(hugh grant is not that keen on boris johnson – eh..?..)
'Hugh Grant
@HackedOffHugh
· Aug 29
You will not fuck with my children’s future. You will not destroy the freedoms my grandfather fought two world wars to defend. Fuck off you over-promoted rubber bath toy. Britain is revolted by you and you little gang of masturbatory prefects'.
So HG is all worked up because The Boris has decreed that parliament will sit 3 days LESS in October than originally planned. ( its party conference break time)
He fails to see the the bonus of a new session of parliament, after the Queens speech its standard for MPs to vote on a no confidence motion on the government.
If its a majority against its bye bye Johnson.
They can even do that next week. but its a bit more difficult procedurally
Its more ore that it will end in a general election. Luckily for all right thinking people labour is lead by corbyn who is unelectable- this it will result in happy Boris with an increased majority.
I saw an item on either BBC or the Guardian yesterday where Johnston was poised to make an announcement on Education budget – or some such subject. Maybe a distraction from Brexit? I think that might be what HG is responding to.
I think you are all missing the bigger picture going forward that Hugh is foaming about. People seem so fixated on procedures that they forget about the effects on the UK politicians and financials treating the country's doings as if it was a reality show, dropping off the unwanted. Is anyone a follower of the Alex cartoons I have mentioned before. He is such a twisted character, always sorting out a way of profiting from any setbacks, wholely money and status oriented. The creators are so clever they will cut themselves.
A corporate raider like Brierley would undoubtedly approve Boris Johnson's raid on Britain in the best traditions of Caesar, Scandinavians, and Normans.
Just seen in our local paper requests for nominations for the national party for candidates for the the West Coast/Tasman electorate for the 2020 election.
Does national do this every election cycle, it's just I've never noticed it before. Or is it an indication that nat members are unhappy with their current list MP who stands in that electorate?
I wish they would do it here in Tauranga as we have the one clinging on to everything like a limpet – it saying that though I had a local Labour branch one yesterday outlining the local body candidates, all of them not specifically how they were backed and many say they are "independents" so a lot of careful reading to do to see who to back.
There are obvious reasons why I wouldn't know that but it is rather a surprise I haven't seen a thing in the news to suggest, at this stage anyway, it would be anything other than the incumbent.
Anyway I hopped onto another roll when it was open last year just because I could and because my candidate vote will now matter.
Neither did I but found that press release in a quick google. I have now had a better look at the National Party Constitution and Rules etc and the latter are quite specific in the process for selection of candidates – in particular Rules 86 -118.
Rule 87(c) specifies in a general way that the Electorate Committee must advertise for candidate and Rule 92 is then much more specific, ie:
Electorate Committees shall give to members not less than 14 days notice, by newspaper advertisements and other means, of the place, date and time fixed for the receipt of nominations. In the case of by-elections, the notice shall be not less than 7 days. In special circumstances these time limits may, with the approval of the Regional Council, be reduced.
Lots more specific information about the full process in the Constitution and Rules here for anyone interested … (I'm not except on an academic level, LOL)
Last night The Chairman raised the issue of the state of affairs in our Emergency Departments.
He raised a couple of good points: lack of insightful questioning by journalists and a perceived lack of action by the minister.
Because it was TC a pile-on ensued.
The issue remains, causing stress for staff and the public and a high turnover of workers.
From a senior emergency nurse in Mid Central DHB area I have 4 things that can be done alleviate the strain.
A mandatory patient care ratio of 3 patients per nurse (currently it can get up to 6, and some can be very sick).
Increase the capacity on the surgical, medical and orthopedic wards by 5 beds each.
On the night shifts increase the number of doctors on from 3 to 4.
Put 10 more beds in the department. At Palmy, they are in a newish department, one that was woefully under prepared for the growing needs of its population.
Yes, it costs money (cough cough surpluses) so it seems to be a lack of will is where the problems start.
"All enrolled children aged 13 and under won’t be charged a fee for a standard visit with a doctor or nurse, or:
an after-hours fee at participating clinics or pharmacies
the regular $5 prescription fee.
Putting the extra money where its needed is better than funding the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff.
The Chairman is just pushing the employment case for Junior doctors .
As for Nurses in the ED , maybe some people are better suited for the steady rythyms of wards or clinics rather than the busy peaks and slow troughs of the ED
When Jacinda was vying to win the elections she touted 8 dollar GP fees while National were promising 18 dollar visits.
Labour have yet to deliver on that $8 charge.
Knowing more resources to Primary Care is needed but failing to deliver it's no wonder ED's are overflowing and doctors are speaking out.
As a result, clearly Labour haven't put a sufficient amount of funding where it is initially needed. Moreover, due to Nationals under funding haven't put a sufficient amount into hospitals themselves. Keeping them on the back foot and under pressure while ensuring (by failing to deliver on cheaper GP visits) growing numbers, thus further pressure with larger workloads. Putting lives at greater risk.
I'm not merely pushing the employment case for junior doctors. As indicated last night, I was highlighting there is an actual problem which the Minster hasn't denied and in fact acknowledged.
If this was National doing this, I'm sure the outcry here would be massive, but as it is occurring under a Labour led Government it seems it's OK and I'm the problem for highlighting it. If we want better, we can't continue to defend Labour's shortfalls. We need to put the acid on them and let them know we won't accept their shortcomings and failure to deliver.
Excerpts from The 'lefty" "more left than most" Chairman's comment today @3.1.1 – from one comment FFS. If is wasn’t for The Chariman‘s self-declared ‘friend of the left‘ status, one could be forgiven for forming the impression that they were in cahoots with the National party!
"Jacinda… touted"
"Labour have yet to deliver"
"failing to deliver"
"clearly Labour haven't put a sufficient amount of funding where it is initially needed"
"[Labour] haven't put a sufficient amount into hospitals"
"Keeping them [hospitals] on the back foot and under pressure"
"failing to deliver"
"ensuring… growing numbers, thus further pressure with larger workloads"
"Putting lives at greater risk."
"Labour's shortfalls"
"put the acid on them [Labour]"
"their [Labour's] shortcomings and failure to deliver"
Got no answers, Drowsy M. Kram. Funny that, because neither have Labour so it seems.
Just because I (and others such as a number in the health profession) are concerned about this and are seeking answers doesn't mean we are part of National.
And Labour need to understand this. People (i.e. voters) have a genuine concern about this. Any one of us could at anytime get caught up in this, having our lives put at risk.
Claiming they/we are Nats does Labour no favours. Hence you are doing Labour no favours taking this attack approach.
And seeing as National played a big part in creating this mess, thus risk, their press release is a bit rich and a joke if it weren't so serious.
Don't know – it's a curious coincidence. If I wanted to avoid suspicion, I'd wait more than one day before replicating a National party spokesperson's talking points here. So maybe he is a genuine "lefty" – but there's so little evidence.
I'm sure you are not just interested in what should happen, "The Chairman", but also in what needs to happen to enable more money to be spent. After all, we all know that money does not grow on trees. Now there are a few things that do have to be considered first. You have talked about a "promise" by Jacinda; I am not familiar with it, but you have not provided any evidence that it was indeed a promise – remember that Labour was not elected to govern alone – budgetary aims may well be influenced by other partners in government.The second is that we are only two years into a three year term – clearly any government will assess priorities, as after all, money is not limitless. Now we do know that a lot has been allocated to the health budget – directly settlement of nurses pay negotiations, and some advances on doctors pay. Also there are payments for mould found in some hospital wards – the millions required had to come from somewhere. Then there have been costs in increasing staffing in various areas, but perhaps particularly in mental health, and costs of children;s visits to GPs have been reduced. The recent announcement of meals in schools is relatively small, but could be regarded as assisting both health outcomes as well as education goals. So the question back to you "The Chairman," is where is the money coming from? We can be thankful that National's tax cuts were not allowed to reduce government income; and it is a shame that capital gains taxes were left unchanged. Overall there has been a big increase in health spending over that of the previous government, doubtless funded in part by not having given the cuts to income tax planned by National, and also by increased tax receipts by the improvement in business profits following the increase to minimum wages and benefits. So while your question may be reasonable, it is partly answered by saying that priorities will have affected different areas of spending, but also it is fair to ask you, and the National Party spokesperson raising similar issues – what spending would you defer to achieve this aim more quickly, or how would you raise additional money to enable the higher level of spending?
This is a major issue that is putting lives at risk, therefore I'm sure there is more out there that hold concerns over this. Leading me to suspect a good number here get put off by the detractors and don't want to come under attack from this mob running wild. Thus, remain silent.
It's not their looks or nationality that is of concern, Marty. It's that they are shutting down genuine political discussion putting others off from partaking.
Witnessing the pile-on that ensued turns others off IMO. Why do you think no one but gsays thus far has partaken (in support) in this serious discussion.
Do you really believe no one on this site has a concern about this apart from us two?
Never fear, The Chair is here – and ‘concern’ is building.
Since the vast majority of NZers rely on the NZ public health service for their medical needs, I would think that the vast majority of NZers would have some interest in the state of that service and whether it has been and is being adequately funded/resourced.
