Australia to take personal responsibility for our current situation. After all they were happy to take the revenue and profits.
That squeaky wheel's back with a vengeance. I don't think this government's got the balls to fight it. A particular vaccination rate being enough will be more down to luck than anything else.
"… Jacinda Adern to admit defeat and allow that lockdowns won’t beat delta. "
This one might or might not beat Delta, but has already been a success in undoubtedly restraining what would otherwise be a huge outbreak by now
Yes 1 case went to 1000 total odd in a few days.
edit for ds
1000 total, not 1000 a day like in Sydney.
Sydney literally has people dropping dead from Covid in their own homes.
Our lockdown works because it's strict. Australia's ones were too muppety.
Victoria's is recognised as being one of the strictest in the world.
Many, many countries have found a path through covid and are now moving on to a new normal. New Zealand is lagging as our governments policy is lockdown until 90% where there is Delta.
This is completely unrealistic. If you believe the "experts" 90% vaccination won't happen. if you believe lockdown critics, it's unfeasible to keep people locked down until 90% without major societal impacts that will last long after covid is globally accepted.
Dogmatically sticking to lockdowns until 90% is failing this country.
nah
https://twitter.com/Thoughtfulnz/status/1440084603956461571
Amazing data and presentation there.
It shows NSW and VIC "lockdown" is equivalent to New Zealand's L3 or L2.5.
https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/state-economies-and-stringency-covid-19-containment-measures
Victoria is far stringent than any other state in lockdown, and it's numbers are beginning to outpace NSW, who are starting to relax lockdown measures.
But yeah, twitter
Thanks for the good link, which save me the effort of having to start moderating you. It doesn’t quite match the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker (https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/covid-stringency-index?tab=chart&country=~AUS), but at least you made an effort this time to back up your reckons.
BTW, what is your problem with the cellphone data from the Google Mobility Report? Don’t like data taken on the ground because it doesn’t suit your ‘critical analysis’ and narrative? Sounds like you’re shooting down the medium (Twitter) instead of addressing the content. Now why would you that?
Jim works harder than Jane.
That says nothing about whether Janice is handling both their workloads and then some.
Vic has a tough lockdown compared to Sweden, for example. They're both still half-arsing it though.
Victoria still had garden centres, cafes, gyms open didn't it? Now that's a shambles.
We're slow but not disastrous. 8 new infections yesterday.
Next Monday isn't too long to wait now.
First one to the hairdressers wins.
Yes Ad … 8 cases yesterday and 45 new cases today! That is quite a jump.
Miserable
Please stop spamming this site with your reckons and other brain farts.
For starters, what is/was the stringency index of Victoria during its lockdown. Links required and not to other/more reckons.
What does the Horizon survey show is the possible vaccine uptake of the eligible population of 12+ in NZ? Look it up, Google is your friend. The onus is on you to provide support for your reckons.
Lockdown are not permanent measures, they’re temporary ones. The main reason lockdowns are less effective or fail is because breaches, same as breaches at the border and/or MIQ. When there’s a breach or leak the appropriate action is to correct it not throw away the baby with the bathwater and spit the dummy while getting your nappies in a twist.
Hospitalisation, ICU, and death are major societal impacts too.
Why do you believe “experts” and “lockdown critics” without any critical analysis?
I don't believe them without critical analysis. I'm questioning the pathway through their rhetoric.
Lockdowns cant' be permanent, but when they're the only tool in the toolbox as you haven't been to the hardware store in preparation, you need use your one hammer many times to insert the screws.
Stingency index? does it really matter? the lockdown isn't working. But as a good little authoritarian your response to lockdowns not working is new, better, more stringent lockdowns
Horizons poll is based on the opinion of survey respondents saying they would get the jab, which could take us to 90%. that’s a reckon
Countering rhetoric with reckons is a mug’s game. You believe your own ‘critical analysis’, that much is clear.
Lockdowns are not permanent measures. You seem to want to take them off the table and out of the toolbox forever with a written pledge by Government and Dr Bloomfield that they will never ever use Level 4 lockdowns again even when people are dropping like dead flies. Might have to change at least one Health Act. Mate, you’re dreaming!
Lockdown isn’t working because you say so? ‘kay, enough said.
Correcting breaches and leaks in/of our public health measures is not the same as “more stringent lockdowns”. Before you irk me more with putting words and meanings in my mouth you’d better start reading comments here better.
I see you didn’t find the Horizon poll. You can find it in my recent (https://thestandard.org.nz/fearmongering-or-telling-it-how-it-is/). The potential uptake was 85.5% of the eligible 12+ population based on a scientifically conducted survey.
That’s a whole load of ‘reckons’ there plus a comparison with all the previous surveys. However, as a true hard-out post-modernist, you think that your reckon is equal to that!?
The UK's "new normal" yesterday was 34,526 new cases and 167 deaths.
The US's "new normal" yesterday was 61,570 new cases and 1,217 deaths.
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
One reason this "new normal" is 'acceptable' in the USA and the UK is that the governments of those countries failed so abysmally to prioritise health.
In the US of A, 710,000 tragic deaths have been attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. That's a deaths rate of ~0.21% (i.e. slightly more than one in 500 US citizens), about three and a half times more than the recorded global average. In the UK, one in 500 have also died from COVID-19.
In NZ, 27 deaths have been officially attributed to the pandemic, giving a death rate of 0.00054%, 110 times less than the global average.
The point is, the USA's COVID death rate is ~385 times greater than NZ's. In this particular pandemic, you want to be this bloke (NZ); you do not want to be like these blokes (MUSAGA; FreedumUK).
Unite against COVID-19
https://covid19.govt.nz
That "new normal" you describe has mountains of corpses. If keeping our people alive is failure, then I'm happy enough with failure.
"New Zealand is lagging as our governments policy is lockdown until 90% where there is Delta. "
To my knowledge the government has never specified a percentage. You might be thinking of National there…
Your narrative is just a repetition of the opinions of people like Key, Act and the brown nosing mindless mainstream media. The only thing you left out was the bit about Jacinta creating a “ climate of fear”.
