@vto, +1, the unethical commodification of domestic housing in what has proved to be nothing more than a capitalist pyramid scheme is a wake up call..or so you would think, burning the planet down around us in the last hundred years in the name of unsustainable growth and accumulation is be a wake up call…or so you would think…
unfortunately many people have been entrapped into believing that free market liberalism is the only path..they either cannot or will not think or try to imagine a world out side of the safe ideological parameters that has been created around them…and to them if you do you are nothing more than a heretic…which is why they are more and more being accurately described as free market fundamentalists.
Compounding this extraordinary situation is the collapse in migration. Since the pandemic, from April 2020, net immigration has averaged just 495 people a month – one tenth of the pre-pandemic rate. We have built large numbers of houses and apartments and yet we have few people arriving to fill them. So what explains the housing catastrophe of the past four years if it is not the traditional issues of high migration and low rates of building?
Here, the Government takes centre stage. In 1989, the then Labour Government changed the Reserve Bank Act to focus monetary policy on keeping prices stable. It recognised that previous monetary policies under Robert Muldoon had made property speculators rich through borrowing to buy property in times of high inflation.
The current Labour Government, then in coalition with NZ First, decided to revert to a formulation of the act similar to that under Muldoon. After receiving advice from Treasury – and, indirectly, from Treasury's advisers – it widened the act to include a new task for the Reserve Bank: to achieve "maximum sustainable employment" in addition to its price-stability mandate. The amended act came into force in December 2018.
I have seen no record that Treasury warned the Government that this change would lead to asset-price rises, including house prices. This is despite existing studies, including one of my own, showing that setting a "dual mandate" would lead to a ratcheting up of asset prices. The advice also ignored the Muldoon-period experience of property owners getting rich as a result of monetary policy settings that benefit those owning property.
Monetary policy under the amended Reserve Bank Act has lived up to the predictions: it has sparked huge increases in the wealth of property owners at the expense of Māori and Pacific peoples and at the expense of the young. House prices have risen by a staggering 44 per cent in less than three years since the amended act came into force.
Even more unbelievably, house prices have risen by 30 per cent in just 16 months since the pandemic lockdown started, despite rampant house building and virtually zero net migration. Housing supply constraints and high migration – which traditionally push up house prices – have not been the culprits on this occasion.
from the linked article above – it is quite sad that this article is behind a paywall.
"high migration – which traditionally push up house prices – have not been the culprits on this occasion."
Not true. Speculation in land is driven by expectations.
The expectation that we will return to high immigration fueling housing inflation, is a large part of the willingness to ,,"invest" in housing, and the banks concentration on housing and other land lending.
We will soon see those who benefit from soaring land prices, joining those who want wages to remain low and the endless supply of cheap offshore workers to continue, in pushing for the return of our previous ridiculously high levels of immigration and temporary visa’s.
Lets say i am a speculator and i want to make guaranteed money. What would i invest in?
Housing.
A. People will always prefer even the worst hovel to a tent in a ditch. Funfact: the tent in the ditch aka freedom camping is slowly but surely 'illegalized' for all but high paying tourists in the future – when we allow tourists back in.
B. I don't even need money to buy these houses, i just need to own one, and then thanks to the fake 'equity' i get another loan and another loan and thus it was ever so. The tenant will pay the loans as they always did.
C. low credits available to those that have 'equity' and can borrow money at the lowest cost ever. Thanks Government. Could not have done it without you.
Handing cheap credit lines to people with wealth in assets and bank balances who have looked at a and b and decided that no matter how shitty live on this planet will be in the next 50+ odd years, people will still need a house and people will pay what ever is asked for that 'house'.
And the cheap credit line of last year to the rich and wealthy – went only there. And guess what they bought with that cheap money? Houses. After all YOU will rent one if the only option is to live in a ditch, or hey, in a tax payer funded Motel for the unhoused.
And in the meantime, my little glorified Gardenshed that i bought a few years ago, literally in the last 10 month doubled in QV. Can't make that shit up. Seriously.
So yeah, blame the migrants that can't come in the country and have not been able to come here for some 18+ month now, it must be them. Can't be something else.
So yeah, blame the migrants that can’t come in the country and have not been able to come here for some 18+ month now, it must be them. Can’t be something else.
True that, but currently and probably for the next 2 odd years migration will be hindered by Covid, closed borders and MIQ requirements for the most part.
The article that i exerpted about clearly states this
"high migration – which traditionally push up house prices – have not been the culprits on this occasion."
so next to high migration there are other factors and currently migration IS NOT the main issue – as those that come in are actually Kiwis, and at 454 per month, not even that many. Many people may go through MIQ, but not many stay. Most leave after a visit to the whanau.
But housing generally will still be an issue for many years, simply because we have not build to demand, we have now issues re building materials, availability of tradies etc.
If the shoe fits, Sabine, it is not sarcasm, but a truthful observation. Can you handle the truth, Sabine? It seems you’re struggling to accept it sometimes …
So yeah, people stopped having babies for some18+ months now, it must be them. Can’t be something else.
It appears you may have missed the points here, Incognito.
Sabine's comment "So yeah, blame the migrants that can't come in the country and have not been able to come here for some 18+ month now, it must be them. Can't be something else." was very obviously sarcasm.
However, you appear to have taken it as genuine, with your comment "As usual, you’re quick to judge and criticise and your clearly haven’t thought deeply about this. "
Then you appear to have taken Sabine's reference to sarcasm as applying to your comment, calling your comment "a truthful observation".
Have I got that sequence of events correct?
[I’m quite familiar with Sabine’s commenting style, thank you.
I’m also quite familiar with her reckons here, thank you.
Sarcasm does not get her off the hook and does not make her immune against push-back. If Sabine wants to join or have a genuine and constructive debate, she knows what and how to do it, what works well and what does not.
Has Sabine gone shy or is she lost for words?
How familiar are you with Sabine?
How fucking stupid do you think I am?
I cannot stand dishonesty and slyness.
You have one chance to come clean and apologise for trying to deceive us or you will receive a permanent ban and I am sure you do not need an explanation as to why – Incognito]
[I’m quite familiar with Sabine’s commenting style, thank you.
I’m also quite familiar with her reckons here, thank you.
Sarcasm does not get her off the hook and does not make her immune against push-back. If Sabine wants to join or have a genuine and constructive debate, she knows what and how to do it, what works well and what does not.
Has Sabine gone shy or is she lost for words?
How familiar are you with Sabine?
How fucking stupid do you think I am?
I cannot stand dishonesty and slyness.
You have one chance to come clean and apologise for trying to deceive us or you will receive a permanent ban and I am sure you do not need an explanation as to why – Incognito]
Quite a bit to unpack there, I must have hit a nerve. You have not actually answered the question either.
You know full well that 95% of her post was factual and accurate, yet ignore that and fixate on the one line that was obvious sarcasm. If you know her style, you would know that sarcasm is part of that style.
How Fucking stupid do I think you are? I don't know yet, I havn't met you.
How familiar am I with Sabine? Extremely, thank you. She has mentioned her firefighter partner? Yep, that's me.
I have absolutely no idea to what you are referring in your last two paragraphs regarding deceiving you. If you are accusing me of something, at least have the decency of actually accusing me of something, not hiding behind dishonesty and slyness.
There is Dirty Politics, false/fake accounts, astroturfing, AI bots, imposters, spammers, sock puppets, et cetera, and this site has had its fair share of this deceptive sly shit. So, when a new commenter arrives on this site, goes straight into bat for another one as you did, it raises a big flag, and I check them out. My findings tell me that my hunch was correct: this is a commenter who cannot be trusted to be open and honest. That’s the nerve you hit; it is a nerve of this site, because we value honesty and transparency here as much as we do in our politicians and officials, for example.
Much false propaganda and other conspiracy BS contain truths, so making something “95% […] factual and accurate” is not a strong argument. In fact, it is weak and reads like an admission of ignorant BS masquerading as sarcasm.
I’m sure you are capable of unpacking the rest of the luggage by yourself.
Blaming those who want to many at once to keep wages low and house prices high
But saying that the willingness to spend so much on houses, has nothing to do with the expectation that immigration settings will, "return to normal" no matter what Government is in, is denying reality
Answer: people who believe that simplistic reductionist ‘common sense’ will solve all complex problems. They know it all, they can solve everything, and they’re never wrong. Arm-chair ‘experts’ in everything. And just wait for their protests when you challenge them …; pathetic people.
Nothing wrong with reductionism provided the interaction of the constituent pieces is considered…indeed reductionism could be deemed a requirement of good analysis
people who believe that simplistic reductionist ‘common sense’ will solve all complex problems.
Sounds like the currently ascendant Woke ideologues … although, in their case, enacting a crude, cartoonish & ultimately self-interested ideology rather normative notions of common sense.
If forced to choose, I think I’d go for the common folk wisdom of the majority, grounded as it is in widely agreed & instinctive notions of ethics, morality & human rights … over the self-interested moral posturing of an affluent Woke Establishment that aims to systematically scapegoat.
"high migration – which traditionally push up house prices – have not been the culprits on this occasion."
Not true. Speculation in land is driven by expectations.
And yes speculation in land is driven by the expectations that YOU and YOUR family and their children and so on and so forth will need a place to live. I might remind You that currently we have 4368 homeless kids – they will grow up and want families of their own, we have 24000 odd people on housing lists couch surfing or car sleeping etc. And that is what we have now. Never mind what we will have next year. Or in the years after that.
So the speculators that drove the house prices up by 30% since the first lockdown are homegrown for the most part, cashed up by cheap loans courtesy of the governments monetary politics of the last year.
And that does not touch on the fact that the country up and down has a fair share of empty properties – be that for speculation, or because they need work to be rendered habitable, that we seemingly are not building for what the markets needs but what is bringing in the highest profit, that the stock that we build is subpar – see leaky buildings, apartment blocks etc, and we might start scratching on the surface of all the shenanigans that keep some people very rich, and others permanently and generationally kept in a poverty and homeless trap despite working and being kiwis.
I know it is a bit to nuanced for some to comprehend.
But blaming immigrants as against blaming those who are responsible for some of the highest per capita immigration levels in the OECD, mostly to keep themselves rich and give an illusion of economic growth, are two different things.