I remain unconvinced that the current government are doing an awful job on public health, but this critical service certainly faces increased challenges.
This the second day running this ‘topic’. I gave it a shot yesterday on Daily review but it was an exercise in futility. All I can see is your anti-Labour bias that comes through strongly in almost every comment of yours. Others can see this too and hence the ‘pile on’.
For some reason you cannot accept that your MO is the main obstacle for serious discussion.
This the second day running this ‘topic’. I gave it a shot yesterday on Daily review but it was an exercise in futility.
Ditto.
All I seem to get from you is defence of Labour's shortcomings.
With Labour failing to live up to their namesake coupled with all their shortcomings, of course I have a bias against them. They no longer really represent the left and haven't really since 84. They haven't even apologised for that, let alone done much to correct it. You get more real lefties over at the daily blog than you get here.
Instead of piling in on me for highlighting Labours failures (my MO) you lot (if you are genuine lefties) should be piling in with me against them to help bring about change for the better.
Do you support and want this risk of life in our health system? Doctors are speaking up, why aren't the left here joining in?
All the people on the left I know do have a bias against Labour apart from the so-called left here. What is up with that?
As for Rosemary's unsubstantiated, bold assertion the other day, I have a post coming that will clearly show she is incorrect.
This place is like the twilight zone, where poverty has nothing to do with suicide and doctors speaking out about lives being put at risk musters no support, bloody unreal. Come on you lot, surely you lot are better than this.
All I seem to get from you is defence of Labour's shortcomings. [my italics]
Assuming that was directed at me, you are incorrect and have missed my point(s). I was not defending Labour – and with you it always is just Labour – against your criticism, I was criticising your criticism of Labour, the way you go about it, i.e. your style.
At last, we have some clarity about your bias, which is helpful indeed. Unfortunately, your bias is so strong, it has become a binary of polar opposites of either pro- or anti-Labour. Many (of us) are still somewhere in between these two extremes and view it as a spectrum rather.
So, please don’t box in people based on whether you judge them pro- or anti-Labour (or Left or Right, Black or White, et cetera). It gets you nowhere, evidently.
The rest of your comment is trying to reduce “[t]his place”, i.e. the people who write here, to a collection of simplistic souls without any acknowledgment of nuance and context. This may fit and suit your one-eyed single-minded view of (NZ) politics and this political blog but it is grossly inaccurate and does the TS community no justice.
So, instead of trying to pull or force us into your rabbit hole you may want to reconsider your contribution and presence here because something has got to give.
It may be there – the anti Labour bias – he never seems to make criticisms of the Gnats. But most of his critiques are pretty solid, unlike the run of trolls. I think he's playing the game functionally, which is more than can be said for Shadrach, James, or the entire Opposition come to that.
The Chairman has racked up 1000s of comments on The Standard.
If he could cite half a dozen of his comments made during the last long period of National-led ‘governance’ that were critical of National party policies/MPs, then I'd be less triggered by his modus operandi.
But he can't, because those comments don't exist.
Just to be clear: 1000s of comments by The Chairman on this site during that period, ALL exclusively critical of left-leaning opposition parties/MPs. His comments here comprise a broken record, IMHO.
But he doesn't commit the major troll faults – putting words in people's mouths, RW wishful thinking (except for a few spurious criticisms that won't fly), outright lying, or personal abuse.
He finds pointed but often real grounds to critique the coalition – there is a place for it.
Again, I disagree. Misinterpreting other’s words coupled to a strong bias can lead to comments that essentially have the same effect as deliberately putting words in people’s mouths. The Chairman does come close to this, on occasion, and I moderated (warned) him recently for telling people how they should or should not feel about something they disagreed on with him. I don’t believe he does these things deliberately, unlike malicious trolls, because he would have been long gone if that were the case.
You see, I don’t want him gone here, I want him to change his communication style that he seems so fond of …
As far as I am concerned, The Chairman can criticise the Government all he likes, hold them to account, and foster serious debate here. But he’s not accomplishing that if he keeps up his style!
This happens all the time! When the Government does something wrong or fails to do something right or at all in the eyes ofThe Chairman, it will trigger an attack on Labour and on Labour only. Generally. Often.
Although he does occasionally offer good points, the overall impact of his comments is heavily geared towards negative and they kill any serious discussion. Thus, in practice, the impact is as bad as of trolls.
The sad thing is though, and I give The Chairman the benefit of doubt, he does not intend to troll us but to force (?) the Government to do (much) better, if I may paraphrase The Chairman. Unfortunately, his MO is largely counter-productive to the cause he wants to promote …
@Incognito fair enough – sorry if I queered the pitch. I do think TC overdoes it, with consequent loss of gravitas, but some of his stuff is surprisingly good.
Thank you for the useful feedback, Stuart, and no need to apologise for that.
I’m trying to look at the bigger picture and figure out whether and how, on the balance of their comments, a commenter is or makes a positive contribution to serious and robust debate on this site or not. If not, I’d like find a way to improve the situation so that we all can reap the benefit of their contribution. I believe everyone has got something to offer and some commenters blow me out of the water at times (in a good way) …
Witnessing the pile-on that ensued turns others off IMO. Why do you think no one but gsays thus far has partaken (in support) in this serious discussion.
Personally and as a moderator watching patterns of behaviour (yours and others'), it's very obvious that a big reason others don't partake is because your style of arguing is incredibly frustrating to engage with. I don't like the tone of the pile on and will keep an eye on that, but ime generally they happen because regulars in an online community are at the end of their patience with someone behaving badly.
This has been a long standing problem with how you present your arguments.
As a suggestion, let’s do an experiment. You choose a new pseudonym and start commenting with a clean sheet (track record). If you get no traction with serious discussion on your comments, we could assume that the TS community does not agree with you and/or that your MO is the reason. To suggest that only hardened Labour sycophants frequent TS who won’t want to hear anything bad about Labour is pushing it but you’re free to have that opinion and stick with it, if you must. In fact, there are quite a number of commenters here that are less enamoured with Labour.
Yes, your comments are idiosyncratic but it never seems to occur to you that your style could be the issue. I thought I’d give you a suggestion to overcome the stalemate but you stubbornly refuse to change your ways. In fact, you ignore your role in any pile on saying:
I don’t accept that at all.
However, you do follow immediately with this question:
What exactly is wrong with the way I present my arguments in your mind?
Indeed, we have been over this so many times and nothing changes.
His constant barking-at-every-passing-car and relentless negativity (without proposing alternative solutions) is problematic and his hyper-critical, carping style is a major turn-off with voters.
I am not suggesting you should not comment here or criticise the Coalition Government (not just Labour). Though I am suggesting that you change how you do these things. It is a subtle difference in the way you communicate the same thing.
FWIW, I do believe you genuinely consider yourself a leftie. However, this does nothing for your MO here.
Is it? I thought I just described a dynamic I am observing that involves multiple people in a community.
"Next you''l be saying it is better for the site to remove me."
The site is a machine, have a look at the Policy and hope Lynn isn't reading the comments.
What can remove you is moderation, and that is done by real live people. You've now had two moderators give you feedback and do that with the courtesy of comment rather than bolded moderation. I'm not aware of anyone saying you should be removed from the site.
Where banning tends to happen is when someone is causing blatant problems for the site owners (eg posting something defamatory), or causing problems for the community or authors (see the bit in the Policy about tone and exclusion, also flaming), or causing problems for moderators (wasting our time, or behaving in ways that use up our time).
"What exactly is wrong with the way I present my arguments in your mind?"
We've been through this too many times in the past for me to spend more time explaining it. What I'm not seeing is you taking *any responsibility for your part in the dynamic. When I see that change I'll be more willing to engage.
If you genuinely want to not have a negative impact here (I'm not talking about your politics), then try listening to what people are already saying about how you debate.
TC was using it for political gain to blame Labour.
There is serious need for more nurses, residents, and specialists. There is serious need for more space in ED around the country. There is serious need for better facilities in those spaces – from management systems to radiology. There is serious need for ward space to admit patients from ED. There is serious need for reviewing whether or not we really want residents working 18 hour shifts, or paying off $80k loans while they do it.
There is serious need for increasing access to primary health care so people don't end up at ED.
As do I but I already raised yesterday that the govt has commissioned a major health system change process, so what can we reasonably expect them to do in the meantime before they know where to best put the investment?
It seems likely to be in primary care rather than more big hospitals, and hopefully in proper joined-up IT systems rather than only more people and machines that go ping.
"so what can we reasonably expect them to do in the meantime before they know where to best put the investment?"
From a senior emergency nurse in Mid Central DHB area I have 4 things that can be done alleviate the strain.
A mandatory patient care ratio of 3 patients per nurse (currently it can get up to 6, and some can be very sick).
Increase the capacity on the surgical, medical and orthopedic wards by 5 beds each.
On the night shifts increase the number of doctors on from 3 to 4.
Put 10 more beds in the department. At Palmy, they are in a newish department, one that was woefully under prepared for the growing needs of its population.
That is straight forward, simple to introduce solution for a local hospital that can happen in very short time, before the current review meanders to its conclusions.