An “orchestrated litany of lies” seems to be an apt description.
Dukell, so Jacinda is 'dogmatic'!! Wow it was 'fixated' formerly.
How is "lock down failing this country"? Facts.
Now that is dogmatic, and fixated on "open up".
Dupe of feral with only 8 cases in NZ as opposed to 800 in Victoria you are spreading the virus of misinformation.
Trying to bundle one jurisdiction into a totally different country with borders and NZ's health system which can't cope with even small numbers of covid patients.
It's been a fairly crap lockdown. Ockyland might not have the level of social cohesion it prides itself on.
Not our type of lockdown. e.g. Elite swimming still happened. 5 people to visit!!
Oh dear, it doesn't sound promising next week for Auckland with headlines in Stuff like "Auckland's move to level 2 unlikely if status quo continues". When you click on the article the headline changes to below that doesn't sound as bad.
Covid-19: Auckland's boundary 'critical' if region moves down alert level – expert | Stuff.co.nz
Geez
Re Victoria
There were thousands out on the streets protesting the lockdown- that probably accelerated the spread.
So don't have lockdowns and have thousands out on the street and that will stop the spread.
DUH
Like the kid in the old Mitre 10 ad eh? "Aussies."
Then again Brian Tamaki wants to do it here.
(Is his problem he hasn't had much publicity lately? Or with the lockdowns and restrictions he can't vacuum up the usual cash?)
Yeah take their names (Tamikis lot) etc and fine them the cost of lockdowns
You do realise that bishops move diagonally, a bit underhand really.
Although they're not as devious movers as knights. A clear demonstration of this has made the news lately
He's anointed himself "Apostle" now.
Tamaki appointed himself Apostle Bishop Brian Tamaki, some time ago. Expect Our Lord Apostle Bishop Brian Tamaki to come next!
Checkmate![yes yes](https://cdn2.thestandard.org.nz/wp-content/plugins/ark-wysiwyg-comment-editor/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/thumbs_up.png?x42494)
Well Bishops are somewhat handicapped they literally can't see half the whole world they live in
Keep an eye out for a surge after grand final celebrations.
They've not done the right thing by each other. They've many Brian tamakis and billy tk's egged on by MP's pushing antivaxer material.
Protests, flagrant breaches and footy finals bubbles bursting. They've a way to go.
They've a fair few proudboys too.
Note to Brian Tamaki… don't protest 'till it is safe to do so.
Interesting article from Ken Loach today on the current state of the UK Labour Party.
In a way it is useful for everyone to know for certain that UK Labour is no place for progressives, rather than deluding themselves. Will an alternative emerge?
Workers Party of Britain
https://workerspartybritain.org
Leader George Galloway.
Heres an alternative to traitorist Labour, who lost the way long long ago.
A SHOW OF CHINA'S FORCE IN THE AIR
Al Jazeera English Sep 29, 2021
China has shown off some of its most advanced aircraft, technology, and weaponry at its biggest air show.
New prototype drones that can carry missiles and go on reconnaissance missions are on display in the city of Zhuhai.
The show is being held as its rivalry with the US and other Western countries intensifies – along with disputes over the South China Sea and Taiwan.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7MWpuOJZiRU
Scary Gezza China is stretching its muslces .China has the technology and manufacturing capability to become the most advanced military on the planet.
Thanks in no small part on their ability to 'acquire' the technology others have developed.
Things maybe are not going so well there at the moment, this:
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-power-crunch-begins-weigh-economic-outlook-2021-09-27/
along with the building bubble bursting may keep them otherwise occupied
That show of might may be to shore up his image at home, similar to what the Russians used to do, and North Korea. Things are faltering in their economy.
we-ell not for a few years yet.
It can definitely dominate the South China Sea, maybe take Taiwan if it's happy to get a bloody nose in the process, but there are a number of areas that will still take decades to develop.
Their carrier force is still small and not yet anywhere close to the ballpark of 0 supercarrier task forces.
Their long range strike capabilities are apparently limited by their engine tech (something about forming the turbine blades as cohernet individual crystal structures).
Their hypersonic missiles are well-touted, but you need something to point them at. They mght or might not be able to have ubiqitous surveillance over SCS good enough to target vessels, but the Pacific in general? Probably not.
And a lot of their tech is relatively untested. E.g. Russia sent SU57s to Syria along with personell and ground equipment (and a dismal effort by Kuznetsov).
Anyone wonder why several NZ banks have had DDOS attacks and a major supermarket chain have sever IT disruptions recently? Someone's having fun: maybe a state actor just probing our infrastructure.
Why do we need more uncritical war porn here?
Agreed. War with China will wipe out civilization in a flash. We were incredibly close. Trump was psychotic enough to push the red button. De-escalation please.
I’ve come to the conclusion that Xi wants any de-escalation to be on China’s terms. And unfortunately the Americans want it to be on the US’s terms.
Both sides are really pushing hard at the edges of provoking the other. The Chinese by harrassing US & other foreign ships & planes, & the US and others by pointedly sailing into areas China’s claiming as ITS territorial waters.
A major live-firing incident might not be all THAT far off. Then we will see whether one or both sides can calm down & negotiate. Xi, I worry, is possibly wanting to actually TEST China’s military against the US in some kind of a skirmish. What the US then does will be the critical factor, I imagine.
Sorry Ad. Didn’t mean as “uncritical war porn”. Saw it as relevant to the recent post on the CPTPP VS NUCLEAR SUBS, & the extensive commenting that that generated on China’s armament drive & its worryingly muscular foreign & military postures, re Taiwan & its claims to the South China Sea.
This brief Aljaz tv news item looks at some of the most recent military hardware that the PRC is clearly adverstising to its potential adversaries. That drone they show is the biggest drone I think I’ve seen.
There used to be in some quarters a belief that the Chinese weren’t great at inventing stuff, that they were basically copiers (same argument was often made about the Japanese). They’ve certainly been long-criticised for basically forcing foreign companies operating there to hand over details of their trade secrets – effectively purloining their intellectual property.