Immigration, and the resulting asset appreciation and lower wages, is part of the “shenanigans” that keep some very rich, and way too many below the poverty line.
Exactly. It's a greed driven immigration policy that's to blame. Immigrants themselves are acting rationally on the individual level. But that doesn't take away from the fact that 4800 new humans per month, mostly going to Auckland, is a huge contributing factor to the housing shortages
There are lots of NZ houses (~400 dwellings per 1000 people, with ~7% of dwellings vacant), and new houses are currently being built relatively quickly (~1.7% increase in the last year?) But I don’t want to share.
There is a shortage of 'affordable' houses, in part because these get snapped up as investments by the wealthy. A new 3-bedroom house (nothing special; offers over $949,000) on a subdivided section (<400 m2) in my modest Palmerston North Street sold in a matter of weeks.
And Grimes' point is that current monetary policy is making that situation worse. Except for the speculators, who are quite happy with plenty of cheap money.
This article probably reflects the unease with any change is reserve bank policy more than any kind of meaningful forecast of the economy (or causal explanation of what has occurred in the economy).
The reality of central bank inflation first policy implementations (e.g ignoring employment even when employment was part of their mandate) is discussed here.
To summarize the reality, the RBNZ is not able to force the economies inflation rate using monetary policy. They may believe that they can but the monetary policy leaver is not really connected to the economy in that way. The policy does have a history of tightening interest rates well before inflation has been observed resulting in losses of employment however. Its been much less effective with the only partially counted in CPI price of housing and countering that however. This applies even during the 2000s when interest rates were quite high and house price growth was still surging ahead. Its also worth noting in this regard that one major component of inflation is wage growth and so being effective in limiting inflation and wage growth but ineffective in limiting house price growth for several decades may result in wide disparity between housing (and rental) costs.
Its also worth understanding how the discussion is miss-leading with its explanation of the economies response to monetary policy (and its implication of QE as a problem). The simple reality is QE was just a way for the RBNZ to fund the governments deficit, nothing more, nothing less. It didn't impact house prices unless your counter factual was the country locking down without a wage subsidy (yes, this would likely have put the country in recession and probably have crashed house prices). But the counter factual should be, the government paying much more on its borrowing but still issuing a wage subsidy, and this would have resulted in similar house price rises (and larger profits to banks and higher interest on low risk savings). The house price rises are caused by people being willing to get into long term debt to get into the property market, banks backing them doing that, and to some extent the lock down helped there by taking away the smashed avocado forcing them to save and still providing them with income during lockdown which went unspent (which is why NZers savings rates were way up across the lockdown). Additionally this kind of commentary usually thinks about a fixed pool of savings being loaned into different areas depending on their relative profitability. In the economy areas of spending and investment are additive however so the housing market collapsing will simply leave a spending hole in the economy if rates are put up to that extent.
Its not necessarily obvious but banks and institutional investors find a high interest rate environment more profitable for their activities and a low interest rate environment less easy. This is probably one of the reasons this kind of commentary has been asking for a high interest rate environments return since circa 2010, with encouraging governments to stop spending because they think that might be the way to get there.
A great guy, Ed was a union man. He visited the National Distribution Union (now FIRST) one time in the 90s when he was in NZ. NDU at the time incorporated Actors Equity.
Pundit and film maker Michael Moore said about him today…
“When I was making my first film, “Roger & Me”, I was broke, so I wrote to some famous people to ask for help. Only one responded: Ed Asner.
“I don’t know you, kid, but here’s 500 bucks,” said the note attached to the check. “Sounds like it’ll be a great film. I was an autoworker once.”
Imagine, we are all vaccinated, but can still get it, and maybe even die of it, should we keep the border closed for a little longer until something better comes along? And if that don't work, a little longer?
Yes, with the current vaccine and variants, vaccinated people can still get it and maybe even die from it.
But the risks of severe illness and death in vaccinated people people appear to be way below other risks we commonly accept as routine in everyday life. So once everyone that wants vaccination has received it, I'm happy to ease the restrictions we now have. The re-opening guidelines the government published just before our current outbreak seem entirely reasonable to me.
All plans subject to change in response to new information and new circumstances, of course.
The point is that some will even ask for closed borders if all were vaccinated.
And once we are all vaccinated, we still can get it, we still can get ill of it, we still can die of it. And / or another mutation will make Delta look like Alpha.
This whole Idea that if we just do this one thing and it – Covid – will go away is just meh.
We should accept that this is gonna be around for a while now, and hopefully at the very best we get better at managing it.
And with that in mind, we might want to flesh out our Lockdown rules a bit more – who can work etc, how to distribute food to everyone if we had a complete melt down with essential workers ill en masse, education – there are still kids that can't have online education due to material issues, and so on and so forth.
But i would also not be surprised if we do nothing of the sort, and just pretend that we will go back to what was normal on a lovely day in March 2020.
And once we are all vaccinated, we still can get it, we still can get ill of it, we still can die of it. And we can still infect others…
This message is not getting through. At all. Very scary that even spokespeople on the wireless think that being vaccinated somehow casts a spell of complete immunity and safety.
[I was interested in finding out who those numpties were who “think that being vaccinated somehow casts a spell of complete immunity and safety”. So, I clicked on your link and listened, and listened again, but I could not find the part where they stated what you claimed they stated!?
Therefore, it seems that you fabricated nonsense to suit your narrative about some mythical “message”, which you referred to three times, is not getting through.
It is tiring and tedious when people make up shit to spin their own shit and I’d like to think that we ought to and can do better here on this site.
So, please explain yourself or withdraw and apologise for spinning lies here – Incognito]
You still have a better then before chance of not dying.
Which is absolutely awesome for the approximately 30 % of people who have been able to have both jabs.
These people need to realise that they cannot consider themselves and others 'safe' from infection or infecting until all New Zealanders who want the jab have had it.
So the question is, who wants to get vaccinated, with attendant tiny risk of short-term problems, and have their immune system all trained up and ready to fight and have the best chance of beating the virus before it turns into a full-blown round of covid.
And who wants to internalise some really complicated misinformation inside their head so they end up facing the virus with a completely naive immune system, thereby massively increasing their risk of full-blown covid and huge risk of death and debilitating long-term problems.
That really is the risk-reward trade-off. Tiny risk of short-term issues from the vaccination, versus huge risk of debilitating long-term problems or even death from the actual disease. As well as potential restrictions on privileges previously taken for granted if someone refuses the free, very safe, and very effective precaution of getting vaccinated to protect the community as well as oneself.
All very interesting, and you really ought to be running the country's vaccination publicity campaign.
But none of what you say addresses the very real issue that the message that the jabs do not confer immunity to the virus is not getting out.
While over 50% of Kiwis who want to be vaccinated have yet not been able to…all your talk of 'refusing' and 'choice' and 'risk' etc is moot.
The lucky nearly thirty percent who have been able to be vaccinated need to be reminded that they can still infect the unvaccinated and potentially cause serious illness and death.
[More explaining to do for you. You said this:
But none of what you say addresses the very real issue that the message that the jabs do not confer immunity to the virus is not getting out.
A week ago, I banned another commenter for one month for making the exact same claim and their refusal to clearly explain what they meant. Spreading false information is on par with not self-correcting, elaborating when requested, or not providing any information at all and thereby creating a vacuum of innuendo that fills up quickly with conspiracy BS.
So, how the jabs work then, if not through immunity? Do the injected microchip and nanobots create a 5G anti-virus force field?
I assume the jabs do something, yes? Or is it just another elaborate scam by Big Pharma to make insane profits without care for lives?
Please explain clearly what you meant or take a month off too – Incognito]
What is your basis for asserting "the message that the jabs do not confer immunity to the virus is not getting out"?
As far as I'm aware, two of our recent cases (Warkworth rest home worker and Auckland Hospital nurse) have been breakthrough cases. In both cases, from published information about their actions, it appears both were fully aware they could still become infected and infectious, and acted appropriately with that awareness.
If you have any evidence of anyone in New Zealand that has been vaccinated has been acting in an irresponsible way that suggests they believe their vaccination status absolutely completely protects them from infection, please link.
Both the UK and Israel have high rates of vaccination and currently have some of the highest amounts of active cases they've seen since the start of the pandemic.
Given that, you would have to sceptical of the immunity they provide.
How they were "opened up" way before vaccination levels were high enough to justify it.
A lesson NZ seems to be heeding.
Even so, in Israel, The UK and USA, the pandemic has become mostly a ," pandemic if the unvaccinated" as the vaccinated rarely get seriously ill with Covid.
In the case of the UK, wouldn't that be the fault of a botched government response, like ending insufficient lock downs and keeping borders open when covid was still running rampant?
Israel is only about 67% with at least one dose of vaccine, and the UK is only about 70% with at least one dose. Full vaccination rates are a bit lower in both countries.
And yet, despite active cases increasing in some countries with medium-to-high vaccination rates, the % of Covid cases that result in death is down, and the residual tragic Covid deaths are heavily skewed towards the unvaccinated.
Dr. Ahmed Elhaddad, an intensive care unit doctor in Florida, told CNN's Pamela Brown on Saturday that he's frustrated and "tired of seeing people die and suffer because they did not take a vaccine."
He said the Delta variant is "eating" people's lungs, which eventually leads to their collapse.
"We're seeing the patients die faster with this (Delta) variant," said Elhaddad, who is the ICU medical director at Jupiter Medical Center.
…
"This round, we're seeing the younger patients — 30-, 40-, 50-year-olds — and they're suffering. They're hungry for oxygen, and they're dying. Unfortunately, this round they're dying faster," he said.
Elhaddad noted that his ICU does not have a single Covid-19 patient who is vaccinated, nor did he see any vaccinated people die from Covid-19.
"There's no magic medicine. … The only thing that we're finding is that the vaccine is preventing death. It's preventing patients from coming to the ICU," Elhaddad said.
I do wonder at the choices of the deliberately unvaccinated who willingly subject themselves to greater risk of death, and work to recruit others to their cause. Imho the 'Covid antivaxx' fraternity is clearly a 'choose death cult'. Tragic pandemic deaths will be increasing weighted towards the unvaccinated; its natural selection.
The new study also found that unvaccinated people were nearly five times more likely to be infected with Covid than vaccinated people.
The data is in line with comments from federal and state health officials, who have been saying for weeks that millions of unvaccinated Americans have been putting themselves at serious risk.