I'm sure most issues in the health system are impacted by inadequate funding (and managerial approaches, I've heard of some really daft stuff). I was meaning more that the govt can't really do much about the situation at your local hospital in terms of staffing and capacity, that would need to be part of the funding round.
Workforce planning is handled nationally but yes any extra budget would have to be allocated through the DHBs, PHOs and NGOs who fund and provide health services. Alphabet soup. 🙂
Which takes us back to the fiscal responsibility pledge, which was part of getting elected in the first place.
NZ did not elect a revolutionary government. It elected an incrementalist change government, with a significant social conservative streak and fiscal constraints.
You want more change? Get enough people to vote so we have a labgrn government.
Which takes us back to the fiscal responsibility pledge, which was part of getting elected in the first place.
While their fiscal responsibility pledge has curtailed them somewhat so has their unwillingness to tax the top 1%.
Additionally, it also comes down to spending priorities. $20 billion on defence in a wellbeing budget doesn't bode well when New Zealanders lives are being put at risk in our hospitals.
No, don't try to play government departments off against each other. NZDF saves lives as well, and protects our EEZ. So does housingNZ, while we're at it. Surprise surprise, everything is underfunded. Has been for years if not decades. This isn't going to be fixed in three years, even if funds were unlimited.
No, don't try to play government departments off against each other.
It's about prioritisation of expenditure and what (in a wellbeing budget) will better increase our wellbeing. $20 billion being spent on defence isn't going to do anything for the wellbeing of your average New Zealander.
And seeing as we agree there has been massive under funding, clearly that money needs to be spent here on improving the deficit thus our wellbeing, even if it doesn't go far enough in 3 years. It's a far better start than blowing it on defence.
In an alternate reality you're complaining that our severeignty and ability to honour international agreements are compromised because NZDF equipment is falling apart and the government is doing nothing about it.
You have some very unreal expectations where this government, given it's composition, is concerned. McF has it correct, in that if you (we) want more socially conscious governance, you (we) have to vote for it.
Having said all that, and even though we're not getting the type of outcomes we may want, life is considerably better than it was/would be, under a national party led regime. Remember what that was like?
2 years is never going to be enough time to reverse 9 bollock ones, so instead of the $8 jobs, I'll settle for the $18, down from $45 doctor visits I use to have and wait for the country to mandate any sweeping changes most of us genuine left voters want but realise can't happen and retain electability without one.
On a personal note, I still don't believe you're very left at all.
If you (we) want more socially conscious governance, you (we) have to vote for it.
We did. National are out but unfortunately a number of their policies remain (such as the defence spend and no CGT)
Now that Jacinda is in charge she changed their stance (opposed to Little's position) and decided to blow the funding on defence. Moreover, through away a CGT (delivering on National’s promise in Labour's year of delivery) that would have produced a massive increase in tax revenue. It was only forecast to be tax neutral for the first 5 years.
No we didn't, we almost did, but have to rely on NZ1st to take over the reins.
Next time, without the need for Winston, things could get much better for the left as a genuine mandate would have been given.
Change the numbers in that new coalition to 60:40 red/green, instead of 90:10 and the mandate for real change, from the people, would be undeniably one to turn left and fast.
2 years is never going to be enough time to reverse 9 bollock ones,
You're surely not forgetting the nine bollock ones before the last nine bollock ones?
Simply put, undoing the last two decades of 'let the shit trickle down' policies is going to take more than the aspirational SSDD twaddle this lot is going to be remembered for.
The mood was right for real transformation…boat missed, ship sailed.
Without appearing selfish, I did alright out of HC's term in office. Student free loan, a job starting at $10 an hour which was enough to live on and start a family, then a 100% mortgage with kiwi bank when the family thing didn't work out as intended.
Compared to the near 20 years of Thatcher and Major I had before Helen, it was fucking dream.
This is the thing about Labour. They *do do good things too. This is why I disagree with the line that they're the same as National. They're really not.
Yep, of course they're not. Sure they're nowhere near perfect, and far from the old union days, flat caps and full on socialism, but they're certainly not the same as national.
It's a harsh reality for some to take, but we don't live in the 60s and 70s anymore. Our political leanings may, but the majority of the rest of the voting public obviously doesn't. There's a left of labour party right now, and they only pull 6%. I party voted them the last two times and probably will again, but expecting labour to start going for the hard left vote is unrealistic when the reality is it's the centre who currently decide elections, and if the left greens can't pull the numbers, why would labour?
I'm sure, with climate change the driver, when the realities hit home for mum and dad, there will be a real movement for radical change, but until that happens, if it has to be incrementally, then so be it.
Win when you can, but ffs, don't give the game away by knee capping yourselves.
I see it similarly although I think a faster way to get there is ore people voting Green. A L/G govt with more Green MPs than now will be quite different from what we have now.
Back to the beginning, but that's what people have been saying to the chairman for quite a while now, how if you want the left stuff you have to vote for it.
Well done "The Chairman" for advocating a way of funding an $8 fee for GP visits (which has been more than met for those up to 13 of course) – to break a pledge made by one of the government parties not to raise income taxes in the first term (I don't have the exact wording, if that's wrong I'm sure someone will correct). I guess advocating meeting one election aim by breaking another is a value judgement you think the government should do, but at least you must appreciate that it is not clear-cut. Righting the wrongs on nine years of neglect by the previous government may take some time – all we can do is point out the reasons why difficult decisions can affect outcomes, and keep voting for a Labour/Green government next time.
And while it is not directly relevant to the thread, "The Chairman," can I ask what you are the Chairman of? or perhaps why you chose that name?
Do you get that while what yrself and Sacha are saying isn't incorrect, it comes across as being apologists.
Especially to those of us with our nearest and dearest bearing the brunt of chronic underfunding. To hear 'just wait, we will do a review', 'get more people to vote Green', and the excuse I despise the most – 'fiscal responsibility'.
That last one is all about getting re-elected. Because clearly as they are being fiscally responsible business confidence is sky high. #sarc.
It really reeks of drinking too much of that neo liberal raro
People are really hurting: health professionals, public, police and ambos.
Hiya gsays. Agree…more nurses. More experienced HCAs. Doctors with enough time to get a bit of a patient history rather than assuming… or worse…judging. My recent trip via ambulance to the local ED was an eyeopener. Hopefully, now I have a stash of Trammies in case The Pain returns, I will never have to impose on them at ED again.
There are efficiencies that could be made in the system…especially around the availability of ultrasounds and other diagnostic scanning…but hey, keep giving out the opioids and send those pesky patients on their merry way.
You are correct to say less non-emergency patients in EDs by using GPS.
Yes poverty is one of the drivers of the high numbers presenting.
So are the co-morbidities the elderly are living with.
You are simply being insulting or proroundly ignorant to suggest the nurses aren't up to it. The idea of a trough on a night shift shows how ill (see what I did there?) informed you are.
Sorry but it helped me. I am so sick of hearing dukeofurl's opinion on everything that actually doesn't add to the topic. However I will give you a break from my opinion.
There will always be busy periods. The issue is whether overloaded staff redlining themselves to exhaustion is becoming the norm, and the quiet periods are becoming fewer and fewer.
The thing of value to learn from what Māori did and experienced is to think through what it would be like living on an island and watching your food sources disappear slowly over time when there is literally no other way to replace them. Māori adapted.
Yeah nah, resorting to cannibalism probably isn’t a vote winner
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Yeah nah, resorting to cannibalism probably isn’t a vote winner
Best you familiarise yourself with cannibalism and the great famines in Western Europe, the New World Jamestown famine cannabilism and cannabilism during twentieth century famines in Eastern Europe and Asia.
Read a thing about the Donner Party (settlers in the US 19th century who got trapped in the Sierra Nevadas over winther and et each other).
The local First Nations tribe repeatedly tried to give the Donner Party food, but as soon as they got in sight the settlers would open fire. They took to leaving food at night, but eventually pulled back when the settlers started eating each other. So yeah, bad situation made worse by racism…
I've just been reading this and besides an earlier reference to Winston this said all and confirms everything NZers owe him in the past and now
Political Animals – Jane Clifton pages 260-261 (2009) "Tamihere is almost the anti-Winston. Where Winston is paranoically scrupulous in his personal, financial and political dealings, Tamihere seems reckless. Where Winston would rather wear a polyester shell suit from Postie Plus than accept a golden handshake, or any lump sum, tax-paid or otherwise, Tamihere seems unabashed about his right to be given money, cars, jobs, attention – whatever. Where Winston hyper-researches everything, and be-labours his work rate as a towering virtue, Tamihere rejoices in the impression of coasting, winging it, not getting into a lather because, hey, life is easy for him. He's a natural. Winston is alive, to the point of mania, to any hint, suggestion, situation which might make him look venal or assuming. "
Theres rumour/bullshit around that Tamiheres real aim is to stand for Tamaki Makaurau for the Maori party next year, win or lose and even be Mayor/MP at the same time ?
Martyn does seem to be stretching things a bit lately doesn't he? On another posting he seems to be claiming that he alone was responsible for getting Peter Dunne to retire.