But it appears to me that China is now fadt developing its own inventions – in areas such as AI & integrated military systems and hardware. It now seems to be past the point where it needs to get hold of other countries’ secrets.
I'll generate a post on a China-related matter so we can focus the debate again.
Generally I don't like video clips put up with very little commentary. Better to see one is capable of making a point.
Generally I believe I do provide some commentary or opinion when I post a link to an item. But noted, for the future, Ad. 👍🏼
All I can say to the idea that Chinese are only copiers is Gunpowder
Appears they may have actually copied that from the Mongols.
National’s COVID plan is being released at 10.
Presumably at the same time they will publish the modelling that tells them the number of cases to be expected, and the number of deaths.
As another consequence of their plan, they also release their plans for instantly upgrading the ICU awards and how they are going to recruit the required doctors and nurses.
It should make a fascinating read.
This very helpful graph by Gary Boyd is still live.
It shows NZ is running a similar number of cases at day 43 after first Delta as Victoria. 5 weeks later Victoria just registered over 1000 new cases.
That is what would be in store for us under the National Party plan.
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-19-09-2021/#comment-1817021
Nationals policy is stating the obvious pathetic publicity stunt.
They care about their donor's businesses, not lives.
Judith Collins says the National Party plan to let Kiwis into the country for Christmas has been "expert-reviewed", but it apparently doesn't put a number on how many could die as a result.
But like driving, Collins says it will include some risk.
"When we drive cars, we understand that there are going to be some people who are injured and occasionally people will lose their lives," she told The AM Show on Wednesday. "It doesn't stop us driving cars."
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/09/coronavirus-judith-collins-urges-govt-to-adopt-national-s-covid-plan-admits-it-could-result-in-deaths.html
Wrong analogy. When they find a technical fault with a type of plane all those planes tend to be grounded until checked and fixed if necessary. Driving a car is too innocuous, unless it is a car without WOF & Rego by an unlicensed and uninsured driver who’s over the limit and in bad weather conditions.
"Driving a car is too innocuous".
Innocuous. Definition "not harmful or offensive". Synonyms include " unexceptionable, harmless, unremarkable, commonplace."
There were about 350 New Zealand road deaths in 2019 and 320 in 2020. That is an unremarkable number is it? At what point would you begin to worry and how does the number that might bother you compare to the number of Covid 19 deaths that you will accept?
Obviously, the analogy was, as was Judith’s, to create a certain perception with the average Kiwi, who’d find driving a car rather innocuous indeed, I reckon, and generally considers themselves a better than average driver. That same person is unlikely to grasp for statistics of deaths caused by traffic accidents and compare those to predictions of fatalities caused by Covid-19, unless they’re you, obviously.
You’re grasping for straws to score a silly point, as per usual.
Your comment is dismissed as useless and irrelevant, as per usual.
Perhaps Judith has a car that once it has an accident, causes the car it just hit to careen of wildly and crash into another 3 or 4 cars, which in turn do the same, and so on, infinitely. (Or at least till all the cars on the road at the time are munted.)
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/452528/covid-19-national-s-plan-calls-for-vaccination-targets-to-end-lockdowns-open-borders
So nothing that is not already either being done, or in the pipeline.
What a croc.
National's 10-steps:
10 bullet points, eh? Have they just joined Keys' 5 and Seymour's 5 together?
PowerPoint (and any more recent copycats from other 'technology providers') have a lot to answer for.
2. already done. duh
3. uh-huh. like how? by cutting the health system like your lot did last time.? hard to believe
4. already doing it. beginning to suspect that this isn't a "plan" merely a bunch of misinformed talking points.
5. see (4) above. repeating themselves now?
6. more bureaucracy? is this an attempt to kneecap the MOH or something? yayy let's invent new agencies in the middle of a crisis.
7. how, when will it be ready. can we also have lamborghinis and flying unicorns?
8. duh. "we are [already] working on new digital certificates"
9. like ivermectin? no thanks, lets follow proper medical advice
10. translation: "our plan will crash the health system and give everyone Covid, but we will chuck some more beds in ICU, she'll be right"
lol I wouldn't want my name on this list either![laugh laugh](https://cdn2.thestandard.org.nz/wp-content/plugins/ark-wysiwyg-comment-editor/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/teeth_smile.png?x42494)
National’s ‘Opening Up’ plan – in a nutshell | The Spinoff
Paora Goldsmith has become camera-shy in fear of falling into more self-inflicted holes. The good man has a reputation to uphold for when he has to find a new job at the end of 2023.
Don't want to put their names to Nationals"Covid and hearses for Christmas".
Such transparency
As the Thai Bhuddist asked me with his bowl out: who gives a phuc?
Don't forget. "And tax cuts"!
"So nothing that is not already either being done, or in the pipeline.".
Are the current Government really supercharging the rollout? The figures say the the opposite seems to be happening. In the first week of September, when they seemed to be trying, there were 387,000 first doses. Last week there were only 144,000. Why the slowdown? We have only vaccinated 65% of the total population so far so there would appear to be about 1,800,000 people who have had a single dose yet..
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300417126/covid19-nz-first-doses-drop-to-lowest-rate-since-july-government-still-consulting-on-vaccine-certificates
https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-data-and-statistics/covid-19-vaccine-data
Have our Government ordered vaccine boosters? When did they do it, how many have been ordered and what are the delivery dates for these?
Expand our ICU capacity? Have the current Government really done that? We may have a bit more equipment but we don't appear to have the people to use them. According to ICU doctor Craig Carr, who is the New Zealand regional chair of the Australia NZ Intensive Care Society. "We now have more equipment compared with 18 months ago, but we actually have very few extra staff, and in some instances, we've got fewer staff,"
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-coronavirus-delta-outbreak-have-we-boosted-hospital-icu-capacity-enough/BYKEKZQYWNBFKWQ5ZEE5Q5PWNE/
That is just 3 of the 10 items but I can't see that, as you appear to believe, the current Government is already doing these things. I haven't bothered to check out the other 7 items but I don't really expect to find the Ardern Government is doing any better there. Perhaps you could provide some evidence that they are, if you can find any.