“Let me be clear: There are cases where vaccinated people do get Covid-19, but they are far less common than unvaccinated people getting Covid-19. And most importantly, their conditions are far less severe,” he [Biden] said during a speech.
No doubt President Trump would have put it differently.
New report shows unvaccinated people are 15 times more likely to die from COVID-19; Adult ICU patients hit record highs [29 Aug.]
"The vast majority of people dying with COVID-19 are unvaccinated. If you are not vaccinated please don’t wait until it is too late," said Mandy K. Cohen, M.D., secretary of the NC Department of Health and Human Services. "The authorized and approved vaccines have been through rigorous clinical trials and met scientific standards. Millions of North Carolinians have been safely vaccinated."
" the message that the jabs do not confer immunity to the virus is not getting out."
I do believe this falsehood is widely accepted, and it's probably what is giving the simple minded the reason not to vaccinate.
There have been no cases of seriously illness or death in NZ in those who are vaccinated. Can you refer to any cases throughout the world where this is the case?
The vaccine does confer immunity. Ask any nurse working in a covid ward who are the patients who survive the virus.
It's those who have been vaccinated.
The other salient pint is that it's an air-borne virus contracted thru the nose or mouth and therefor easily be spread to anyone in the vicinity with the next exhalation.
No vaccination will preventing such a virus being spread.
Part of the problem is anti-vaxers misrepresenting the meaning of immunity, falsely mispresenting it as an all-or-nothing thing.Whereas immunity is better viewed as being a multi-dimensional continuum.
Anti-vaxers misrepresent immunity so they can fabricate a disinformation talking point against vaccines.
As soon as you see anti vaccers breathlessly repeating, "but vaccination doesn't stop you getting the virus" as if that is something we haven't known since the 1700's, they have already signalled they have no comprehension of how vaccination, and vaccine immunity, works.
No vaccination will prevent such a virus being spread.
I think that is actually what Rosemary was trying to say. Being vaccinated means I will not get as sick. I am still contagious if I do get infected. Masks and handwashing and bubbles of some sort will still be needed.
Rosemary is correct in that regard. However, there are vaccines that confer sterilizing immunity, e.g., against HPV. Unfortunately, none of the current Covid-19 vaccines appear to act like that.
The point I intended to make was that it's disingenuous to suggest the vaccine is not of much value because it doesn't guard against transmission particularly.
"Being vaccinated means I will not get as sick. I am still contagious if I do get infected. Masks and handwashing and bubbles of some sort will still be needed."
yeah, I think there's a semantic issue here. Some people taking being immune to mean they won't get the illness. That's not the case with the covid vaccine, so in that sense Rosemary is right. Others take immunity to mean what I would call partial immunity. Some level of immunity is provide by covid, but not in the way that many of us that grew up with vaccines understand (measles, polio etc).
We just need to increase nuance in language.
I'm also not sure that Rosemary is wrong about the messaging. I asked on twitter if people getting vaccinated were told at the time that they could still transmit the illness. Someone showed me this flyer they were given after they got vaccinated. This flyer doesn't tell people to keep on with all the other protocols because they can still transmit covid, which seems like a lost opportunity to say the least.
No, in my opinion, this is more than simply semantics. It is about being clear about meaning of words, but it is also about understanding the scientific/medical concepts and terms that are generally very well defined, for a reason, using them in their appropriate context, and explaining clearly what they are and what they are not, and using them in and as truthful and impartial information and conclusions. In other words, it is about avoiding confusion and misconceptions that could easily mislead other people and perpetuate the spread of mis- and dis-information.
This becomes a bigger issue when combined with strong bias and negative attitudes towards a certain position on a topic. It becomes an even bigger issue when the topic involves measures to control a pandemic that comprise delicate, sensitive, complex, difficult, and controversial decisions by Government.
We’re not all experts on immunology and we have to learn, make mistakes, admit to these, correct them and each other, and improve our thinking and communication. In turn, this will make for better debate, better questioning, better informed consent, and better decisions overall. Who wouldn’t want that?
The question would be, as posited by some commenters here: why would people choose to get vaccinated if it does not confer immunity? Would make for an interesting poll.
Another way of putting it: why would the NZ Government spend well over $1billion on a vaccine if it does not confer immunity?
Instead, why not just jab people with neutralising therapeutic antibodies (nAbs) against Covid-19 if vaccines ‘don’t confer immunity’?
Doesn’t this strike you as absurd questions? Unfortunately, some people would take them seriously and at face value and answer them accordingly.
I'm still unclear on what Rosemary meant. I thought she was talking about partial immunity. Are you saying that she believes that vaccines don't work at all?
I agree about clarity and its importance. I also think there are often two or more languages being used to talk about medicine, and we need more than just the science one. This is why I would like to see everyone in this sub thread explain what they mean by immunity. Not long paragraphs of technical detail, but coming in from the outside it looked like people talking past each other over the full vs partial thing. Am happy to be proved wrong on this (and Rosemary is the one that can clear up what she meant).
"This becomes a bigger issue when combined with strong bias and negative attitudes towards a certain position on a topic."
True, but I see it on many sides, including the people who have great faith in science. Rosemary and I have a largely unspoken shared understanding of how disability plays into the debate, not necessarily vaccine damage, but how the health system routinely fails people and how people with faith in the system often ignore this.
I also have experience with alternative medicine and see ignorance and bigotry expressed against that from the people that have more faith in science (I have faith in both to varying degrees 😇). That leads into a broader conversation about evidence and wellbeing, which is something I would love to have, but it doesn't happen here often because of the scoffing. Which I can't be bothered with.
Indeed, this is/was the point: what did/does Rosemary mean when she says that the vaccine doesn’t confer immunity to the virus, which essentially means that the vaccine is ineffective in mounting an immune response. If this were the case, it would never have been approved because of lack of efficacy. The ‘field trials’ (i.e., in real heterogeneous populations) also speak of effectivity of the vaccine. So, Rosemary’s assertion is utterly wrong and misleading.
Rosemary could have clarified and qualified here assertion, her claim of fact, but so far she has refused. Not good enough, as far as I’m concerned when it comes to Covid vaccination.
I hear you and respect Rosemary and your concerns about disability and the failures of the health system in NZ. I also hear you about the issue of alternative science. However, none of those issues apply here; it is/was not about pitching one faith against another.
Doesn’t this strike you as absurd questions? Unfortunately, some people would take them seriously and at face value and answer them accordingly.
Probably, but I'm not sure why you are tying them to Rosemary. Are you suggesting that her comments are a problem because people reading might misconstrue them in ways that affirm their beliefs about anti-vax?
Ok. Well that's useful to know and helps me understand what you are doing and saying better. I disagree, I don't think commenters, or authors, can be held responsible for other people that they don't even know, misinterpreting their words through a series of mental gymnastics that the writer has no input on.
I mean, the whole point of what we do in comments here is hash out ideas, good, bad and ugly ones. If someone says something that's wrong or a problem or not understood, it's on the rest of us to point that out.
I would feel differently if someone put up an anti-vax post full of misinformation.
When a comment is vague and ambiguous, the onus is on the commenter to do better. In fact, the onus is on commenters to avoid this in the first place, and be as clear as they can be to avoid possible confusion and misinterpretation. When presenting information, the onus is on the presenter to make sure this information is sound and underpinned by sound sources. In other words, responsibility for interpretation does not solely rest with the reader/recipient and it is not a binary, it is a two-way street, as is all communication.
Smart people with an agenda know how to manipulate these things and when it comes to Covid-19 (or sex/gender ID/self-ID, or Climate Change, for example) we know how much these simple rules of engagement matter.
Lastly, an ‘anti-vax post’ doesn’t have to be “full of misinformation” to be problematic to me. Misleading posts often contain a lot of truth and a little of untruth. Once these gain a foothold they’ll get distorted and amplified further on various platforms. This is how mis- and dis-information spreads (e.g., Dirty Politics); it is my goal here to break the transmission chain and get the R0 number under 1.
"But none of what you say addresses the very real issue that the message that the jabs do not confer immunity to the virus is not getting out."
The fact that vaccinated people can still catch and spread the virus is widely reported in the media. I'm double-jabbed, I know I can still become infected and then pass to others, as does everyone else I know who is vaccinated.
?
Not that any of that detracts from the huge benefits of being vaccinated.
I've said below I think this is a semantics issue. Perhaps a solution here is to use phrases: partial immunity and full immunity. Those are lay persons terms. Happy to use medical terms as well if they're pointed out.
Yes. If every government in the world had acted like ours in Feb-Mar 2020 and been successful – then the future might look different. But that was never going to happen. We have mounted a brilliant holding operation until effective vaccines became available. The murderous lunacy of other governments in not even attempting to do the same is amazing.
The future looks like very high rates of vaccination, protecting the most vulnerable, and some residual public health measures such as mask-wearing and maybe occasional lock-downs if local outbreaks get out of control. The intentionally unvaccinated remain a reservoir of infection for the rest of us and will be a potential drain on our healthcare resources. How we treat them will be a difficult problem – do we respect their choices or abandon them? And if we get a variant that out-runs vaccine development, then we go back to square one.
The intentionally unvaccinated remain a reservoir of infection for the rest of us and will be a potential drain on our healthcare resources.
Yup. And treating them has a devastating psychologically effect on the healthcare professionals trying to keep them alive. Because refusing the vaccine is so cluelessly pointless, and all the suffering and waste of resource is so easily and cheaply preventable.
If I were dictator, sometime about when the vaccination curve starts to level off, I'd put up big tents in the far corner of hospital parking lots and paint "Unvaccinated Covid Patient Wards" on them in big letters, and let it be known that three meals a day would be supplied and that's it as far as care provided. And barricade myself against the medical ethicists coming for me with torches and pitchforks.
If a variant emerges that evades the vaccine, we'll always have the option of closing up again for a while until we get a new vaccine that works against the new variant. With mRNA vaccine technology now having proven itself, and production facilities fully ramped up, it shouldn't take anywhere near as long as it has for the first round.
The natural history of the disease and response to treatment in unvaccinated patients will become clearer and it will be useful experience for the teams managing them. Those who refuse treatment will add to information on the unmodified disease and provide opportunities for further research.