"I worked hard on pushing the Feed the Kids Bill and not getting it through Parliament because of Peter Fucking Dunne is the greatest regret of my life (although the strategy to remove him from Ohariu in the 2017 was the perfect vengeance),"
In the case of Winston I think he is simply copying Trotter's story about Ardern dying.
With Winston I am tempted to paraphrase Dorothy Parker's quip about Calvin Coolidge.
If someone was to tell me that Winston was dead the appropriate comment would seem to be "How could they tell?"
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Norton, Professor in the Practice of Higher Education Policy, Australian National University Every year on June 1, student debt in Australia is indexed to inflation. In 2023, high inflation pushed the indexation rate to 7.1%, the highest since 1990. This ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Changes in the May 14 budget will cut the student debt of more than three million people, wiping more than $3 billion from what people owe. The government will cap the HELP indexation rate ...
Asia Pacific Report The prosecutor’s office at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has appealed for an end to what it calls intimidation of its staff, saying such threats could constitute an offence against the “administration of justice” by the world’s permanent war crimes court. The Hague-based office of ICC Prosecutor ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk A women’s union in New Caledonia has staged a sit-in protest this week to support senior Kanak indigenous journalist Thérèse Waia, who works for public broadcaster Nouvelle-Calédonie la Première, after a smear attack by critics. The peaceful demonstration was held on ...
New Zealand Food Safety is monitoring overseas recalls of Indian packaged spice products manufactured by MDH and Everest due to concerns over a cancer-causing pesticide. ...
By Stephen Wright and Stefan Armbruster of BenarNews Fiji’s ranking in a global press freedom index has jumped into the top tier of countries with free or mostly free media after its government last year repealed a draconian law that threatened journalists with prison for doing their jobs. Fiji’s improvement ...
We might be in Invercargill but all anyone can talk about is Gore. Specifically, Salford Street. That’s where three-year-old Lachlan Jones lived, south of the centre of town, between the A&P Showgrounds and the Mataura River. Roughly 1.2 km away from the single level home he lived in with his ...
MONDAY I lined up the latest round of civil servants from city hall against the wall, and signalled for the firing squad to drop their rifles. I stepped up onto a wooden crate to look at the office workers in the eye. But that didn’t feel right, so I found ...
Keen hiker and second-year MSc student Liam Hewson wears two hats when he’s in the great outdoors. “The scientist in me appreciates nature and goes, ‘Oh, there’s that thing and there’s another thing,’ but then the tramper and the outdoorsy person in me thinks, ‘Cool bush.’” Born and bred in ...
After a long and illustrious career as a goal kicker, Dan Carter’s favourite way to unwind is… kicking goals. Why can’t he get enough of it? And what it’s like to watch him do it for an hour straight? A semicircle of people wielding cameras and phones has formed in ...
Dame Susan Devoy takes us through her life in television, including late night ER debriefs, her proudest CTI moment and the show she watches in secret. Quite aside from her four world champion squash titles, Dame Susan Devoy will likely go down in history as one of the best Celebrity ...
Hera Lindsay Bird reveals the best places in Ōtepoti to score more for your apocalypse-prep book hoard.Sometimes I get the feeling I’ve been killed in a car crash, and this second half of my life is just the brain unspooling itself, like one of those episodes of a hospital ...
ThreeNow’s new murder mystery series takes us on a dark, damp journey into the Australian wilderness.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. High Country is ThreeNow’s new Australian eight-part crime drama, set in a remote part of the Victorian highlands. It tells ...
Introducing a new way to read The Spinoff every weekend. After nearly 10 years of being an online magazine, we’re finally embracing the weekend liftout. Despite our best efforts to convince you otherwise, writers and editors at The Spinoff don’t work weekend. It is through the sheer power of technology ...
Tip one: let yourself be nurtured by this big old man. Tip two: don’t ask him to adopt you. So, you’ve arrived at your first session with a new therapist. He tells you to make yourself comfortable and you opt for the tweed armchair, hoping it makes you look like ...
I didn’t know books could open you back up; that there were books that stayed with you, where reading was like a chemical event. I knew nothing.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.Not too long ago, I was listening to the American ...
Former Olympic swimmer James Magnussen has already started training for the Enhanced games, though says he won’t start taking performance enhancing substances until about nine months out from the competition. The Australian world champion was the first athlete to be announced by Enhanced, but he says the organisation has had ...
Everyone thinks he’s dead. Every day they expect his body to be washed up along the coast. Most likely up Karitane way, the way the tide’s running. But nobody’ll be too surprised if his body’s never found. Even in death he wouldn’t have wished for such attention. He would have ...
Council members voted 21 to 4 in favour of Ahluwalia returning to the Laucala campus following a much-awaited meeting in Vanuatu this week. It comes as USP and its two unions — the Association of the University of the South Pacific Staff (AUSPS) and the Administration and Support Staff Union ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicola Henry, Professor & Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Social and Global Studies Centre, RMIT University Shutterstock Following an emergency meeting of the National Cabinet this week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a raft of measures to tackle the problem ...
Analysis - A poll showing the opposition is more popular than the government raises questions, politicians go through their 'trial by pay rise' and a Green MP loses her cool in the debating chamber. ...
The entire stretch of Tokomaru Bay on the East Coast will be subject to a joint customary marine title for two hapū, and extending up to four miles out to sea. A High Court judge has found the two groups, who during the case settled a dispute over boundaries for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Hall, Lecturer, Media & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University A longstanding feud between TikTok and Universal Music Group seems to have finally reached an end, with both parties signing a deal that will see Universal-backed music returned to the social media ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Siobhan O’Dean, Postdoctoral Research Associate, The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, University of Sydney After several highly publicised alleged murders of women in Australia, the Albanese government this week pledged more than A$925 million over five years ...
Political parties have now fully disclosed the donations they received last year - with National getting more than double the cash of any other party. ...
A Pacific regionalism expert has called out New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for withholding information from the public on AUKUS military pact. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard de Grijs, Professor of Astrophysics, Macquarie University Bruno Scramgnon/Pexels All systems are “go” for tonight’s launch of China’s next step in a carefully planned lunar exploration program. Placed on top of a powerful Long March 5 rocket, the Chang’e 6 ...
National returned a massive donation the day after a Newsroom story linked the donors to a property being investigated for operating unlawfully as a migrant workers’ hostel. The party’s 2023 donation filings, released on Friday, show it returned a $200,000 donation from Buen Holdings on August 23. That was the ...
Pacific Media Watch New Zealand has slumped to an unprecedented 19th place in the annual Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index survey released today on World Press Freedom Day — May 3. This was a drop of six places from 13th last year when it slipped out of its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joshua Black, Political Historian and Administrator Officer, Australian Historical Association, Australian National University Australia has had its fair share of public record-keeping controversies in recent years. Some have been mere farce, as in the case of two formerly government-owned filing cabinets (containing ...
Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), a United Nations-affiliated organization dedicated to fostering peace through civilian-led initiatives, has issued a statement in response to the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. ...
A poem by Tessa Keenan, from AUP New Poets 10. Mātou These days we are a photograph; one of a farm strewn with cows that used to be bright harakeke or swamp. The kids point at it and say the sun sits behind a smudge (left by someone at Christmas); ...
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 Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (Faber & Faber, $25)The masterful Irish writer ...
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. Key facts Marriages and civil unions In ...
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lennon Y.C. Chang, Associate Professor of Cyber Risk and Policy, Deakin University Taiwan stands out as a beacon of democracy, innovation and resilience in an increasingly autocratic region. But this is under growing threat. In recent years, China has used a variety ...
In this excerpt from her new memoir, Dame Susan Devoy remembers her turn as star contestant on the 2022 season of Celebrity Treasure Island. The most anxious time of every day was pre-elimination, when you knew this could be your final day on the show. I felt such contradictory emotions, ...
A week that began in triumph ended in an all-too-familiar disaster for the Green Party. Duncan Greive asks if there’s something in the mission that breaks its best and brightest. A long, strange week for the Green party began with a fantastic poll result. On one level this is hardly ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Vanuatu’s former prime minister and opposition MP Ishmael Kalsakau has stepped down — just two days after he confirmed he was the rightful opposition leader. Kalsakau, MP for Port Vila, confirmed to ABC’s Pacific Beat, and the Vanuatu Daily Post on Thursday that he ...
What’s to blame for the coalition’s choppy start? Six months in, and the mojo meter is in the doldrums. A new poll would put National out of power and sees its leader, Chris Luxon, sliding in popularity. How much is it about policy, how much coalition management and a perception ...
The striking report goes far beyond the proposed repeal of the Oranga Tamariki Act’s Treaty of Waitangi provision, and its impact should be felt far beyond the unique circumstances of the claim it addresses. Earlier this week, the Waitangi Tribunal released an interim report on the government’s proposed repeal of ...
The world has been experiencing a productivity slowdown, from which New Zealand has not been exempt. COVID-19 temporarily boosted labour productivity, but more recently, productivity has retreated. The overall trend since 2007 has been one of slow productivity ...