I understand it's 2 years to train an ICU nurse…..how's that crystal ball going
The number of ICU beds has increased from 150 to nearly 700.
But that would need to increase to 2,000 or3,000 just to cope with Nationals policy.that would require 1,000's more trained staff do we steal them from other countries who are struggling.or do we wait 6 to 10 years of training to bring up the numbers.
National can make any claims they like but none can be met because by the time they theoretically get into power 2023 the world will be different.
Alwyn the govt has ordered nearly 6 million doses of astra zeneca. Millions of Johnson and johnson's vaccine.
Then the govt will have over 2 million spare doses of Pfizer enough to give all vulnerable groups a booster dose.
Mixing vaccines may give higher immunity.
Luckily we have the research from countries in a far worse situation than us.
i see that Hooton has crawled out from under his rock again. calls for govt to give up its Covid response, and civil disobedience if he doesn’t get his way. what a dork.
Matthew Hooton on LinkedIn: Covid 19 Delta outbreak: Expert says 'very resistant' tail puts level
The scenes of violence and rioting in Australia against covid mandates and restrictions inflamed by Far Right figures and personalities.
Convince me that Mathew Hooton is a far worst than a dork.
Dictionary definition: Dork – A person regarded as stupid, foolish, awkward, clumsy, etc.
Calling for, (inciting), civil disobedience, against the government's efforts to contain the virus, needs to be condemned in the harshest terms. In my opinion the words sabateur and traitor are not too harsh to describe Mathew Hooton.
Let’s see if I have this right.
If opponents=bad then advocates=good
Not sure what you're saying there Incognito. But death-cult capitalism is self evidently "bad" for most of the human race, and the planet
Nah, I’m trying to capture Jenny’s apparent ‘reasoning’ in simple logical language, i.e. the enemy of enemy is my friend kind of stuff and everything else flowing from there. Way too much focus on who some of the protesters are and not enough of the reasons why some do join the protests. Another variation is shooting the messenger but not addressing the message. You can also see this here on TS in how some commenters want to deal with people who have questions, doubts, reservations, hesitations about getting vaccinated against Covid-19; it is not open-minded listening to others’ concerns but hardline exlusion to far-out corners of our public health system if not of our society in general. A public debate is needed, as always, but not on those terms. IMHO.
Ah right. Tribalism rather than actual arguments.
(You're not the only one).
I have been very clear, that I think that this debate should be held with the various grass roots stake holders in society. Faith Groups, Unions, Employers, Sports Associations, etc.
It would be great if you could tell us where and with whom in your Honest Opininion this needed public debate should be held.
Since you addressed this roblogic I won’t pre-empt his reply to you.
The main difference between roblogic and you is that he gets it and you don’t, generally speaking.
OK, so we won't censure Hooton for treason after all? Boring 😛
Remember what happened to Lord Haw Haw.
I looked it up, interesting story. Yes Hooton is a propaganda merchant for the other team. I think some of his Covid reckons are dangerous and irresponsible, in the middle of a life threatening pandemic, but not quite in the category of treasonous communications in wartime
The paid shill does as requested.
Soon he'll probably be pimping Jude's replacement as part of nationals PR machine just like he did with muller.
yes there's more than a whiff of a co-ordinated campaign of malcontents this week
A few other RW "influencers" have also been hyping civil disobedience, & sad we're not like the Australians. I bet Hooton would be nowhere near the Frontline.
In better & more sane news, the port workers are at 95% vaccinated! Showing disinformation can be fought against, & also very few people listen to fucking Hooton
If we were fighting a war Hooton would be locked up for undermining the effort .
The Locations of Interest list is down to under 100. Surely a good sign.
https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-health-advice-public/contact-tracing-covid-19/covid-19-contact-tracing-locations-interest
I don’t keep chickens, so entrail reading is not an option.
Bye.
A North Carolina-based hospital system has fired roughly 175 unvaccinated employees for failing to comply with its vaccine mandate.
Why it matters: It's one of the largest-ever cases of mass terminations spurred by a vaccine requirement. Over 99% of its 35,000 employees have adhered to the mandate, according to Novant director of media and influencer relations Megan Rivers.
https://news.yahoo.com/north-carolina-hospital-system-fires-174903386.html
Almost like mandates work…
On Monday, as the deadline for vaccinations for about 600,000 nursing home and hospital workers arrived, it seemed that bet had proved to be at least partially correct.
With just days or even hours to spare, thousands of health care workers got inoculated, according to health officials across the state. And while thousands more workers remained unvaccinated, and thus in danger of being suspended or fired, the rush of last-minute vaccinations appeared to blunt the worst-case scenarios for staffing shortages that some institutions had feared.
[…]
In the Bronx, Dr. Eric Appelbaum, the chief medical officer at St. Barnabas Hospital, said that some unvaccinated employees who had been anxious about getting the shot had simply put the matter out of their minds — until the mandate made it impossible to ignore any longer.
As recently as last Wednesday, more than 20 percent of the hospital’s roughly 3,000 staff members had yet to get their first dose. By late Monday morning, that number had plummeted to just 6 percent, Dr. Appelbaum said.
https://archive.li/r9YYT (nyt)
The vaccination campaign has 'hit a cliff'
"First doses have dropped massively"
Top down, mandated restrictions by the appointed authorities work to a point. But only to the point where they start to encounter resistance, non-compliance and possibly even hostile defiance.
To get to 90% vaccination coverage, mandates, regulation and compulsion alone, will not be enough. We need to win hearts and minds as well.
The government need to fund a society wide targeted information blitz.
Every sector; Faith Groups, Unions, Employers, Sports Associations, need to be on board, and provided with the resources to encourage their parishoners, union members, employees, players & supporters, to get vaccinated.
Your country needs you….
Your church needs you….
Your union needs you….
Your employer needs you….
Your family needs you….