At around 3.20 the discussion turns to the vaccination status of truck drivers and in the absence of a vaccine mandate a company can choose to hire vaccinated drivers and/or send only vaccinated drivers across internal borders. The interviewer belaboured the point… as if a vaccinated driver crossing an internal border was somehow safer than an unvaccinated driver… when we all know that all of us should take precautions regardless of our vaccine status. Because vaccinated people can still infect others especially with the Delta variant.
The 'casting a spell of immunity' was my take on it and I apologise for missing the mark humour wise.
However…it seems to me to be highly presumptive to place the employment security of unvaccinated truck drivers (or any worker come to that) in jeopardy when, given the low level of vaccination in the country, the fact that they may be unvaccinated is most likely through no fault of their own.
However…it seems to me to be highly presumptive to place the employment security of unvaccinated truck drivers (or any worker come to that) in jeopardy when, given the low level of vaccination in the country, the fact that they may be unvaccinated is most likely through no fault of their own.
I see where you're coming from. Seems to me that if drivers on 'cross-Covid alert level' routes refuse the offer of a Covid vaccine, then they could be obliged (during a global pandemic) to accept clearly signalled employment consequences, e.g. re-assignment. It's a matter of choice.
Truckies block Gold Coast highway protesting Covid-19 rules [30 August] News footage showed federal One Nation senator Pauline Hanson and her advisor James Ashby at the protest.
…
Federal Employment Minister Stuart Roberts said the health orders were tough, but the truckies shouldn’t be inconveniencing thousands of people to make a point.
He said truck drivers are important, but personal liberty needs to be balanced with public good.
“Vaccination seems to be the way for us to be able to get through this, to get back out of lockdown and to get ourselves back to the freedoms that we love here in Australia.
“The rest of the world is doing it. Sure, there is carnage left, right and centre, but there is carnage left, right and centre here.
“No-one wants it, it isn’t a perfect situation. I have taken the decision to get vaccined, get it done. It isn’t necessarily what I want to do, but it’s the only way to move forward.”
Will be interesting to follow up on whether the protest that Brock and other NSW truckies have staged cuts any ice with the QLD and federal govts.
As the company I work for do essential work, all staff were given the option of getting the covid jab back in June. I would have no issue if those who refused (unless on medical grounds) were kept from entering the workplace until they complied, if that were ever enforceable.
The current outbreak is the biggest challenge that NZ has faced. Everyone is affected. It is about the government looking after the people they govern and the people and resources they need to manage the pandemic.
Vaccination has been proven to reduce death and hospitalisation. Unfortunately break through cases of Covid occur in vaccinated people.
Crisis time is most likely to occur with the Delta strain and crisis measures are required.
I would like to know what the crisis measures are which the government will use?
Closing the MIQ facilities cannot occur, they are needed for Covid positive community cases. Not everyone can isolate at home due to lack of space. Access to food could be an issue for some. Access to health care would be easier in MIQ.
The bubble with Australia and the Olympic games required spaces in MIQ. Had these spaces not have been required, returning expats or essential workers the country needs, more would have had entry into NZ. Reuniting families of essential workers with NZ working visas would probably have occurred.
Prof. Rod Jackson explains the situation well in this mornings interview on RNZ….at the point it is deemed our health system can cope (based on analysis of vaccine rates) we will ease restrictions on our border
Bearded git is starting to get irritated by a simple spelling mistake and already is using the FFS language, wow! Hate to see you get really ittitated .. I bet you are a barrel of laughs to be locked down with.
"I tire of the trope that genius rides shotgun with madness, but few people were as weird or cast as long a shadow as Lee Perry," tweeted producer Steve Albini.
"His records were shocking and became talismans for anybody who ever tried to manifest the sound in their head. Requiescat."
The USA are the modern masters at creating terrorism and terrorists….
"Nine members of one family were killed in the US drone strike targeting a vehicle in a residential neighbourhood of Kabul, according to a relative of those killed reported by CNN. The overall civilian death toll remains unclear."
….though it has to be said that from what we are learning about this 20 year conflict, it was nothing more than a way to funnel money into the pockets of the usual capitalist pigs…so killing children and civilians and enraging/radicalizing more men would be right up their ally.
“War Is a Racket”: The US War in Afghanistan Validates General Smedley Butler
Was the Afghanistan War a failure? Not for the top five defense contractors and their shareholders.
"These numbers suggest that it is incorrect to conclude that the Taliban’s immediate takeover of Afghanistan upon the U.S.’s departure means that the Afghanistan War was a failure. On the contrary, from the perspective of some of the most powerful people in the U.S., it may have been an extraordinary success. Notably, the boards of directors of all five defense contractors include retired top-level military officers."
Exactly right. So how long will it be, before the next US War of aggression and profit will be leveled at the next victim Country in line?
The US being military regime with an economy based on the misery of war
Their gunsights are still on Cuba, Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Iran. All of those countries have committed the capital crime of conducting an independent foreign policy.
The danger is, now that the US is a laughing stock, they will try for a war they think they could actually win, but of course they will fail again like all unjust wars do. When will they ever learn, they are just not competent at war.
"Nine members of one family were killed in the US drone strike targeting a vehicle in a residential neighbourhood of Kabul, according to a relative of those killed reported by CNN. The overall civilian death toll remains unclear."
Did anyone really believe the msm reports that the operation was completely successful and the only casualties were the intended targets?
9 killed by U.S rocket attack today in Kabul, who are they?
1: Zemaray, Interpreter 2: Naseer, Army officer 2: Zameer, Shopkeeper 4: Faisal, Student 5: Farzad, Student 6: Ayat, 2 years old 7: Sumaya, 2 years old 8: Armin, 4 years old 9: Binyamen, 3 years old pic.twitter.com/pRajIF00Yd
[Crikey! Yesterday, Lprent gave you a stern warning about posting links without explanation or commentary and today you do it again, thumbing your nose at Moderation here, with a YT clip of over 40 min that appears to off-topic too.
He covers the video of police confronting a guy with L4 rules because he was filming an arrest they were conducting (Weka posted the tweet with the video yesterday, but the videos got taken down), and a couple of other instances where cops relied on what they thought their powers were, rather than what they actually were.
It's not a histrionic "fascism gone made" comment, and covers that some of these powers are needed at this time. But cops gonna be coppin', and will always push the extent of their authority.
Although on that theme, I reckon the cops who didn't like being filmed would have found some other reason to demand details and threaten arrest. They're good at that…
Yes they has been overreach, guidelines clearly say ypu can drive a short distance ie to a local park for exercise. My elderly parents were threatened with fines and were told driving to the park 5min drive away walks was a breach. Shook them up a bit.
Before anyone wants to say they should of walked to they park they're old, the street they live on is very steep and slippery in winter whereas the local park is large and dead flat.
Former Green Party candidate and climate change activist Luke Wijohn has filmed police threatening him with arrest after he came across a group of officers pinning a man to the ground in Wellington.
As usual, Kathryn Ryan's foreign correspondent this morning was horrible
RNZ National, Monday 30 August 2021, 9:50 a.m.
Over the years, listeners to Nine to Noon have been afflicted at ten to ten each day with a hit of what is often shameless propaganda from some of the most bloody-minded propagandists on the planet. The line-up of grotesques masquerading as "foreign correspondents" has included U.K. correspondents Matthew Parris, who is an ex-Tory M.P., and Dame Ann Leslie ("Arrrrgggh! Every year we have to listen to the militant rabble rousingof the teacher unions!"); U.S. correspondent Jack Hitt who, on the very day that Chelsea Manning's show trial in Maryland began, chose to witter on about Game of Thrones instead [1]; and Israeli correspondent Irris Makler, who is possibly the most brutally dishonest of the lot of them. [2]
This morning, listeners were subjected to yet another dim and dismal addition to Ryan's dim and dismal line up: "our Latin America correspondent, the BBC's Katie Watson." She was not as shamelessly partisan as Dame Ann or Irris Makler; her problem—and ours—was that her "report" was at about the level of a substandard Year 10 student's Social Studies homework.
First topic for the once-over-lightly this morning was Brazil. Watson stated that Jair Bolsonaro "won" the 2019 election because "people were fed up with the Workers' Party." She did not mention—and, crucially, Ryan did not press her on this—that the most popular politician in the country, Luiz Inácio da Silva, had been imprisoned on trumped-up charges and that his successor Dilma Roussef had been ousted in a farcical judicial coup, following an avalanche of disinformation and character assassination by the right wing political establishment and its media accomplices, to be replaced by the Iago figure of Michel Temer.
That assault against democracy happened in 2016—Standardisti may recall spectators at the Rio Olympics waving "FORA TEMER" protest signs during some events. But Katie Watson's "report" rigorously excluded any context, and she talked as if Bolsonaro had won a normal democratic election.
Topic 2 was Venezuela; Watson spoke of the "opposition leader Juan Guaidó" as if he were a normal democratic politician; she chose not to mention the fact that he has zero credibility and even less support in Venezuela. [3] He is supported, however, by the Washington political class and its media servants like Katie Watson.
Last but not least was a "feel good" story about swamp rats in Argentina. Unlike the first two items, this one had some actual substance to it.
Morrissey Can you remember that meeting jon key had with Dilma Roussef around Olympic game time in Rio,Re:escapee with wig,his name alludes me but live on Tv,Key made an idiot of himself,again to the world.
Looking for link,not sure I'll make friends replaying it though.
In the short term some gaffs seemed to add to the inexplicable 'Key mystique', but there may have been a growing awareness that he was a political dilettante – PM only to further his own interests.
"Working for my rich mates.", or as US President George 'Dubya' Bush put it:
He was going to treat the Chilean premier—another decent South American woman targeted by the extreme right wing impeachment weapon—to his trademark wit. She wisely cancelled the meeting.
“Yeah I’ll just let her know that, y’know [snicker, grin] there’s someone could be out there, ha ha ha ha!, from New Zealand [snicker] she may not want to invite round for lunch!” [snicker, grin]
—New Zealand prime minister JOHN KEY, asked what he’d say to Chilean premier Michelle Bachelet regarding murderer and paedophile Phillip John Smith, who absconded to Chile. Bachelet subsequently cancelled the planned meeting.
Thanks for that post Morrissey, you are the best and most reliable interpreter around these parts of RNZ's sad decent into it's current role as New Zealand very own guard dog for the neo liberal status quo…much like The Guardian, keep up the good work.