What’s more wasteful than spending $315k on syrup and machine maintenance? Trying to drum up a controversy about it.Cast your mind back to the pre-pandemic idylls of 2019. A “rat” was a disgusting rodent and not a self-administered plague test; the sixth Labour government was in power; and the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Professor of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Monash University, Monash University Ken stocker/Shutterstock In the wake of numerous killings of women allegedly by men’s violence in 2024, thousands of Australians have joined rallies across the country to demand action ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Henry Cutler, Professor and Director, Macquarie University Centre for the Health Economy, Macquarie University Oleg Ivanov IL/Shutterstock Waiting times for public hospital elective surgery have been in the news ahead of this year’s federal budget. That’s the type of non-emergency surgery ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Konstantine Panegyres, McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow, Historical and Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne Amna Artist/Shutterstock One of the earliest descriptions of someone with cancer comes from the fourth century BC. Satyrus, tyrant of the city of Heracleia on the Black Sea, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Rose, Professor of Sustainable Future Transport, University of Sydney LanaElcova/Shutterstock Electric vehicles are often seen as the panacea to cutting emissions – and air pollution – from transport. Is this view correct? Yes – but only once uptake accelerates. Despite the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Giselle Natassia Woodley, Researcher and Phd Candidate, Edith Cowan University There is widespread agreement Australia needs to do better when it comes to gender-based violence. Anger and frustration at the numbers of women being killed saw national rallies over the weekend and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Graham, Lecturer in Economics, University of Sydney Mark and Anna Photography/Shutterstock As home ownership moves further out of reach for many Australians, “rentvesting” is being touted as a lifesaver. Rentvesting is the practice of renting one property to live ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sukhmani Khorana, Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture, UNSW Sydney Netflix The new season of Heartbreak High is garnering mixed reviews. Critics are writing about the racy story lines, comparing it to other coming-of-age series about teenage relationships and ...
Bob Carr intends to launch legal action against Winston Peters and Julie Anne Genter is facing a second allegation of bullying. Both sucked the air out of an announcement on education, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in ...
In 1995, Sally Clark went out on her own in a bold and unorthodox attempt to join an illustrious group of equestrian riders conquering the world. In the days of glovebox road maps, brick cell phones, and the hit song How Bizarre, Clark refused to follow Sir Mark Todd, Blyth ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Beaglehole, Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago niphon/Getty Images The number of people accessing medication for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Aotearoa New Zealand increased significantly between 2006 and 2022. But the disorder is still under-diagnosed and ...
To celebrate the start of New Zealand music month, we look back at the best local tuneage that managed to weasel its way into Hollywood productions. There’s nothing quite like the thrilling zap of recognition when New Zealand weasels its way into a glamorous Hollywood production. Crack open a Tui ...
People trust other people more than institutions. So how can the media gain that trust through journalists without losing what’s important about the institution? Anna Rawhiti-Connell reflects on two years of curating the news for The Bulletin.Amonth ago, armed cops descended on my neighbourhood as calls to “lock your ...
Opinion: PFAS – per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances – are a class of thousands of man-made chemicals used widely in everyday consumer items such as textiles, packaging, and cookware, popular for their water, grease and stain-repellent properties. However, the very properties that make PFAS so attractive to manufacturers are also what ...
NONFICTION 1 The Last Secret Agent by Pippa Latour & Jude Dobson (Allen & Unwin, $37.99)’ This is the hottest book in New Zealand, number one with a bullet in its first week, selling more than any overseas title, and demand is so huge that it’s already been reprinted. A ...
(hugh grant is not that keen on boris johnson – eh..?..)
'Hugh Grant
@HackedOffHugh
· Aug 29
You will not fuck with my children’s future. You will not destroy the freedoms my grandfather fought two world wars to defend. Fuck off you over-promoted rubber bath toy. Britain is revolted by you and you little gang of masturbatory prefects'.
So HG is all worked up because The Boris has decreed that parliament will sit 3 days LESS in October than originally planned. ( its party conference break time)
He fails to see the the bonus of a new session of parliament, after the Queens speech its standard for MPs to vote on a no confidence motion on the government.
If its a majority against its bye bye Johnson.
They can even do that next week. but its a bit more difficult procedurally
”If its a majority against its bye bye Johnson”
no.
Its more ore that it will end in a general election. Luckily for all right thinking people labour is lead by corbyn who is unelectable- this it will result in happy Boris with an increased majority.
yeah – i know – luvvie throws a tanty – who cares..?
but i liked the air of exasperation..
and the creative-heft that went into: 'you over-promoted rubber bath toy'.
(and the tory-definition:..)
'little gang of masturbatory prefects'.
(sez it all – really..)
I saw an item on either BBC or the Guardian yesterday where Johnston was poised to make an announcement on Education budget – or some such subject. Maybe a distraction from Brexit? I think that might be what HG is responding to.
I think you are all missing the bigger picture going forward that Hugh is foaming about. People seem so fixated on procedures that they forget about the effects on the UK politicians and financials treating the country's doings as if it was a reality show, dropping off the unwanted. Is anyone a follower of the Alex cartoons I have mentioned before. He is such a twisted character, always sorting out a way of profiting from any setbacks, wholely money and status oriented. The creators are so clever they will cut themselves.
Well said.
Fewer, dookydooky. A fairly strategic three days.
A corporate raider like Brierley would undoubtedly approve Boris Johnson's raid on Britain in the best traditions of Caesar, Scandinavians, and Normans.
Good morning, I've a question please……
Just seen in our local paper requests for nominations for the national party for candidates for the the West Coast/Tasman electorate for the 2020 election.
Does national do this every election cycle, it's just I've never noticed it before. Or is it an indication that nat members are unhappy with their current list MP who stands in that electorate?
I wish they would do it here in Tauranga as we have the one clinging on to everything like a limpet – it saying that though I had a local Labour branch one yesterday outlining the local body candidates, all of them not specifically how they were backed and many say they are "independents" so a lot of careful reading to do to see who to back.
Seems to be normal practice under National's rules and procedures for the selection of electorate candidates.
https://www.national.org.nz/national_2020_candidate_selection_process_begins
Rapunzel, apparently this has already taken place in Tauranga during the two weeks, 12 – 26 August.
There are obvious reasons why I wouldn't know that but it is rather a surprise I haven't seen a thing in the news to suggest, at this stage anyway, it would be anything other than the incumbent.
Anyway I hopped onto another roll when it was open last year just because I could and because my candidate vote will now matter.
Neither did I but found that press release in a quick google. I have now had a better look at the National Party Constitution and Rules etc and the latter are quite specific in the process for selection of candidates – in particular Rules 86 -118.
Rule 87(c) specifies in a general way that the Electorate Committee must advertise for candidate and Rule 92 is then much more specific, ie:
Lots more specific information about the full process in the Constitution and Rules here for anyone interested … (I'm not except on an academic level, LOL)
https://elections.nz/assets/Party-files/national-party-rules-and-constitution.pdf
Thanks VV.
Last night The Chairman raised the issue of the state of affairs in our Emergency Departments.
He raised a couple of good points: lack of insightful questioning by journalists and a perceived lack of action by the minister.
Because it was TC a pile-on ensued.
The issue remains, causing stress for staff and the public and a high turnover of workers.
From a senior emergency nurse in Mid Central DHB area I have 4 things that can be done alleviate the strain.
A mandatory patient care ratio of 3 patients per nurse (currently it can get up to 6, and some can be very sick).
Increase the capacity on the surgical, medical and orthopedic wards by 5 beds each.
On the night shifts increase the number of doctors on from 3 to 4.
Put 10 more beds in the department. At Palmy, they are in a newish department, one that was woefully under prepared for the growing needs of its population.
Yes, it costs money (cough cough surpluses) so it seems to be a lack of will is where the problems start.
The answer is to devote MORE resources to Primary Care ( GPS) as its the people who DONT need emergency care that are clogging up the ED.
Lower cost general practice visits
We have changed things to make visits to general practices more affordable for you, your family and whānau.
https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/primary-health-care/primary-health-care-subsidies-and-services/lower-cost-general-practice-visits
Especially good news for children
"All enrolled children aged 13 and under won’t be charged a fee for a standard visit with a doctor or nurse, or:
Putting the extra money where its needed is better than funding the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff.
The Chairman is just pushing the employment case for Junior doctors .
As for Nurses in the ED , maybe some people are better suited for the steady rythyms of wards or clinics rather than the busy peaks and slow troughs of the ED
@Dukeofurl
When Jacinda was vying to win the elections she touted 8 dollar GP fees while National were promising 18 dollar visits.
Labour have yet to deliver on that $8 charge.
Knowing more resources to Primary Care is needed but failing to deliver it's no wonder ED's are overflowing and doctors are speaking out.
As a result, clearly Labour haven't put a sufficient amount of funding where it is initially needed. Moreover, due to Nationals under funding haven't put a sufficient amount into hospitals themselves. Keeping them on the back foot and under pressure while ensuring (by failing to deliver on cheaper GP visits) growing numbers, thus further pressure with larger workloads. Putting lives at greater risk.
I'm not merely pushing the employment case for junior doctors. As indicated last night, I was highlighting there is an actual problem which the Minster hasn't denied and in fact acknowledged.
If this was National doing this, I'm sure the outcry here would be massive, but as it is occurring under a Labour led Government it seems it's OK and I'm the problem for highlighting it. If we want better, we can't continue to defend Labour's shortfalls. We need to put the acid on them and let them know we won't accept their shortcomings and failure to deliver.