Get vaccinated
Henry Cooke didn’t mention the word “mandate” once. Only authoritarians and other fearful control freaks do, without giving it much thought, it seems.
Henry Cooke never mentioned the word mandate. I never said he did. I was talking about the government's mandated lockdowns, and other mandated restrictions, the internal border between Auckland and the rest of the country, and the MIQ facilities at the national border, both of which are continually dealings with openly defiant rule breakers. And more and more breaches.
I was pointing out that these government mandated restrictions on freedom of movement, (which I support), have their limitations, especially if the government can't take the people with them.
I was suggesting that we need to win people over to willingly support measures like vaccination, rather than force people to have vaccinations by top down mandates.
I think this is a fair comment. I don't know how you can possibley make out that this comment, makes me an 'authoritarian, fearful control freak'?
I am in fact a convinced democrat.
The more democracy the better.
So I can understand where you are coming from; Maybe you would like to explain your reasoning behind your ad hominem insults.
You said that “[t]op down, mandated restrictions by the appointed authorities work to a point” and that “[t]o get to 90% vaccination coverage, mandates [my bold], regulation and compulsion alone, will not be enough”. I suggest you learn to word your comments better if you’re not actually in favour of and advocating for mandates from above. As it stands, very many comments of yours come across with a distinct whiff of authoritarianism and its handmaid absolutism. Just saying.
"As it stands, very many comments of yours come across with a distinct whiff of authoritarianism and its handmaid absolutism. Just saying." Incognito
You keep saying this, but never give an example. How about give us just one example, just one, of my "very many comments" that you claim "come across with a distinct whiff of authoritarianism".*
|Even in this case. Dispite how you try and twist my meaning. I was very clear, I was not calling for more top down mandates. i was instead advocating an appeal to all groups to willingly support the government's vaccination campaign, How on earth you can claim that calling for more grass roots consultation with all the stakeholders in society rather than top down imposed mandates is something "Only authoritarians and other fearful control freaks do" escapes me.
“Has a whiff of…” is an admission by you that your disagreement is a subjective view.
This is not the first time that you have said you don't like "the smell" of my comments.
An emotional response, suggestive of smell, whiff etc, are not objective fact based criticisms.
(Typed words literally don't have a smell, even less so on a computer screen).
I am sorry you disagree with my views, but I do not apologise for them, just because you disagree with them.
All I ask is that if you don't like my views, but feel moved to comment on them, instead of indulging in fact free personal ad hominem insults, provide a rational fact based critique, of why I am wrong,
You never know, we all might learn something.
At the very least it will lift the level of debate.
You wrote this, and I’ve added my emphasis, so that you can follow my reading of it:
That doesn’t read to me as “i [sic] was instead [my bold] advocating an appeal to all groups to willingly [my bold] support the government's vaccination campaign”.
It reads to as in addition to. Your comments are ambiguous and lack clarity of meaning and they often don’t pass the sniff test.
There is no contradiction.
I used the word 'instead' in the context of instead of mandated compliance alone. Not instead of all mandated compliance. You are deliberately trying to twist my meaning with selective cherry picking.
I am not against all regulation, (and never said I was) My view is that it needs, as much as is possible to be done with a mandate. Simply imposing regulations especially around sensitive areas of people's freedom of movement, (lockdowns), and bodily intrusion, (injections). Disempowers people and leads to the sort of scenes we saw in Australia. We don't want that here. If we want to get to 90% vaccine coverage, (which is a very high bar,) it is my opinion, that it can't be done with compulsion alone.
Therefore I suggested that the governent begin an outreach program to win over the various grass roots stakeholders in society. Unions, Faitth Groups, Sports Bodies, Employers, etc.
I really can't understand your objection to such an idea.
As usual, you’re going around in circles; so many words, so little clarity.
Let’s see whether you can shed any light on what you actually mean.
What specific “mandate”, “mandated compliance”, “regulation”, or “compulsion” do you have in mind when trying to achieve 90% vaccination coverage of the 12+ eligible population if it is not a mandate to get vaccinated?
Try keep your answer under 100 words and to the point, please.
'
Human beings are social creatures, generally speaking, where our peers go, we go.
If all the various disparate groups and organisations that make up our society can we won over to the vaccine campaign, their members will be won over too.
This initiative is being done in a partunership between the Canterbury District Health Board and local Businesses.
If we are to achieve the 90% target, which is something few countries have been able to achiever. It is my opinion; We need lots more initiatives like this.
That doesn’t answer the question not does it provide any clarity of what you meant, just more bedazzled befuzzled irrelevant nonsense. At least you kept it <100 words, this time although you replied to yourself (!?) with something else that has no hint of “mandate”, “mandated compliance”, “regulation”, or “compulsion”, which is consistent with the piece by their colleague and fellow Stuff author Henry Cooke, as I commented on previously.
No travel on airplanes without vaccination and testing.
Social media should shut down conspiracy theorists or at the very least promote science and vaccine efficacy.
"Social media should shut down conspiracy theorists or at the very least promote science and vaccine efficacy."
Shutting them down is giving them currency. They simply find another platform, and scream how true they must be because they were shut down. Some real medical professionals giving simple explanations of the actual science is the way to go IMHO.
"As farmers, families like mine received an enormous amount of benefit from the state, had almost no constraints on our actions, and often paid almost nothing in tax. In terms of per capita investment by the state, there has never been such a privileged class in New Zealand history."
"At heart their message is simply a plea to stop the clocks. For some, it is proving very hard to move on from living in a past version of New Zealand where they were the nation’s most privileged citizens."
The politics of nostalgia in the Groundswell protests.
An illuminating read.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/stop-the-clocks-the-politics-of-nostalgia-in-the-groundswell-farmer-protests
+10
worth the read
The ones that dont pay alot of tax (some do by the way) are the ones heavily indebted, the system is rigged in favour of the those that borrow and pour any money left over from interest rates into spending on capital development.
They dont want people debt free because they will be less productive, I read a ealy 1900s nz article that stated this but have never been able to find it again sorry.