Is anyone else getting unsolicited calls from an outfit offering to 'train' them in derivatives trading? Some decidedly non-local voices – it reminds me of the various 'microsoft' and 'spark' scam callers we had a few years back, this kind of thing:
I get them all the time, all from overseas but sometimes showing a NZ number. You can assume whatever number they show is fake anyway. Got to the point that I dump any unfamiliar number to voicemail. They never leave a message
NSW mismanagement of covid with their half arse lockdowns….case were rising as of yesterday
numbers look better for Auckland today…..but less testing over the w/e
i note the govt are now releasing covid no’s. before the 1pm presser. Methinks that is what most people tune in for, so therefore less likely to watch at 1pm and therefore avoid the media “holding them to account” aka desperately finding any small issue to blow out of proportion…but just my reckond
I overlook a testing station its been a ghost town for the last 4 days prior to that it was packed hundereds of cars 6am queues etc… cases will fall purely based on less testing.
we-ell not necessarily, if the bulk of tests are due to an abundance of caution rather than likely contact or symptoms. We might find that the ones being cautious leave it, while the ones who are really worried or have been instructed to get tests still test at a similar rate.
80 to 50 is a big jump, sure. But not out of the realm of hope – in march/april last year it went up pretty smoothly and then went from 89 to 67, and kept going down.
Sure there's definitely truth to that and im sure the test return time which had pushed out 4-5 days is now shortening,
I'd love to know how many people with Delta are asymptomatic was talked about alot with the first waves of Covid esp even of our current cases it would he interesting to know. Really high test numbers esp given how many places of interest there are I hope pick up those asymptomatic cases that could be very problematic and likely to become more prevalent as vacc rates increase.
We need to keep test numbers very high and fast return at home type tests would be really useful in that regard.
“More can be added to this litany of unhappiness but for the moment the point is this: the era of liberal internationalism has come to an end as both a practical objective and a foreign policy theory. It remains to be seen what will emerge in its stead once the repercussions of the pandemic and US decline fully filter throughout the global community. But therein lies a basis for hope, because in a multipolar world in which no one actor can impose its vision of the “proper” order of things and yet the need for international cooperation is more apparent than ever, perhaps the makings of more equitable and balanced global society can be made.”
Things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. The COVID vaccine debacle worldwide shows us that international cooperation is along way away.
If Pablo can't figure out things worth fighting for, he's not much use as a commentator on any international conflict.
Pablo might want to focus on which conflicts are likely to come before the UN Security Council: Actions with Respect to Peace, Breaches of the Peace, and Acts of Aggression.
Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations provides the framework within which the Security Council may take enforcement action. It allows the Council to "determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression" and to make recommendations or to resort to non-military and military action to "maintain or restore international peace and security".
That is a clear warning, surely, to the regimes in Washington, London, and Tel Aviv, as well as their vassals in Ottawa and Canberra.
I can't figure out now whether action in the UN Security Council in terms of mandated intervention is now worse than inaction. Maybe I'm having a minor theo-political crisis and just need to open another Penfolds GSM.
Also addressing a man made existential threat is the upcoming People's Inquiry .
The online public hearing begins on the 2nd September.
This is a public hearing, everyone is welcome to attend and listen to survivors, advocates, scientists, researchers share their oral testimony on the impacts of toxic chemicals and poisons.
I am concerned by the recent announcements by the Government that they cannot maintain the current rate of vaccinations, and that our next big shipment of Pfizer isn't due till late October.
Frankly, I think they have made a mistake not choosing to use other vaccines alongside Pfizer. We should be able to maintain that pace through the use of other vaccines. The sooner people are vaccinated the sooner our economy can start to open back up.
Which is key to everyone's wellbeing. I hope these questions are asked…
Obviously introducing a new vaccine could complicate the roll-out – but I'm sure those risks could be mitigated, especially if they are actually potentially having to dial down capacity in some areas due to the shortage.
Those would be the areas I would propose another vaccine could be implemented, also Janssen is only one shot which would simplify things a bit, you wouldn't been to worry about them being booked back in for the wrong vaccine etc.
I kind of expected that mentioning of the economy would open me up to being framed negatively.
What I mean to say is that opening back up is where we want to be in terms of citizens being able to do the things they value – see their families, get back to work, access healthcare, travel, go shopping, move house etc. The economy is not an end in itself.
IIRC, there were good reasons to go exclusively with Pfizer. That hasn't changed. Not least of which is the Pfizer is arguably the best-performing of the four vaccines we did an early sign-up for, with lowest risks of adverse events.
Now that we have a good argument that our need has become somewhat more urgent, I reckon there's a good chance Pfizer will be able to flip a few more our way a bit sooner.
After all, the crazy high rate of vaccine refusal in the US means there's probably tens of millions of doses that Pfizer had penciled in for sale in the US that they'll be looking for alternate customers for.
Trouble brewing between WA (which has implemented a highly successful Covid lockdown) and the federal government (which opposes lockdowns and supports a Boris-style opening of the borders) today. From the Sydney Morning Herald just now:
"Mr McGowan [WA Premier] fired back at a press conference earlier today. I really find it odd that [the federal Treasurer] says things like this, Mr McGowan said.“NSW is in a catastrophic situation and he’s worried about people flying to Bali. Perhaps instead of attacking us they should show a bit of gratitude and appreciation for what Western Australia has done. Over the course of last 19 months we kept all have our industries open. We kept our mining industry open and COVID free, we poured countless billions of dollars into the federal treasury, which they are now pouring countless billions of dollars into NSW.”
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I've read some bad stuff about long covid recently, and Marc Daalder's recent Newsroom piece about what endemic covid means for Aotearoa got me wondering about whether the government was thinking about it. Mass-disability due to long covid has obvious implications for health and welfare spending, as well as for ...
Last year, a stranded kiwi criticised the MIQ system. Covid Minister Chris Hipkins responded by doxxing and defaming her. Now, he's been forced to apologise for that: Minister Chris Hipkins has admitted he released incorrect and personal information about journalist Charlotte Bellis, after she criticised the managed isolation system. ...
Gil-galad is an Elven Chad Gil-galad is an Elven Chad But Celebrimbor makes them mad Digesting leaks from Amazon Of Isildur and Pharazôn. The hair is short? The knives are keen. The beardless face of Dwarven Queen? With meteor and man-not-named The fandom temper is inflamed. Of Annatar ...
From the desk of Keir "Patriotic Duty" Starmer:“We have robust lines. We do not want to see these strikes to go ahead with the resulting disruption to the public. The government have failed to engage in any negotiations.“However, we also must show leadership and to that end, please be reminded ...
Has swapping Scott Morrison for Anthony Albanese made any discernible difference to Australia’s relations with the US, China, the Pacific and New Zealand ? Not so far. For example: Albanese has asked for more time to “consider” his response to New Zealand’s long running complaints about the so called “501” ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The Biden administration in April 2021 dramatically ratcheted up the country’s greenhouse gas emissions reductions pledge under the Paris target, also known as its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). The Obama administration in 2014 had announced a commitment to cut U.S. emissions 26-28% below 2005 levels ...
Something I missed: the Central African Republic has abolished the death penalty: The National Assembly of the Central African Republic (CAR) passed a law abolishing the death penalty in the CAR on May 27, 2022. Once CAR President Touadéra promulgates the bill, the CAR will become the 24th abolitionist ...
Walking On Sunshine: National’s Sam Uffindell cantered home in the Tauranga By-Election, but the Outdoors & Freedom Party’s Sue Grey attracted an ominous level of support.THE RIGHT’S gadfly commentator, Matthew Hooton, summed up the Tauranga by-election in his usual pithy fashion. “Tonight’s result is poor for the National Party, catastrophic for ...
Te reo Māori is Dr. Anaha Hiini’s life purpose. Raised by his grandparents, Kepa and Maata Hiini, Anaha of Ngāti Tarāwhai, Tūhourangi, Ngāti Whakaue descent made a promise at the age of six to his late grandmother, Maata Hiini. “I’ve always had a passion for Māori culture. My first inspiration ...
Dr Carwyn Jones’ vision is to see Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the law given equal mana. Carwyn who holds a PhD in law and society and currently teaches Ahunga Tikanga (Māori Laws and Philosophy) at Te Wānanga o Raukawa after 15 years at Victoria University of Wellington has devoted ...
Jacinda Ardern’s decision to attend the upcoming North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Spain – but to skip the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Rwanda – symbolises the changes she is making to New Zealand foreign policy. The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) starts today in ...
The outlook does not look that promising. Forecasting an economy is a mug’s game. The database on which the forecasts are founded is incomplete, out-of-date, and subject to errors, some of which will be revised after the forecasts are published. (No wonder weather-forecasting is easier.) One often has to adopt ...
by Don Franks It seems that almost each day now another ram raid shatters someone’s shop front and loots the premises. Prestigious Queen street is not immune, while attacks on small dairies have long stopped being headline news. Those of us not directly affected are becoming numbed to this form ...
It’s hard to believe that when we created Sciblogs in 2009, the iPhone was only two years old, being a ‘Youtuber’ wasn’t really a thing and Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok didn’t exist. But Science blogging was a big thing, particularly in the United States, where a number of scientists had ...
For 13 years, Sciblogs has been a staple in New Zealand’s science-writing landscape. Our bloggers have written about a vast variety of topics from climate change to covid, and from nanotechnology to household gadgets.But sadly, it’s time to close shop. Sciblogs will be shutting down on 30 June.When ...
Radical Options: By allocating the Broadcasting portfolio to the irrepressible, occasionally truculent, leader of Labour’s Māori caucus, Willie Jackson, the Prime Minister has, at the very least, confirmed that her appointment of Kiri Allan was no one-off. There are many words that could be used to describe Ardern’s placement of ...
A Delicate Juggler? The new Chief Censor, Ms Caroline Flora, owes New Zealand a comprehensive explanation of how she sees, and how she proposes to carry out, her role. Where, for example, is her duty to respect and protect the citizen’s right to freedom of expression positioned in relation to ...
Good grief. Has foreign policy commentary really devolved to the point where our diplomatic effort is being measured by how many overseas trips have been taken by our Foreign Minister? Weird, but apparently so. All this week, a series of media policy wonks have been invidiously comparing how many trips ...