Excerpts from The 'lefty" "more left than most" Chairman's comment today @3.1.1 – from one comment FFS. If is wasn’t for The Chariman‘s self-declared ‘friend of the left‘ status, one could be forgiven for forming the impression that they were in cahoots with the National party!
Knowing more resources to Primary Care is needed but failing to deliver it's no wonder ED's are overflowing and doctors are speaking out.
When are Labour going to deliver on those $8 charges, Drowsy M. Kram?
Moreover, when will they sort out the trouble in our hospitals and reduce the lives currently being put at risk?
National’s Health spokesperson Michael Woodhouse press release
https://www.national.org.nz/dhb_performance_going_backwards_under_clark (29 August 2019)
Spot the difference between Woodhouse’s 29 August press release and The Chairman's comment @3.1.1.1.1.
Party vote Labour/Green for a more progressive tax system to better fund NZ’s excellent public health service.
Got no answers, Drowsy M. Kram. Funny that, because neither have Labour so it seems.
Just because I (and others such as a number in the health profession) are concerned about this and are seeking answers doesn't mean we are part of National.
And Labour need to understand this. People (i.e. voters) have a genuine concern about this. Any one of us could at anytime get caught up in this, having our lives put at risk.
Claiming they/we are Nats does Labour no favours. Hence you are doing Labour no favours taking this attack approach.
And seeing as National played a big part in creating this mess, thus risk, their press release is a bit rich and a joke if it weren't so serious.
Keep digging
Party vote Labour/Green for a more progressive tax system to better fund NZ’s excellent public health service.
Where, when?
All we got from this lot is more regressive tax.
You mean the last lot as that describes National.
You think Chemmy might not be a stranger to the Woodlouse's office?
Don't know – it's a curious coincidence. If I wanted to avoid suspicion, I'd wait more than one day before replicating a National party spokesperson's talking points here. So maybe he is a genuine "lefty" – but there's so little evidence.
I'm sure you are not just interested in what should happen, "The Chairman", but also in what needs to happen to enable more money to be spent. After all, we all know that money does not grow on trees. Now there are a few things that do have to be considered first. You have talked about a "promise" by Jacinda; I am not familiar with it, but you have not provided any evidence that it was indeed a promise – remember that Labour was not elected to govern alone – budgetary aims may well be influenced by other partners in government.The second is that we are only two years into a three year term – clearly any government will assess priorities, as after all, money is not limitless. Now we do know that a lot has been allocated to the health budget – directly settlement of nurses pay negotiations, and some advances on doctors pay. Also there are payments for mould found in some hospital wards – the millions required had to come from somewhere. Then there have been costs in increasing staffing in various areas, but perhaps particularly in mental health, and costs of children;s visits to GPs have been reduced. The recent announcement of meals in schools is relatively small, but could be regarded as assisting both health outcomes as well as education goals. So the question back to you "The Chairman," is where is the money coming from? We can be thankful that National's tax cuts were not allowed to reduce government income; and it is a shame that capital gains taxes were left unchanged. Overall there has been a big increase in health spending over that of the previous government, doubtless funded in part by not having given the cuts to income tax planned by National, and also by increased tax receipts by the improvement in business profits following the increase to minimum wages and benefits. So while your question may be reasonable, it is partly answered by saying that priorities will have affected different areas of spending, but also it is fair to ask you, and the National Party spokesperson raising similar issues – what spending would you defer to achieve this aim more quickly, or how would you raise additional money to enable the higher level of spending?
Thanks for not being scared to speak up, gsays.
You are the only one thus far.
This is a major issue that is putting lives at risk, therefore I'm sure there is more out there that hold concerns over this. Leading me to suspect a good number here get put off by the detractors and don't want to come under attack from this mob running wild. Thus, remain silent.
yeah that mob has a real UN look about it I agree
It's not their looks or nationality that is of concern, Marty. It's that they are shutting down genuine political discussion putting others off from partaking.
Who are “they” and how are they shutting down debate and putting off participation?
Is this an attempt at irony? If so, it almost succeeded, almost …
Witnessing the pile-on that ensued turns others off IMO. Why do you think no one but gsays thus far has partaken (in support) in this serious discussion.
Do you really believe no one on this site has a concern about this apart from us two?
“They” can be found in the pile-on that ensued.
Never fear, The Chair is here – and ‘concern’ is building.
Since the vast majority of NZers rely on the NZ public health service for their medical needs, I would think that the vast majority of NZers would have some interest in the state of that service and whether it has been and is being adequately funded/resourced.
I remain unconvinced that the current government are doing an awful job on public health, but this critical service certainly faces increased challenges.
This the second day running this ‘topic’. I gave it a shot yesterday on Daily review but it was an exercise in futility. All I can see is your anti-Labour bias that comes through strongly in almost every comment of yours. Others can see this too and hence the ‘pile on’.
For some reason you cannot accept that your MO is the main obstacle for serious discussion.
As Rosemary would say, SSDD.
Ditto.
All I seem to get from you is defence of Labour's shortcomings.
With Labour failing to live up to their namesake coupled with all their shortcomings, of course I have a bias against them. They no longer really represent the left and haven't really since 84. They haven't even apologised for that, let alone done much to correct it. You get more real lefties over at the daily blog than you get here.
Instead of piling in on me for highlighting Labours failures (my MO) you lot (if you are genuine lefties) should be piling in with me against them to help bring about change for the better.
Do you support and want this risk of life in our health system? Doctors are speaking up, why aren't the left here joining in?
All the people on the left I know do have a bias against Labour apart from the so-called left here. What is up with that?
As for Rosemary's unsubstantiated, bold assertion the other day, I have a post coming that will clearly show she is incorrect.
This place is like the twilight zone, where poverty has nothing to do with suicide and doctors speaking out about lives being put at risk musters no support, bloody unreal. Come on you lot, surely you lot are better than this.
Assuming that was directed at me, you are incorrect and have missed my point(s). I was not defending Labour – and with you it always is just Labour – against your criticism, I was criticising your criticism of Labour, the way you go about it, i.e. your style.
At last, we have some clarity about your bias, which is helpful indeed. Unfortunately, your bias is so strong, it has become a binary of polar opposites of either pro- or anti-Labour. Many (of us) are still somewhere in between these two extremes and view it as a spectrum rather.
So, please don’t box in people based on whether you judge them pro- or anti-Labour (or Left or Right, Black or White, et cetera). It gets you nowhere, evidently.
The rest of your comment is trying to reduce “[t]his place”, i.e. the people who write here, to a collection of simplistic souls without any acknowledgment of nuance and context. This may fit and suit your one-eyed single-minded view of (NZ) politics and this political blog but it is grossly inaccurate and does the TS community no justice.
So, instead of trying to pull or force us into your rabbit hole you may want to reconsider your contribution and presence here because something has got to give.
It may be there – the anti Labour bias – he never seems to make criticisms of the Gnats. But most of his critiques are pretty solid, unlike the run of trolls. I think he's playing the game functionally, which is more than can be said for Shadrach, James, or the entire Opposition come to that.
The Chairman has racked up 1000s of comments on The Standard.
If he could cite half a dozen of his comments made during the last long period of National-led ‘governance’ that were critical of National party policies/MPs, then I'd be less triggered by his modus operandi.
But he can't, because those comments don't exist.
Just to be clear: 1000s of comments by The Chairman on this site during that period, ALL exclusively critical of left-leaning opposition parties/MPs. His comments here comprise a broken record, IMHO.
Yeah I know.
But he doesn't commit the major troll faults – putting words in people's mouths, RW wishful thinking (except for a few spurious criticisms that won't fly), outright lying, or personal abuse.
He finds pointed but often real grounds to critique the coalition – there is a place for it.
Again, I disagree. Misinterpreting other’s words coupled to a strong bias can lead to comments that essentially have the same effect as deliberately putting words in people’s mouths. The Chairman does come close to this, on occasion, and I moderated (warned) him recently for telling people how they should or should not feel about something they disagreed on with him. I don’t believe he does these things deliberately, unlike malicious trolls, because he would have been long gone if that were the case.
You see, I don’t want him gone here, I want him to change his communication style that he seems so fond of …
As far as I am concerned, The Chairman can criticise the Government all he likes, hold them to account, and foster serious debate here. But he’s not accomplishing that if he keeps up his style!
I disagree.
For example, yesterday Drowsy M. Kram said:
https://thestandard.org.nz/daily-review-29-08-2019/#comment-1650763
The Chairman replied quoting verbatim and then responded with a straight-out attack on Labour!
https://thestandard.org.nz/daily-review-29-08-2019/#comment-1650824
This happens all the time! When the Government does something wrong or fails to do something right or at all in the eyes of The Chairman, it will trigger an attack on Labour and on Labour only. Generally. Often.
Although he does occasionally offer good points, the overall impact of his comments is heavily geared towards negative and they kill any serious discussion. Thus, in practice, the impact is as bad as of trolls.