As for the groundswell I'd love to see a reporter go ask a good number of them next time what they are in fact protesting, I'd imagine most haven't a clue,
Fonterra have many farmers in a bind. Banks have high self interest, so unless you are factory farming life can get difficult. Those farmers trying to pivot to less destructive farming methods need support with $ incentives to transition imo.
Not sure how fonterra has farmers in a bind?
Do they still have to supply milk if involved and pay if they can't…or has that stopped?
Cant help you there sorry
A bit sad really in that the farmers are not able to give a clear slant on just what their prime beef is. Is Groundswell really a farming lobby or people with a purely right wing political agenda? Not Fed Farmers or National Party? Hmmm?
Top pun that man!!
Groundswell? Loose affiliation of the disgruntled, the disorientated and the dismayed. Bound to succeed in overturning what the rest of us have already come to terms with 🙂
Thanks Robert, very insightful.
It isn't just political power they want the clocks wound back for. A return to a time where the primary producer is paramaount in their local market, as opposed to having to meet the supermarkets often one-sided terms and conditions.
Not unreasonable in my view.
How is Stuff funding the daily stories about people missing out on MIQ spots? When ever they have comments on the story, the main theme is "yes, it's tough for everyone but we have to manage returns so our people and our economy are safeguarded". Yet story, after story, after story – it feels like a funded campaign.
Where is the story after story about people catching covid-19 in the community and having their lives turned upside down – where is the balance? Or just anyone who has been screwed by lockdown – funerals, hospital visits etc.
Yes. The media supported campaign to denigrate this government reminds me of similar campaigns from past political climes including the latter half of the Helen Clark regime followed by the insidious campaigns against David Shearer and his successor, David Cunliffe – not to mention the officially sanctioned effort (at least in part) to discredit Phil Goff. I noted Barry Soper's latest diatribe has another go at the "government ruling by fear" meme :
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-delta-outbreak-barry-soper-labour-looks-rattled-and-pms-under-pressure/B7PTZL6XVH6ZQD4UGDIBMG5KPY/
These second rate tabloid journos are an integral ingredient of these insidious campaigns, while the first-class journalists and commentators have been banished to the back of the room. You find them in places like newsroom;
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/politics/covid-is-not-a-choice-for-sick-children-sir-john
"he media supported campaign to denigrate this government "
You have got to be joking.
Tova O'Brien and Jessica Mutch McKay are might as well just put cheerleader outfits on with big "A"s on them at Ardern's pressers and when they write about the current govt
"insidious campaigns against David Shearer and his successor, David Cunliffe "
"now that Mr Cunliffe has left the leadership race, he should quit Parliament altogether because Labour can do without him and his treachery."
Do you know who said that? David Shearer. Labour didn't need the media to point out their shortcomings…they were eating each other from within. Watching National over recent months is almost like experiencing deja-vu.
It would be nice if they pointed out that over 100 000 have come through miq ,just for balance.
173,000 was the last number I saw – hardly a hermit kingdom level
Disclosure: I'm currently in MIQ – day one at the Crowne Plaza after returning from the UK where I've been living and working the past 3 years until my visa expired in August.
I've been (and still am) on 4 different private FB groups as I've gone through the process of securing an MIQ voucher over the past 4 months. There are 1000's of people in the groups, and there are often requests made to them/us from journalists/reporters for returnees stories. (and no shortage of stories). No funded campaign needed.
Welcome back in NZ and here on TS![smiley smiley](https://cdn2.thestandard.org.nz/wp-content/plugins/ark-wysiwyg-comment-editor/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/regular_smile.png?x42494)
Thank you! It's wonderful to be back. (I got all tearful as we flew into the airport last night with the Southern Sky above me again…)![smiley smiley](https://cdn2.thestandard.org.nz/wp-content/plugins/ark-wysiwyg-comment-editor/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/regular_smile.png?x42494)
Nothing like seeing that land underneath you from the air once more.
It was the loveliest of sights.
Followed by hearing the familiar cadence of the kiwi accent, and the army/defence man on the bus telling us we'd be 'sweet as' once we'd had our first clear PCR and could have a daily walk. I didn't realise how much I missed the voices of people who sound like me! (Mind you, I've been living in Newcastle where the Geordie accent reigns and I'm not sure who had more trouble initially being understood- me, or them.)
Welcome back. Our son posted a video of a crowd of Kiwis doing a spontaneous haka on the Gold Coast. It was really rousing, and was greeted with cheers and clapping. Grant said he felt a real sense of "us".
This virus has made us rethink much. Hope it goes well for you. Feel free to chat here about your experiences. We haven't quite turned into Hobbits yet.
I think I saw that video on FaceBook! It was great, and also homesickness inducing!
I still recall the first sight of aotearoa I had after 2 years away ! 24 years 11 months ago . Had a return ticket to the uk but never used it.
Hah! Yes, that first sighting is magical…![heart heart](https://cdn2.thestandard.org.nz/wp-content/plugins/ark-wysiwyg-comment-editor/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/heart.png?x42494)
Welcome home NZFemme. 🙂
It would be interesting to know what kind of stories the journalists/reporters are after… whether they are interested in the good experiences or just the bad ones.
From what we have heard thus far, it seems to be mainly the bad ones.
Hello Anne,![smiley smiley](https://cdn2.thestandard.org.nz/wp-content/plugins/ark-wysiwyg-comment-editor/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/regular_smile.png?x42494)
Generally the reporters requests are for returnees experiences with specific aspects of the MIQ booking system and its evolution. For example, back in June/July they wanted to communicate with returning citizens about the use of third parties; the reasons people were resorting to it, and the actual technical process of booking. (This was when you had to sit at your computer refreshing constantly for hours at a time for weeks if you wanted any chance at all to book a spot – this was my experience, with a few all-nighters as well thrown into the mix)
There was also a call out for stories from people living with disabilities who were unable to use the system at all, as it wasn't set up to be accessible for them. (Kiwi citizens who are blind for example, or those with physical disabilities that wouldn't allow for the use of lightening fast keyboard use for hours on end)
There were requests from reporters for kiwi citizens who were being refused emergency allocations under the different criteria. (there are around 350 emergency allocations set aside every 2 weeks, but only 50% of them are generally allocated. Brigadier Rose King, joint head of MIQ, has said that "this is a limit, not a target".