Where we've been Time flies. This coming summer will mark 15 years of Skeptical Science focusing its effort on "traditional" climate science denial. Leaving aside frivolities, we've devoted most of our effort to combatting "serious" denial falling into a handful of broad categories of fairly crisp misconceptions: "radiative physics is wrong,""geophysics is ...
Mercenary army of bogus skeptics on parade Because they're both squarely centered in the Skeptical Science wheelhouse, this week we're highlighting two articles from our government and NGO section, where we collect high-quality articles not originating in academic research but featuring many of the important attributes of journal publications. Our mission ...
In the latest episode of AVFA Selwyn Manning and I discuss the evolution of Latin American politics and macroeconomic policy since the 1970s as well as US-Latin American relations during that time period. We use recent elections and the 2022 Summit of the Americas as anchor points. ...
The Scottish government has announced plans for another independence referendum: Nicola Sturgeon plans to hold a second referendum on Scottish independence in October next year if her government secures the legal approval to stage it. Angus Robertson, the Scottish government’s constitution secretary, said that provided ample time to pass ...
So far, the closer military relationship envisaged by Jacinda Ardern and Joseph Biden at their recent White House meeting has been analysed mainly in terms of what this means for our supposedly “independent” foreign policy. Not much attention has been paid to what having more interoperable defence forces might mean ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters For those puzzling over the various hurricane computer forecast models to figure out which one to believe, the best answer is: Don’t believe any of them. Put your trust in the National Hurricane Center, or NHC, forecast. Although an individual ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Scott Denning The excellent Julia Steinberger essay posted at this site in May provides a disturbing window into the psychology of teaching climate change to young people. It’s critically important to talk with youth about hard topics: love and sex, deadly contagion, school shootings, vicious ...
By Imogen Foote (Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington) A lack of consensus among international conservation regimes regarding albatross taxonomy makes management of these ocean roaming birds tricky. My PhD research aims to generate whole genome data for some of our most threatened albatrosses in a first attempt ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to scrap the Acceptable Standards of Health policy that discriminates against disabled migrants after former Minister for Disability Issues Carmel Sepuloni acknowledged the policy “disadvantages” disabled migrants on TVNZ’s Q&A this morning. ...
We’ve secured a major free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU) – a move that’s set to boost exports by $1.8 billion per annum, enhance our economic security, and enable New Zealand businesses to grow, by unlocking one of the world’s biggest and high value markets. The new ...
Our Government is committed to making sure that our health system works for all New Zealanders, no matter who you are or where you live. Transformation of our health system will take time, and the step we’re taking today – establishing Health New Zealand and the Māori Health Authority – ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to announce its support urgently for a moratorium on deep sea mining under the high seas, after Pacific nations joined forces this week to demand change. ...
We’re committed to ensuring that there is every opportunity for women and girls to succeed in Aotearoa New Zealand, with fewer barriers. Since coming into Government, we’ve worked hard to support women and girls, by improving services like healthcare and tackling issues like the gender pay gap. Here are just ...
Political pressure from the Green Party has pushed the Government to supply free masks to kids and teachers in schools across Aotearoa New Zealand. ...
The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand and the European Greens have published a joint statement calling for the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement to support climate action, phase out fossil fuel subsidies, cut agriculture emissions, protect human rights, and uphold Te Tiriti o Waitangi. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to guarantee that it will complete light rail and improve walking, cycling, and bus journeys across Wellington before digging new high-carbon tunnels. ...
The Green Party is urging Oceans and Fisheries Minister David Parker to commit to stronger ocean protection around Aotearoa and on the high seas while at the United Nations Oceans Conference in Portugal this week. ...
A strong Green voice in Parliament has helped reduce the influence large secret money will have in future elections and finally ensured overseas New Zealanders will retain the right to vote even while stranded by the Pandemic. But, the Government needs to go further to ensure our democracy works for ...
A new poll shows that the majority of people back the Greens’ call on the Government to overhaul the country’s criminally punitive, anti-evidence drug law. ...
The US Supreme Court’s decision on abortion is a reminder that we must take nothing for granted in Aotearoa, the Green Party says. “Aotearoa should be a place where everyone, no matter where they are from, or who they love, can choose what is right for their body and their ...
We’re proud to have delivered on our election commitment to establish a public holiday to celebrate Matariki. For the first time this year, New Zealanders will have the chance to enjoy a mid-winter holiday that is uniquely our own. ...
Proposed new legislation to reduce the risk that timber imported into Aotearoa New Zealand is sourced from illegal logging is a positive first step but it should go further, the Green Party says. ...
On World Refugee Day, the Green Party is calling on the new Minister for Immigration, Michael Wood to make up for the support that was not provided to people forced to leave their home countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. ...
This week, we’ve marked a major milestone in our school upgrade programme. We've supported 4,500 projects across the country for schools to upgrade classrooms, sports facilities, playgrounds and more, so Kiwi kids have the best possible environments to learn in. ...
We’ve delivered on our election commitment to make Matariki a public holiday. For the first time this year, all New Zealanders will have the chance to enjoy a mid-winter holiday that is uniquely our own with family and friends. Try our quiz below, then challenge your whānau! To celebrate, we’ve ...
The Green Party says the removal of pre-departure testing for arrivals into New Zealand means the Government must step up domestic measures to protect communities most at risk. ...
The long overdue resumption of the Pacific Access Category and Samoan Quota must be followed by an overhaul of the Recognised Seasonal Employers (RSE) scheme, says the Green Party. ...
Lessons must be learned from the Government's response to the Delta outbreak, which the Ministry of Health confirmed today left Māori, Pacific, and disabled communities at greater risk. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to withdraw the proposed Oranga Tamariki oversight legislation which strips away independence and fails to put children at the heart. ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern met UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in London overnight, and together took a number of steps to strengthen the already close ties between our two countries, and promote our common interests in the Indo-Pacific and beyond. “The UK is one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s oldest and closest friends and ...
Building a more secure, sustainable and prosperous future together: Joint Statement – Prime Ministers Jacinda Ardern and Boris Johnson 1. New Zealand and the United Kingdom are old friends and close partners. Our relationship rests on a bedrock of history, shared values, and deep people-to-people links, extending across almost all ...
Director Sir Robin Niblett, distinguished guests. What an honour it is to be back in London, and to be here at Chatham house. This visit represents much for me. The reopening of borders and resumption of travel after a difficult few years. The chance to bring life to the UK ...
Manawa maiea te pūtanga o Matariki Manawa maiea te ariki o te rangi Manawa maiea te mātahi o te tau! Introduction I’m pleased to join you for my second address at the 56th Annual Otago Foreign Policy School. The topic for this year is Space. Given that we are in ...
New Ministry will officially be called Whaikaha - Ministry of Disabled People Public Service Commission have appointed Geraldine Woods as Interim Chief Executive Office for Disability Issues to be folded into the new Ministry In what is a milestone day, the Government has launched Aotearoa New Zealand’s first Whaikaha ...
Nine new He Poutama Rangatahi programmes have been approved funding. These programmes will provide work-readiness, training and employment initiatives for over 820 rangatahi NEETS (not in education, employment or training), across Aotearoa New Zealand. "He Poutama Rangatahi has proven to be a very successful initiative which supports rangatahi to overcome ...
Minister for Māori Development Willie Jackson today announced the appointment of Crown representatives, Dr Charlotte Severne and Mr Bernie O’Donnell, to the Steering Committee that will determine the future of the Ihumātao land. “I’m pleased to have made the Crown appointments. Both Dr Severne and Mr O’Donnell have extensive ...
I begin by thanking each of you for accepting appointment to these boards. You’ve each been on the Ministerial committee that established Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand and Te Aka Whai Ora - the Māori Health Authority and I express my appreciation for the enormous task you collectively ...
Aotearoa New Zealand has reiterated its concerns over the continued erosion of rights, freedom and autonomy in Hong Kong. On the second anniversary of the introduction of the Hong Kong National Security Law, the Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta says developments in Hong Kong remain a cause for worry. “Two years ...
The Europol Agreement signed is a significant milestone for New Zealand and the European Union’s relationship, and reflects our shared principles of democracy, the rule of law, and respect for human rights, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said today. The Prime Minister attended a signature ceremony in Brussels, as part of ...
· New nationwide public health system · 20 district health boards disestablished and deficits wiped · 82,000 health employees directly employed by Health New Zealand · $24 billion health budget this year – up 43% since Labour took office in 2017 – in addition to separate funding for the new ...
Education Minister Chris Hipkins has announced appointments to the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand and the Board of Trustees of Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu (Te Kura). “Robyn Baker ONZM has been appointed as the chair of the Teaching Council. She has considerable governance experience and is a ...
European Commission President von der Leyen and Prime Minister of New Zealand Ardern met in Brussels on 30 June 2022. The encounter provided an opportunity to reaffirm that the European Union and Aotearoa New Zealand are longstanding partners with shared democratic values and interests, aligned positions on key international and ...
Export revenue to the EU to grow by up to $1.8 billion annually on full implementation. Duty-free access on 97% of New Zealand’s current exports to the EU; with over 91% being removed the day the FTA comes into force. NZ exporters set to save approx. $110 million per annum ...
57,000 EVs and Hybrid registered in first year of clean car scheme, 56% increase on previous year EVs and Non Plug-in Hybrids made up 20% of new passenger car sales in March/April 2022 The Government’s Clean Car Discount Scheme has been a success, with more than 57,000 light-electric and ...
Police Minister Chris Hipkins congratulates the newest Police wing – wing 355 – which graduated today in Porirua. “These 70 new constables heading for the frontline bring the total number of new officers since Labour took office to 3,303 and is the latest mark of our commitment to the Police ...
Members with a range of governance, financial and technical skills have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Board as part of the shift to strengthen the Bank’s decision-making and accountability arrangements. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act 2021 comes into force on 1 July 2022, with the establishment of ...
New Zealand to remain at Orange as case numbers start to creep up 50 child-size masks made available to every year 4-7 student in New Zealand 20,000-30,000 masks provided a week to all other students and school staff Extra funding to schools and early childhood services to supports better ...
Aotearoa New Zealand will join Ukraine’s case against Russia at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which challenges Russia’s spurious attempt to justify its invasion under international law. Ukraine filed a case at the ICJ in February arguing Russia has falsely claimed genocide had occurred in Luhansk and Donetsk regions, as ...