The sad thing is though, and I give The Chairman the benefit of doubt, he does not intend to troll us but to force (?) the Government to do (much) better, if I may paraphrase The Chairman. Unfortunately, his MO is largely counter-productive to the cause he wants to promote …
@Incognito fair enough – sorry if I queered the pitch. I do think TC overdoes it, with consequent loss of gravitas, but some of his stuff is surprisingly good.
Thank you for the useful feedback, Stuart, and no need to apologise for that.
I’m trying to look at the bigger picture and figure out whether and how, on the balance of their comments, a commenter is or makes a positive contribution to serious and robust debate on this site or not. If not, I’d like find a way to improve the situation so that we all can reap the benefit of their contribution. I believe everyone has got something to offer and some commenters blow me out of the water at times (in a good way) …
Personally and as a moderator watching patterns of behaviour (yours and others'), it's very obvious that a big reason others don't partake is because your style of arguing is incredibly frustrating to engage with. I don't like the tone of the pile on and will keep an eye on that, but ime generally they happen because regulars in an online community are at the end of their patience with someone behaving badly.
This has been a long standing problem with how you present your arguments.
I see, it's all my fault, of course. Next you''l be saying it is better for the site to remove me.
I don't accept that at all.
What exactly is wrong with the way I present my arguments in your mind?
As a suggestion, let’s do an experiment. You choose a new pseudonym and start commenting with a clean sheet (track record). If you get no traction with serious discussion on your comments, we could assume that the TS community does not agree with you and/or that your MO is the reason. To suggest that only hardened Labour sycophants frequent TS who won’t want to hear anything bad about Labour is pushing it but you’re free to have that opinion and stick with it, if you must. In fact, there are quite a number of commenters here that are less enamoured with Labour.
Yes, and they tend to cop it too
Regardless if I changed my handle, my writing style is unique, hence identifiable, so that is a no go. Thus, I’ll stick with it, thanks.
Yes, your comments are idiosyncratic but it never seems to occur to you that your style could be the issue. I thought I’d give you a suggestion to overcome the stalemate but you stubbornly refuse to change your ways. In fact, you ignore your role in any pile on saying:
However, you do follow immediately with this question:
Indeed, we have been over this so many times and nothing changes.
https://fmacskasy.wordpress.com/2019/08/30/national-and-petrol-taxes-when-journalists-gets-it-right/
I was thinking of you when I read that.
I am not suggesting you should not comment here or criticise the Coalition Government (not just Labour). Though I am suggesting that you change how you do these things. It is a subtle difference in the way you communicate the same thing.
FWIW, I do believe you genuinely consider yourself a leftie. However, this does nothing for your MO here.
This says it more succinctly than most of us can muster: https://wondermark.com/1k62/
Ha!
"I see, it's all my fault, of course."
Is it? I thought I just described a dynamic I am observing that involves multiple people in a community.
"Next you''l be saying it is better for the site to remove me."
The site is a machine, have a look at the Policy and hope Lynn isn't reading the comments.
What can remove you is moderation, and that is done by real live people. You've now had two moderators give you feedback and do that with the courtesy of comment rather than bolded moderation. I'm not aware of anyone saying you should be removed from the site.
Where banning tends to happen is when someone is causing blatant problems for the site owners (eg posting something defamatory), or causing problems for the community or authors (see the bit in the Policy about tone and exclusion, also flaming), or causing problems for moderators (wasting our time, or behaving in ways that use up our time).
"What exactly is wrong with the way I present my arguments in your mind?"
We've been through this too many times in the past for me to spend more time explaining it. What I'm not seeing is you taking *any responsibility for your part in the dynamic. When I see that change I'll be more willing to engage.
If you genuinely want to not have a negative impact here (I'm not talking about your politics), then try listening to what people are already saying about how you debate.
TC was using it for political gain to blame Labour.
There is serious need for more nurses, residents, and specialists. There is serious need for more space in ED around the country. There is serious need for better facilities in those spaces – from management systems to radiology. There is serious need for ward space to admit patients from ED. There is serious need for reviewing whether or not we really want residents working 18 hour shifts, or paying off $80k loans while they do it.
There is serious need for increasing access to primary health care so people don't end up at ED.
No.
I was highlighting a problem (one of many) we need to press Labour on.
I acknowledge all those clear needs, and with there being surpluses I come back to a deficit of change.
While not wanting to fan flames, I have some empathy for TCs criticism of inaction.
As do I but I already raised yesterday that the govt has commissioned a major health system change process, so what can we reasonably expect them to do in the meantime before they know where to best put the investment?
It seems likely to be in primary care rather than more big hospitals, and hopefully in proper joined-up IT systems rather than only more people and machines that go ping.
"so what can we reasonably expect them to do in the meantime before they know where to best put the investment?"
From a senior emergency nurse in Mid Central DHB area I have 4 things that can be done alleviate the strain.
A mandatory patient care ratio of 3 patients per nurse (currently it can get up to 6, and some can be very sick).
Increase the capacity on the surgical, medical and orthopedic wards by 5 beds each.
On the night shifts increase the number of doctors on from 3 to 4.
Put 10 more beds in the department. At Palmy, they are in a newish department, one that was woefully under prepared for the growing needs of its population.
That is straight forward, simple to introduce solution for a local hospital that can happen in very short time, before the current review meanders to its conclusions.
I saw that earlier, thanks. I respect the hard work you all do in our hospitals but the usual questions arise when we take a broader view:
– How long would it take to get the extra staff?
– How much would that extra capacity cost across all the hospital wards in NZ?
– Are there other improvements in the health system that could rapidly improve the population's health more for the same money?
The staff are needed, having to know how long it takes is kind of irrelevant.
Employing them is better than delaying or not employing them.
The cost of increasing capacity is the cost needed to do the job.
As for other initiatives, sure give them a go, it doesn't have to be one or the other.
Perhaps see it as a workplace safety issue or responding to society's needs rather than an accounting issue.
Wouldn't that be for the DHB or hospital to sort out?
True, I am not able to speak about their motivations/priorities.
Our local DHB is in the red.
I'm sure most issues in the health system are impacted by inadequate funding (and managerial approaches, I've heard of some really daft stuff). I was meaning more that the govt can't really do much about the situation at your local hospital in terms of staffing and capacity, that would need to be part of the funding round.
Workforce planning is handled nationally but yes any extra budget would have to be allocated through the DHBs, PHOs and NGOs who fund and provide health services. Alphabet soup. 🙂
Is that good that workforce planning is done nationally? Why do they do that?
Can extra funding be allocated at any time if there is sufficient need?
The whole of NZ is the size of a medium world city so having 20 DHBs do their own planning at that level makes little sense. Hence, https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/health-workforce
Funding needs to be in a Budget appropriation approved by parliament. Expect more next year.
Which takes us back to the fiscal responsibility pledge, which was part of getting elected in the first place.
NZ did not elect a revolutionary government. It elected an incrementalist change government, with a significant social conservative streak and fiscal constraints.
You want more change? Get enough people to vote so we have a labgrn government.
While their fiscal responsibility pledge has curtailed them somewhat so has their unwillingness to tax the top 1%.
Additionally, it also comes down to spending priorities. $20 billion on defence in a wellbeing budget doesn't bode well when New Zealanders lives are being put at risk in our hospitals.
No, don't try to play government departments off against each other. NZDF saves lives as well, and protects our EEZ. So does housingNZ, while we're at it. Surprise surprise, everything is underfunded. Has been for years if not decades. This isn't going to be fixed in three years, even if funds were unlimited.
It's about prioritisation of expenditure and what (in a wellbeing budget) will better increase our wellbeing. $20 billion being spent on defence isn't going to do anything for the wellbeing of your average New Zealander.
And seeing as we agree there has been massive under funding, clearly that money needs to be spent here on improving the deficit thus our wellbeing, even if it doesn't go far enough in 3 years. It's a far better start than blowing it on defence.
In an alternate reality you're complaining that our severeignty and ability to honour international agreements are compromised because NZDF equipment is falling apart and the government is doing nothing about it.
You have some very unreal expectations where this government, given it's composition, is concerned. McF has it correct, in that if you (we) want more socially conscious governance, you (we) have to vote for it.
Having said all that, and even though we're not getting the type of outcomes we may want, life is considerably better than it was/would be, under a national party led regime. Remember what that was like?
2 years is never going to be enough time to reverse 9 bollock ones, so instead of the $8 jobs, I'll settle for the $18, down from $45 doctor visits I use to have and wait for the country to mandate any sweeping changes most of us genuine left voters want but realise can't happen and retain electability without one.
On a personal note, I still don't believe you're very left at all.
We did. National are out but unfortunately a number of their policies remain (such as the defence spend and no CGT)
Now that Jacinda is in charge she changed their stance (opposed to Little's position) and decided to blow the funding on defence. Moreover, through away a CGT (delivering on National’s promise in Labour's year of delivery) that would have produced a massive increase in tax revenue. It was only forecast to be tax neutral for the first 5 years.
No we didn't, we almost did, but have to rely on NZ1st to take over the reins.
Next time, without the need for Winston, things could get much better for the left as a genuine mandate would have been given.