Now they are interested in stories from returning citizens who are navigating the new MIQ booking system, which is more of a lottery system – so you enter your passport number when the lobby opens, and are then assigned a random number, which indicates where you will be in the queue for that specific room release. (They have just run the second room release under the new system yesterday)
There have been a couple of independent film-makers in the ex-pat community who put a call out for returnees to follow them through to their returns, and their experiences when back in NZ. (I don't like to be filmed so never put my hand up for these! Or any of the other requests.)
I guess the reality is that good news doesn't really get the ratings, and unfortunately, from the returning citizen's perspective, the MIQ booking system itself has been pretty horrible to navigate. And it really is the booking system itself, rather than the need to isolate/quarantine at a facility, that has so many returning citizens despairing.
I do feel very lucky to have been able to come home. It was a bit scary there for a while, as I didn't want to be an illegal overstayer in the UK, and be unable to work or rent. Thankfully the UK govt put in place a visa extension scheme called 'Exceptional Assurance' for citizens from countries with no flights home, or in the case of New Zealand, 'no room at the inn' so to speak, to at least make sure we don't end up with black marks on our passports. I don't know how much longer they will continue the scheme though, as they extended it somewhat begrudgingly again only after an intervention from the NZ High Commissioner.
Thankyou for your in-depth reply. It will take some time to digest it all.
I understand how stressful it must be for those desperate to return to NZ but I guess the government is trying to manage and absorb not too large a number of returnees at a time so as not to run the risk of compromising our Delta variant status. Hence the need to stagger the MIQ places over a longer period. Hopefully most will be able to return by Xmas or soon afterwards.
I find it a bit disingenuous they concentrate on the disabled because of course we are disadvantaged no matter what situation we find ourselves in. As someone who now has to live with severe arthritis I can attest to that. It comes across to me as an opportunity to include a few sob stories because they think it will create a stir among the great unwashed. I use the term "unwashed" only in a rhetorical sense.
Years ago I worked in a NZTV entity so I know a little bit how the journos' and broadcasters' minds work.
Anne, yes, that request did feel opportunistic – it came after an RNZ story on the 30 complaints to the Human Rights Commission about the lack of accessibility, one of which was spurred by the President of the Blind Union being unable to utilise the system. It felt like other media outlets were trying to play catch up with their own versions.
What feels yucky to me also, is the attempts to make MIQ and the issues of returning citizens into a political football game. It just ends up creating even more division between Kiwis who need to come home, and Kiwis at home. I really don't believe for a minute that Seymour or Collins care about Kiwis stuck overseas – it feels like they just see a crack in Labours wall, and want to wedge it open wider to score political points, flapping our stories about like gloating bait. But there is a crack…
I think given that New Zealand's ex-pat community is so large, and the ability to facilitate the numbers seeking to return is constrained by the infrastructure available to keep everybody safe – both returning kiwis and kiwis on the ground – sadly, it may be well into 2022 before the appx 30,000 who tried for spots in yesterdays room release can return. I really wish it was otherwise.
My goodness, you've got it sussed and you have only just arrived back into the country.
You are right about Seymour and Collins – and Chris Bishop. They have been playing politics with Covid from the start and with some success. They don't give a damn about the plight of overseas Kiwis. They're just using them as a stick to beat the government with. Sad that a lot of NZers are falling for it.
Nationals wish list .
Building stand alone miq facilities considering labour material shortages and that National are not in power so they can make any old claim it likes.
FAS disability costs should be funded by the alcohol industry.
Absolutely Tricledown.
That was an enlightening piece on RNZ this morning. When FADS was highlighted the way it was, I couldn't help but think there was a 'deserving sick' vibe to the PTB thinking.
By alcohol industry, you mean consumers of alcohol.
The actual change in consumer price would be quite low I believe
Are you trying to tell me the mega breweries would 'absorb' any new taxes or increase in excise?
I'm saying the public would barely notice the increase if it was simply passed on to them…..however under the philosophy of never let a chance go by I could easily imagine alcohol manufacturers and importers wail loudly so as to make additional profit under the mask of "It's a TAX"
Building specialised MIQ away from Auckland is actually a good idea. Just not in the way National intends. When the Northern Hemisphere Winter brings mountains of fresh corpses, New Zealand will belatedly realise it can't re-open borders in 2022 either
As with Tuberculosis, sanitoriums for safe recovery may well be needed for MIQ and as more people end up with long covid.
National's plan is bereft of any ideas for unvaccinated children under age 12.
No doubt users would have to pay for testing vaccine boosters and hospital stays?, true to their "User pays" values.
National. Promises Covid for Christmas!
What a cracker!
Ok, you asked for it…
Where do bad rainbows go?
Prism.
It's a light sentence.
Personal statement: Brian Tamaki and his ungodly protest do not represent me. He is a public menace and a wolf in sheep's clothing, seeking to profit from a public health crisis. 2 Corinthians 11:5 warns against "super-apostles"
https://www.gotquestions.org/super-apostles.html
The Bible requires masking, quarantines and arguably vaccine passports:
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus%2013%3A45-46&version=NIV
Once again, I am grateful our leader is more a New Testament type.
Excellent reference arkie, thanks! I will use that.
Ouch.
45 new cases.
I am thinking bye bye level 2 next week Auckland
If it is. I feel for you. 🙁
It's not as bad as it sounds: 33 of the 45 are household contacts, of the 12 remaining, 6 have known links at the moment. And most of these cases were expected.
Chippie summed it up well at the presser: National promises Covid for Christmas!