The Government has taken another step forward in its work to eliminate family violence and sexual violence with the announcement today of a new Tangata Whenua Ministerial Advisory Group. A team of 11 experts in whānau Māori wellbeing will provide the Government independent advice on shaping family violence and sexual ...
Te Mahere Whai Mahi Wāhine: Women’s Employment Action Plan was launched today by Minister for Women Jan Tinetti – with the goal of ensuring New Zealand is a great place for women to work. “This Government is committed to improving women’s working lives. The current reality is that women have ...
The food and fibre sector acknowledged its people and leadership at last night’s 2022 Primary Industries Good Employer Awards, a time to celebrate their passion towards supporting employees by putting their health, welfare and wellbeing first,” Acting Minister of Agriculture Meka Whairiti said. “Award winners were selected from an extraordinary ...
Kia ora koutou katoa. It is a rare thing to have New Zealand represented at a NATO Summit. While we have worked together in theatres such as Afghanistan, and have been partners for just on a decade, today represents an important moment for our Pacific nation. New Zealand is ...
Te Arataki mō te Hauora Ngākau mō ngā Mōrehu a Tū me ō rātou Whānau, The Veteran, Family and Whānau Mental Health and Wellbeing Policy Framework “We ask a lot of those who serve in the military – and we ask a lot of the families and whānau who support ...
Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs Aupito William Sio has been appointed by the United Nations and Commonwealth as Aotearoa New Zealand’s advocacy champion for Small Island States. “Aotearoa New Zealand as a Pacific country is particularly focused on the interests of Pacific Small Island Developing States in our region. “This is a ...
An estimated 100,000 low income households will be eligible for increased support to pay their council rates, with changes to the rates rebate scheme taking effect from 1 July. Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta has announced increases to both the maximum value of the rates rebate, and the income threshold ...
A long-standing physical activity programme that focuses on outcomes for Maori has been expanded to four new regions with Government investment almost doubled to increase its reach. He Oranga Poutama is managed by a combination of hapū, iwi, hauora and regional providers. An increase in funding from $1.8 million ...
The Government is progressing a preferred option for LGWM which will see Wellington’s transport links strengthened with light rail from Wellington Station to Island Bay, a new tunnel through Mt Victoria for public transport, and walking and cycling, and upgrades to improve traffic flow at the Basin Reserve. “Where previous ...
To Provost Muniz, to the Organisers at the Instituto de Empresa buenas tardes and as we would say in New Zealand, kia ora kotou katoa. To colleagues from the State Department, from Academia, and Civil Society Groups, to all our distinguished guests - kia ora tatou katoa. It’s a pleasure ...
On June 28, 2022, a meeting took place in Madrid between the President of the Government of the Kingdom of Spain, Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón, and the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, who was visiting Spain to participate in the Summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as one ...
A six-fold increase in the Aotearoa New Zealand-Spain working holiday scheme gives a huge boost to the number of young people who can live and work in each other’s countries, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says. Jacinda Ardern and Spanish President Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón made the Working Holiday/Youth Mobility Scheme announcement ...
A significant barrier has been removed for people who want to stand in local government elections, with a change to the requirement to publish personal details in election advertising. The Associate Local Government Minister Kieran McAnulty has taken the Local Electoral (Advertising) Amendment Bill through its final stages in Parliament ...
New financial conduct scheme will ensure customers are treated fairly Banks, insurers and non-bank deposit takers to be licensed by the FMA in relation to their general conduct Sales incentives based on volume or value targets like bonuses for selling a certain number of financial products banned The Government ...
Legislation that bans major supermarkets from blocking their competitors’ access to land to set up new stores paves the way for greater competition in the sector, Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Dr David Clark said. The new law is the first in a suite of measures the Government is ...
The Government has announced an end to the requirement for border workers and corrections staff to be fully vaccinated. This will come into place from 2 July 2022. 100 per cent of corrections staff in prisons, and as of 23 June 2022 97 per cent of active border workers were ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta has concluded a visit to Rwanda reaffirming Aotearoa New Zealand’s engagement in the Commonwealth and meeting with key counterparts. “I would like to thank President Kagame and the people of Rwanda for their manaakitanga and expert hosting of this important meeting,” Nanaia Mahuta said. “CHOGM ...
Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty officially launched the new Monitoring, Alerting and Reporting (MAR) Centre at the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) today. The Government has stood up the centre in response to recommendations from the 2018 Ministerial Review following the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake and 2017 Port Hills fire, ...
Transport Minister Michael Wood has welcomed the announcement that a 110km/hr speed limit has been set for the SH1 Waikato Expressway, between Hampton Downs and Tamahere. “The Waikato Expressway is a key transport route for the Waikato region, connecting Auckland to the agricultural and business centres of the central North ...
Following feedback from the sector, Associate Minister of Education Jan Tinetti, today confirmed that new literacy and numeracy | te reo matatini me te pāngarau standards will be aligned with wider NCEA changes. “The education sector has asked for more time to put the literacy and numeracy | te reo ...
$4.5 million to provide Ukraine with additional non-lethal equipment and supplies such as medical kit for the Ukrainian Army Deployments extended for New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) intelligence, logistics and liaison officers in the UK, Germany, and Belgium Secondment of a senior New Zealand military officer to support International ...
Power Play - The Prime Minister travelled to Brussels with two speeches prepared - one detailed a historic trade deal, the other why she would leave Brussels without one. ...
Green Party candidate for Wellington's Motukairangi-Eastern Ward Luana Scowcroft is launching her campaign at Hataitai Centre (the former Hataitai Bowling Club) at 7pm tonight, Saturday July 2nd. Luana says that council's short-term thinking, and ...
The government has just announced the conclusion of a free trade agreement with the European Union. One Māori entity operating in the trade space, Ngā Toki Whakarururanga, is not celebrating. “We are aware that New Zealand negotiators genuinely sought ...
Buzz from the Beehive Down here on Earth – more particularly, in Ihumātao – progress on doing whatever is going to be done to that disputed patch of land has been glacial. Newsroom drew attention to the dawdling in an article in April which noted that Māori Development Minister Willie ...
PNG Post-Courier Today is officially the last day of campaigning in Papua New Guinea’s 2022 National General Election. Count tomorrow until Monday as rest days, but in politically charged PNG, anything is possible, including illegal last-minute clandestine campaigning. Polling is set to begin Tuesday, July 4, when millions will exercise ...
Asia Pacific Report newsdesk Greenpeace Aotearoa has condemned New Zealand for “standing by” while “deep wounds are inflicted on its Pacific neighbours” by silence over deep sea mining. Greenpeace’s seabed mining campaigner James Hita made the critical statement today after a dramatic shift at the UN Oceans conference in Lisbon ...
Buzz from the Beehive Numbers, quotas and ratios have been high in ministerial considerations over the past 24 hours or so. Export revenue to the EU will grow by up to $1.8 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Harris Rimmer, Professor and Director of the Policy Innovation Hub, Griffith Business School, Griffith University Prime Minister Anthony Albanese admitted at the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Public Forum that some Australians may not understand why he’s at a NATO meeting ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jared Mondschein, Senior Research Fellow, US Studies Centre, University of Sydney When colonial Americans declared their independence on July 4 1776, they rejected more than British rule. They explicitly denounced the British form of government and the unlegislated norms, traditions and conventions ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra University of Canberra Professorial Fellow Michelle Grattan and Emma Larouche, from the University of Canberra’s Media and Communications team discuss the week in politics. They canvass the crossbenchers’ stoush with the Prime Minister over ...
"Aotearoa New Zealand remains concerned by the steady erosion of rights, freedoms, and autonomy that has occurred in Hong Kong as a result," the foreign minister said. ...
With one month to go until the closure of the 2021 Resident Visa, Immigration New Zealand (INZ) encourages those who are eligible for the 2021 Resident Visa to submit their applications before the category closes at 11:59pm on 31 July 2022. INZ has ...
Analysis - National's Christopher Luxon moves to defuse a potentially vote-losing disaster, the Health Minister's problems keep piling up and the PM speaks at a NATO summit and unveils an historic free trade agreement with the EU. ...
The government's signing of an Europol Agreement significant reflects shared principles of democracy, the rule of law, and respect for human rights, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Tolbert, Associate Professor of Science and Environmental Education, University of Canterbury GettyImagesPlastic Free July has rolled around again and we’ll all be hearing about reducing plastic use in our daily lives. Much of the messaging is targeted toward young ...
Cost, sexism and racism are barriers to ethnic women entering Aotearoa New Zealand politics, a University of Auckland researcher says A University of Auckland researcher shedding light on the unseen and unheard stories of ethnic women in New Zealand politics ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Roderick Neilsen, Associate Professor TESOL/Languages Education, Deakin University Burned-out teachers in Australian primary and secondary schools are quitting in droves, while the majority of surveyed teachers are thinking about it. There are similar fears about Australia’s early childhood educators. However, there ...
Unions representing care and support workers are lodging a pay equity claim today to raise pay rates for a majority female workforce that has always been undervalued. The pay equity claim is a crucial step in stemming the crisis the care and support ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Lavender, Senior Lecturer, Institute of Health and Wellbeing, Federation University Australia Shutterstock I am sure you’ve been told you should stand up and move away from your work stations or use a standing desk where possible. One of the ...
The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions has today welcomed the Free Trade Agreement established between New Zealand and the European Union says President Richard Wagstaff. "The Agreement includes a number of welcome steps to make trade more ...
New Zealand is once again calling on the Government to overhaul an outdated system that determines what community programmes disabled adults have access to based on flawed assessments they were given as children. A case note published this week from ...
The meat and dairy industries are very disappointed with the outcome of the free trade deal struck between New Zealand and the European Union saying it falls far below their expectations. ...
The Prime Minister will need to explain to farmers why there were not more gains in meat and dairy in the trade agreement with the EU, the opposition says. ...
In a dramatic shift at the United Nations oceans conference in Lisbon this week, a series of Pacific Governments have formed an alliance to oppose deep sea mining in international waters but Greenpeace says the continued silence from the New Zealand ...
New Zealanders are amongst the highest generators of plastic waste in the world and on top of this there is now concern about the level of microplastics in our water. As Plastic-free July gets underway, Water New Zealand chief executive Gillian Blythe ...