Change the numbers in that new coalition to 60:40 red/green, instead of 90:10 and the mandate for real change, from the people, would be undeniably one to turn left and fast.
This is just simple common sense stuff.
2 years is never going to be enough time to reverse 9 bollock ones,
You're surely not forgetting the nine bollock ones before the last nine bollock ones?
Simply put, undoing the last two decades of 'let the shit trickle down' policies is going to take more than the aspirational SSDD twaddle this lot is going to be remembered for.
The mood was right for real transformation…boat missed, ship sailed.
Two decades? Isn't it three and a half? (since the mid 80s).
SSDD?
SSDD?
Same Shit Different Day
Like déjà vu only smelly.
It really stinks.
And yes…it is three and a half decades but I fear many here don't have memories going back that far.
Lol, true. They need reminding.
Without appearing selfish, I did alright out of HC's term in office. Student free loan, a job starting at $10 an hour which was enough to live on and start a family, then a 100% mortgage with kiwi bank when the family thing didn't work out as intended.
Compared to the near 20 years of Thatcher and Major I had before Helen, it was fucking dream.
Can't edit.
Interest free student loan.
20 years of Thatcher and Major I had before I came here.
This is the thing about Labour. They *do do good things too. This is why I disagree with the line that they're the same as National. They're really not.
Yep, of course they're not. Sure they're nowhere near perfect, and far from the old union days, flat caps and full on socialism, but they're certainly not the same as national.
It's a harsh reality for some to take, but we don't live in the 60s and 70s anymore. Our political leanings may, but the majority of the rest of the voting public obviously doesn't. There's a left of labour party right now, and they only pull 6%. I party voted them the last two times and probably will again, but expecting labour to start going for the hard left vote is unrealistic when the reality is it's the centre who currently decide elections, and if the left greens can't pull the numbers, why would labour?
I'm sure, with climate change the driver, when the realities hit home for mum and dad, there will be a real movement for radical change, but until that happens, if it has to be incrementally, then so be it.
Win when you can, but ffs, don't give the game away by knee capping yourselves.
I see it similarly although I think a faster way to get there is ore people voting Green. A L/G govt with more Green MPs than now will be quite different from what we have now.
Back to the beginning, but that's what people have been saying to the chairman for quite a while now, how if you want the left stuff you have to vote for it.
Exactly. The perfect is the enemy of the good, etc.
"so has their unwillingness to tax the top 1%."
Well done "The Chairman" for advocating a way of funding an $8 fee for GP visits (which has been more than met for those up to 13 of course) – to break a pledge made by one of the government parties not to raise income taxes in the first term (I don't have the exact wording, if that's wrong I'm sure someone will correct). I guess advocating meeting one election aim by breaking another is a value judgement you think the government should do, but at least you must appreciate that it is not clear-cut. Righting the wrongs on nine years of neglect by the previous government may take some time – all we can do is point out the reasons why difficult decisions can affect outcomes, and keep voting for a Labour/Green government next time.
And while it is not directly relevant to the thread, "The Chairman," can I ask what you are the Chairman of? or perhaps why you chose that name?
A
sackedresigned former chairman of a DHB comes to mind. Werent there a few that got the jobs for mates scheme Key and Ryall was runningYou'll recall Ryall leaving in a hurry..
The 1% who can buy elections? Damn straight they won't be taxing them fairly.
Don't take this personally…
Do you get that while what yrself and Sacha are saying isn't incorrect, it comes across as being apologists.
Especially to those of us with our nearest and dearest bearing the brunt of chronic underfunding. To hear 'just wait, we will do a review', 'get more people to vote Green', and the excuse I despise the most – 'fiscal responsibility'.
That last one is all about getting re-elected. Because clearly as they are being fiscally responsible business confidence is sky high. #sarc.
It really reeks of drinking too much of that neo liberal raro
People are really hurting: health professionals, public, police and ambos.
Rant over, again, not personal.
Thank you, well said.
Hiya gsays. Agree…more nurses. More experienced HCAs. Doctors with enough time to get a bit of a patient history rather than assuming… or worse…judging. My recent trip via ambulance to the local ED was an eyeopener. Hopefully, now I have a stash of Trammies in case The Pain returns, I will never have to impose on them at ED again.
There are efficiencies that could be made in the system…especially around the availability of ultrasounds and other diagnostic scanning…but hey, keep giving out the opioids and send those pesky patients on their merry way.
You are correct to say less non-emergency patients in EDs by using GPS.
Yes poverty is one of the drivers of the high numbers presenting.
So are the co-morbidities the elderly are living with.
You are simply being insulting or proroundly ignorant to suggest the nurses aren't up to it. The idea of a trough on a night shift shows how ill (see what I did there?) informed you are.
Not insulting nurses. ED have busy and quiet periods. I know Ive been at 3 am.
Clinics and wards are more steady , but of course patients needs can vary at any time.
Highly paid professionals in difficult jobs…its never going to be any different
DukeofUrl –
Travels NZ, surveys everything, knows everything. Been there, done that, you all know diddley-squat.
Please move on; this is not helpful in any way.
Sorry but it helped me. I am so sick of hearing dukeofurl's opinion on everything that actually doesn't add to the topic. However I will give you a break from my opinion.
Ok, I wish you a good weekend and hopefully we’ll see you soon again here.
highly paid profeessionals….so, in denying an insult you add a barb.
get over your self . Are you one of those outsiders the review of the Nurses Union said piled on in on social media trying to upset the apple cart.
Maybe a Tuesday night, was it?
There will always be busy periods. The issue is whether overloaded staff redlining themselves to exhaustion is becoming the norm, and the quiet periods are becoming fewer and fewer.
The only people disappointed will be the doom and gloom merchants saying “well, that wasn’t so bad after all. Y2K? No problem.
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/Y2K-bug/
[I don’t allow climate change denial under my posts. See older posts for statements on this – weka]
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
The Australian Government spent $12 billion on Y2K and took it very seriously.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/howard-government-feared-slow-y2k-bug-preparations-cabinet-documents-reveal-20181230-p50ot1.html
mod note above for you.
For some much-need counter-balance: Child and Youth Strategy a good start – Plunket, College of Midwives
http://www.voxy.co.nz/politics/5/346630
Yeah nah, resorting to cannibalism probably isn’t a vote winner
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Best you familiarise yourself with cannibalism and the great famines in Western Europe, the New World Jamestown famine cannabilism and cannabilism during twentieth century famines in Eastern Europe and Asia.
/
Siege of Leningrad pops to mind
Read a thing about the Donner Party (settlers in the US 19th century who got trapped in the Sierra Nevadas over winther and et each other).
The local First Nations tribe repeatedly tried to give the Donner Party food, but as soon as they got in sight the settlers would open fire. They took to leaving food at night, but eventually pulled back when the settlers started eating each other. So yeah, bad situation made worse by racism…
I dont particularly like Winston..but even i think this is a bit much..https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2019/08/30/so-what-would-happen-if-a-political-leader-suddenly-died-lets-say-winston/
lol Winston tweeted a video yesterday…
I've just been reading this and besides an earlier reference to Winston this said all and confirms everything NZers owe him in the past and now
Political Animals – Jane Clifton pages 260-261 (2009)
"Tamihere is almost the anti-Winston. Where Winston is paranoically scrupulous in his personal, financial and political dealings, Tamihere seems reckless. Where Winston would rather wear a polyester shell suit from Postie Plus than accept a golden handshake, or any lump sum, tax-paid or otherwise, Tamihere seems unabashed about his right to be given money, cars, jobs, attention – whatever. Where Winston hyper-researches everything, and be-labours his work rate as a towering virtue, Tamihere rejoices in the impression of coasting, winging it, not getting into a lather because, hey, life is easy for him. He's a natural. Winston is alive, to the point of mania, to any hint, suggestion, situation which might make him look venal or assuming. "
Theres rumour/bullshit around that Tamiheres real aim is to stand for Tamaki Makaurau for the Maori party next year, win or lose and even be Mayor/MP at the same time ?
That maybe his svengali, Matt McCartens big dream
Martyn does seem to be stretching things a bit lately doesn't he? On another posting he seems to be claiming that he alone was responsible for getting Peter Dunne to retire.
"I worked hard on pushing the Feed the Kids Bill and not getting it through Parliament because of Peter Fucking Dunne is the greatest regret of my life (although the strategy to remove him from Ohariu in the 2017 was the perfect vengeance),"
In the case of Winston I think he is simply copying Trotter's story about Ardern dying.
With Winston I am tempted to paraphrase Dorothy Parker's quip about Calvin Coolidge.
If someone was to tell me that Winston was dead the appropriate comment would seem to be "How could they tell?"
Dorothy Parker ?
Many times other people have said she said that, but she doesnt seem to have done so.
Wilson Mizner , a raconteur seems to be the real origin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilson_Mizner
Good grief, that's a low point for Bradbury.
This was the real low point, to which (little brother) Martyn was merely paying homage:
What If Jacinda Was Suddenly Taken From Us – Like "Big Norm"?
https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/2019/08/what-if-jacinda-was-suddenly-taken-from.html
that was bad too. I think Bradbury's was worse.
At least Colonel Trotter has an excuse for misty nostalgia..