All together now:
The first day of Christmas,
National got for me
A trip to E.D. …
Still at least 6 out and about probably another 6 on top… covids tentacles are winding back into the community… think thats the number to watch because Aucklands pretty damn busy and social distance is reducing… work bubbles are mixing… in the line for a pie and a coffee…
Do we hold our nerve, or do we go back to level 4 in a bid to stamp it out? Look how efficiently it spreads in NSW which is sorta in a level 3 lockdown…
I suspect the govt will have to decide quickly….
Damn this second jab I had yesterday is washing me out much worse than the first one. I'm about 20% down in energy today whereas I was 10% down on the first one.
I won't go into too much detail on my first one as don't want to put anyone off except it involved a bit of vomiting the next day, but I was the opposite.
Reallybad the first. Perfectly fine the second.
Different bodies react differently I guess.
Nah, you just got them done the wrong way around. You booked your second first and your first second.
Better ring them up and get it redone in the right order.
Lol
I thought I was good to go after the second – for a little over 24 hours and then it hit me. Came over all hot and flustered and generally feeling like shit so I took to the scratcher. Got up next AM as good as gold.
The second shot apparently leaves some extremely fatigued. Sounds like Ad is one of them.
looks like I lucked out on those, then – barely any problems whatsoever. To the degree that I had a wee sore bit on my arm from the injection, then realised that I'd gotten the shot on the other arm lol.
2nd shot had nothing I can recall (except the memory loss maybe? lol).
Similar. Felt so tired after the second one that I had to lie down for about 4 hours – after that I was fine.
First dose I was a bit crook second dose pretty much flattened me – runny nose, exhausted and aching all over = about 3 days of snoozing with sedatives and pain killers (from my prescription supply)
Watch for any shortness of breath ,that needs a check, otherwise rest and fluids.
Cheers you lot got mine coming in t minus 9 days , how about stiff upper lip its allgood as a response
Don't worry. Side effects are short and for the vast majority very mild if any at all.
I found the best bet if you are working during the week is just try to get it if you can either on a Friday arvo' or Saturday. Then if you have a bit of a reaction you have a day or 2 to get over it.
Worked for me any way.
When the world goes crazy about someone 'crossing the border' or 'escaping,' the report of the Auckland cop helping his whanau or friends doesn't read well at all.
The stories of the hardship and the harrowing stories about people missing funerals and weddings are legend already.
Accepting the news story as is, the man put his personal feelings and wishes ahead of his responsibilities. Fair enough, good for him. No doubt he weighed things up, looked at all the angles. He came to the right decision for him, the wrong decision for all others who have have suffered adverse border rulings.
But, the system expects everyone who is in a fraught position to bite the bullet and not cross. The system expects that border checks will stop them. Most will turn and go home, their attempt foiled. On the surface it is easy to infer the guy abused his position, his word or uniform to get through.
If his priority is to his family or friends let him leave the police and do other things. His mana will be enhanced in his whanau because he was prepared to sacrifice his job for them. Sure he was in a tough position. It's 2021, he and they haven't got that on their own.
He is a pillock, I'm sure his superiors will want his guts for garters.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-delta-outbreak-auckland-police-inspector-at-centre-of-alleged-border-favour-breach-is-top-iwi-liaison-officer/U6Q7DL7PB5HO5TJ4A2SXLEOICE/
Seems odd he couldn't get it organised as part of his job.
Another 500 CCU nurses and 200 ward nurses to staff the the extra 100 CCU beds and 800 ward beds proposed?
Dopey tory pricks really do live in lala land.
https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21071149/nationals-covid-19-plan.pdf
Easy to talk shit in opposition… bit like Phil Twyford and his 10000s of kiwibuild homes…
They really haven't got a clue. When this virus passes and that will probably be 'hopefully faster than we might assume what then with all the excess beds and very expensive equipment that needs replacing even if isn't doing anything because of redundancy of the technology. In normal circumstances we have plenty of ICU/HDU beds. Now nurses, it takes a long time to train an ICU nurse .
1, they need patients to train on, even now we only have an extra 3 or 4 covid ones a day.
2.. there is a huge array of equipment to master it is almost a 5 year apprenticeship.
3.. it takes a pretty special person to be one. It is one on one care usually for 12 hours with very little time off ( 12 hours so that the number of nurse changes a day is minimised because changeovers are when mistakes happen ) and the expert observational skills required to look after someone who is pretty much comatose take a long time to acquire.
We are so lucky the Nats were put out to pasture.
Train an ICU nurse ?
Its a 2 semester course at Auckland University , a few hours per week plus study. of course supervision still needed once graduated.
For this course, you can expect 40 hours of lectures, 160 hours of reading and thinking about the content and 100 hours of work on assignments and/or test preparation.
https://courseoutline.auckland.ac.nz/dco/course/NURSPRAC/702A
Its like teaching, to become 'fully qualified' means you have reached top of scale after 8-10 years. Still can be a classroom teacher during that time with mentoring
So much ignorant nonsense, nowadays![sad sad](https://cdn2.thestandard.org.nz/wp-content/plugins/ark-wysiwyg-comment-editor/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/sad_smile.png?x42494)
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300414293/covid19-icu-staff-plead-for-kiwis-to-be-vaccinated-amid-bed-nurse-shortage
Ever heard of surgical registars…they are specialist doctors in training. Still treat patients.
Same goes for existing RN, indeed the course mentioned above requires them to be working in intensive care while studying.
Thats how a major hospital works , people in training are everywhere.
I think you mean surgical registrars – yes, as it so happens, I have heard of them.
As you rightly point out, training an ICU (Critical Care) Nurse requires much more than one course at University.
The question was not what nurses (or doctors) in training can do in and as part of their training, but how long it takes to train them and complete their training. It is even in National’s Plan, strangely enough:
Who would have thought?
Different candidates have different entry levels and thus different entry points. Well, duh!!
That's also an un-modelled estimate where they've just halved the 80% numbers. Not particularly rigorous, mathematically or medically.
I think taking the vote on leadership away from labour members and allowing caucus to pick the leadership should be opposed, it's nothing but a power grab from the labour right, caucus may have given us Ardern but also Goff and Shearer there's nothing to say Ardern couldn't have won a primary.
You forgot Unions, expecting payback.