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.
TL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above that was recorded yesterday afternoon above between and The Kākā’s climate correspondent : An independent review panel into the emergency response to Cyclone Gabrielle in Hawkes Bayconcluded “that ...
There are now only a few days left to give feedback on the Draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport 2024-34 (see our earlier post this week on GPS submission guides). As we’ve reported, the GPS is a disaster for Local Government, so we were particularly interested to hear ...
Willis has pledged to go ahead with the debt-funded tax cuts, despite growing opposition from her own supporters worried about appearing fiscally irresponsible. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for ...
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
Photo by Alvan Nee on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
Buzz from the Beehive One minister is talking tough while a colleague – whose ministry had acted tough and drawn a barrage of flak – has shown an official softening. Some ministers are doing what Labour was good at, which is distributing public funds to causes regarded as worthy or ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
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 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Nicholas, Senior Lecturer in Language and Literacy Education, Deakin University Earlier this month, the New South Wales government announced it would roll out programs for gifted students in every public school in the state. This comes amid concerns gifted school ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Rudge, Law lecturer, University of Sydney Massachusetts General Hospital In a world first, we heard last week that US surgeons had transplanted a kidney from a gene-edited pig into a living human. News reports said the procedure was a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tombs, Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago The 5th-century Maskell panel showing Jesus in a loincloth.British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA When Jesus is shown on the cross, he is almost always depicted wearing a loincloth around ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University Shutterstock When you think about a red object, you might picture a red carpet, or the massive ruby in the Queen’s crown. Indeed, Western monarchies and marketing from brands such ...
COMMENTARY:Jewish Voice for Peace The UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Monday — and for the first time since the beginning of the Israeli military’s genocide of Palestinians, the United States abstained rather than vetoing it. Security Council resolutions are legally binding, ...
Asia Pacific Report A New Zealand investigative journalist and author says the US spy system hosted by the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) appears to be a controversial intelligence system used in global capture-kill operations. Writing a commentary for RNZ News today, Nicky Hager, author of Secret Power, a 1996 ...
While Nicola Willis wouldn’t give any details on its size, she said a package of tax cuts is definitely still coming in this year’s budget, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the investigation into the Department of Internal Affairs after it was revealed that the Department’s Chief Executive personally reached out to expedite a DJs passport application. Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns ...
Finance minister Nicola Willis delivers her first budget statement, and unwittingly helps Joel MacManus save his relationship. Nicola Willis strode into the Beehive Theatrette. Around me, on the green foldout seats, were the country’s top business and political journalists. They were all here to see her announce the Budget Policy ...
Twenty years ago today, Māori Television launched after much controversy. Jamie Tahana looks back on its survival and impact across two decades. Chad Chambers stepped onto the stage, the brim of his cap casting a shadow across his face. His smile beamed as bright as his white freezing works gumboots, ...
Tauranga, Rotorua, Wellsford, Onehunga, Westhaven marina – Gavin Strawhan walks the meanish streets of New Zealand in his entertaining debut novel The Call, almost sure to roar into the number 1 position on the Nielsen bestseller chart, its front cover bearing a rave from somebody: “A really good and genuinely ...
On a Thursday in February, at Wellington’s Conservation House, the Conservation Authority, a statutory body advising the eponymous department and minister, Tama Potaka, opened its 195th meeting. Under consideration that afternoon was an agenda item written by Tim Bamford, chief advisor in the Department of Conservation’s biodiversity, heritage and visitors ...
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A lengthy response to the recently released draft Government policy statement on transport will soon be delivered from Auckland Council to Minister of Transport Simeon Brown. A submission raising concerns about funding distribution and the plan’s treatment of Auckland passed through the council’s transport committee on Wednesday, despite some councillors ...
The unidentified foreign intelligence operation discussed in a scathing report by New Zealand’s Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) last week appears to be a controversial United States intelligence system. The IGIS report said the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) decision to host a foreign system from 2012-2020 was “improper” ...
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.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiw6_JakZFc
Thanks Tony.
.
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.
https://vimeo.com/262116975
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
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
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
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…)
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…
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,
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
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.