“When will governments and trade negotiators realise they have more credibility if they tell the truth about free trade agreements (FTA) like the new deal with the European Union (EU), instead of their fancifully positive spin?”, asks Jane Kelsey, ...
National child abuse advocacy group - Child Matters - says yesterday’s revelation that authorities were never alerted to the extent of Malachi Subecz’s horrific injuries is a stark reminder that government legislation must change – and now. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hugh White, Emeritus Professor of Strategic Studies at the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University Testing Washington: Chinese President Xi Jinping. Li Gang/Xinhua via AP How can Australia navigate the tough and dangerous strategic environment in Asia today with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Kaufman, Research Fellow, Vaccine Uptake Group, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Engin Akyurt/Unsplash The federal government has released a new A$11 million ad campaign urging Australians to “take on winter” by getting COVID boosters and influenza vaccines, as well as ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Macintosh, Professor and Director of Research, ANU Law School, Australian National University Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen is today expected to announce a much anticipated review of Australia’s carbon credit scheme, known as the Emissions Reduction Fund. In March, we exposed ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Esmé Louise James, Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Melbourne Netflix After a month of waiting, the season finale of Stranger Things season 4 has almost arrived on Netflix. This season, along with the nightmarish arch-villain Vecna, we have been ...
More than 91 percent of tariffs will be removed the day the deal comes into effect, while the value of NZ exports to the EU are estimated to increase by $1.8b a year by 2035. ...
RNZ News New Zealand has designated US groups the Proud Boys and The Base as terrorist entities. Set down in the government’s official journal of record — the Gazette — last Monday, 20 June, it was published publicly a week later but with no wider dissemination. The move — authorised ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra David Pocock, the progressive independent who broke the Liberals’ stranglehold on one of the two ACT Senate seats, wouldn’t have expected to find himself allied with Pauline Hanson before even being sworn in. But, ...
Tabloid Jubi The Civil Organisations Solidarity for Papua Land has condemned Indonesia’s Papua expansion plan of forming three new provinces risks causing new social conflicts. And the group has urged President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to cancel the plan, according to a statement reports Jubi. The group — comprising the Papua ...
RNZ Pacific Palau, Fiji, and Samoa have announced their opposition to deep-sea mining, calling for a moratorium on the emerging industry amid growing fears it will destroy the seafloor and damage biodiversity. The alliance was announced just as a United Nations Oceans Conference began in Portugal this week. The moratorium ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has just spoken to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky by phone, expressing solidarity and support for his country. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dennis B Desmond, Lecturer, Cyberintelligence and Cybercrime Investigations, University of the Sunshine Coast Sashenka Gutierrez/EPA The art of concealing or misrepresenting one’s identity in the physical world has long been practised by spies engaged in espionage. In response, intelligence agencies ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Wes Mountain/The Conversation, CC BY-ND Homeowners will face mortgage rates near 5.5% in a little over a year, according to a survey of 22 leading Australian economists. The ...
Guest column by Nicholas Kerr Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s comments about the US Supreme Court’s recent ruling on abortion inadvertently help explain why the court was right to overturn Roe v. Wade and return the issue to the states. She noted that New Zealand ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mona Nikidehaghani, Lecturer in Accounting, University of Wollongong From Monday July 4 2022, Australian job seekers face a new social security system to police eligibility for support payments. It replaces the “Jobactive” system that required the “mutual obligation” of applying for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn Gulliver, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, The University of Queensland A man who drove through a climate protest blocking the Harbour Tunnel this week has copped a A$469 fine, while multiple members of the activist group were arrested. The protest was among a ...
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ffs
Arthur Grimes: Government has caused housing crisis to become a catastrophe – NZ Herald
imo it is the capitalisation of anything and everything in our society which is primarily responsible for all this
capitalism – it aint a social system to run a society on, it is a bunch of tools designed to pull the wealth of that society in one direction.
ever played monopoly and witnessed the end result?
wake up people
Capital is a tool which enhances a workers productivity. Capitalism is a system in which capital is considered a source of income in its own right.
@vto, +1, the unethical commodification of domestic housing in what has proved to be nothing more than a capitalist pyramid scheme is a wake up call..or so you would think, burning the planet down around us in the last hundred years in the name of unsustainable growth and accumulation is be a wake up call…or so you would think…
unfortunately many people have been entrapped into believing that free market liberalism is the only path..they either cannot or will not think or try to imagine a world out side of the safe ideological parameters that has been created around them…and to them if you do you are nothing more than a heretic…which is why they are more and more being accurately described as free market fundamentalists.
need money to read it. How ironic.
from the linked article above – it is quite sad that this article is behind a paywall.
"high migration – which traditionally push up house prices – have not been the culprits on this occasion."
Not true. Speculation in land is driven by expectations.
The expectation that we will return to high immigration fueling housing inflation, is a large part of the willingness to ,,"invest" in housing, and the banks concentration on housing and other land lending.
We will soon see those who benefit from soaring land prices, joining those who want wages to remain low and the endless supply of cheap offshore workers to continue, in pushing for the return of our previous ridiculously high levels of immigration and temporary visa’s.
Lets say i am a speculator and i want to make guaranteed money. What would i invest in?
Housing.
A. People will always prefer even the worst hovel to a tent in a ditch. Funfact: the tent in the ditch aka freedom camping is slowly but surely 'illegalized' for all but high paying tourists in the future – when we allow tourists back in.
B. I don't even need money to buy these houses, i just need to own one, and then thanks to the fake 'equity' i get another loan and another loan and thus it was ever so. The tenant will pay the loans as they always did.
C. low credits available to those that have 'equity' and can borrow money at the lowest cost ever. Thanks Government. Could not have done it without you.
Handing cheap credit lines to people with wealth in assets and bank balances who have looked at a and b and decided that no matter how shitty live on this planet will be in the next 50+ odd years, people will still need a house and people will pay what ever is asked for that 'house'.
And the cheap credit line of last year to the rich and wealthy – went only there. And guess what they bought with that cheap money? Houses. After all YOU will rent one if the only option is to live in a ditch, or hey, in a tax payer funded Motel for the unhoused.
And in the meantime, my little glorified Gardenshed that i bought a few years ago, literally in the last 10 month doubled in QV. Can't make that shit up. Seriously.
So yeah, blame the migrants that can't come in the country and have not been able to come here for some 18+ month now, it must be them. Can't be something else.
As usual, you’re quick to judge and criticise and your clearly haven’t thought deeply about this. Always good idea to start with underlying data and take it from there. See whether you can get your head around this: https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/300309438/migration-dries-up-record-drop-in-numbers-moving-to-nz
Speculation is driven by expectations.
The speculators who can afford houses expect the current drop in immigration to be temporary.
True that, but currently and probably for the next 2 odd years migration will be hindered by Covid, closed borders and MIQ requirements for the most part.
The article that i exerpted about clearly states this
so next to high migration there are other factors and currently migration IS NOT the main issue – as those that come in are actually Kiwis, and at 454 per month, not even that many. Many people may go through MIQ, but not many stay. Most leave after a visit to the whanau.
But housing generally will still be an issue for many years, simply because we have not build to demand, we have now issues re building materials, availability of tradies etc.
Expectations are certainly a key factor.
Sarcasm Incongito. I shall add a s/ tag the next time. 🙂
If the shoe fits, Sabine, it is not sarcasm, but a truthful observation. Can you handle the truth, Sabine? It seems you’re struggling to accept it sometimes …
So yeah, people stopped having babies for some18+ months now, it must be them. Can’t be something else.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/126095878/births-driving-new-zealand-population-growth-for-the-first-time-since-2013
It appears you may have missed the points here, Incognito.
Sabine's comment "So yeah, blame the migrants that can't come in the country and have not been able to come here for some 18+ month now, it must be them. Can't be something else." was very obviously sarcasm.
However, you appear to have taken it as genuine, with your comment "As usual, you’re quick to judge and criticise and your clearly haven’t thought deeply about this. "
Then you appear to have taken Sabine's reference to sarcasm as applying to your comment, calling your comment "a truthful observation".
Have I got that sequence of events correct?
[I’m quite familiar with Sabine’s commenting style, thank you.
I’m also quite familiar with her reckons here, thank you.
Sarcasm does not get her off the hook and does not make her immune against push-back. If Sabine wants to join or have a genuine and constructive debate, she knows what and how to do it, what works well and what does not.
Has Sabine gone shy or is she lost for words?
How familiar are you with Sabine?
How fucking stupid do you think I am?
I cannot stand dishonesty and slyness.
You have one chance to come clean and apologise for trying to deceive us or you will receive a permanent ban and I am sure you do not need an explanation as to why – Incognito]
See my Moderation note @ 11:03 am.
Quite a bit to unpack there, I must have hit a nerve. You have not actually answered the question either.
You know full well that 95% of her post was factual and accurate, yet ignore that and fixate on the one line that was obvious sarcasm. If you know her style, you would know that sarcasm is part of that style.
How Fucking stupid do I think you are? I don't know yet, I havn't met you.
How familiar am I with Sabine? Extremely, thank you. She has mentioned her firefighter partner? Yep, that's me.
I have absolutely no idea to what you are referring in your last two paragraphs regarding deceiving you. If you are accusing me of something, at least have the decency of actually accusing me of something, not hiding behind dishonesty and slyness.
You reckon?
There is Dirty Politics, false/fake accounts, astroturfing, AI bots, imposters, spammers, sock puppets, et cetera, and this site has had its fair share of this deceptive sly shit. So, when a new commenter arrives on this site, goes straight into bat for another one as you did, it raises a big flag, and I check them out. My findings tell me that my hunch was correct: this is a commenter who cannot be trusted to be open and honest. That’s the nerve you hit; it is a nerve of this site, because we value honesty and transparency here as much as we do in our politicians and officials, for example.
Much false propaganda and other conspiracy BS contain truths, so making something “95% […] factual and accurate” is not a strong argument. In fact, it is weak and reads like an admission of ignorant BS masquerading as sarcasm.
I’m sure you are capable of unpacking the rest of the luggage by yourself.
Whose blaming immigrants?
Blaming those who want to many at once to keep wages low and house prices high
But saying that the willingness to spend so much on houses, has nothing to do with the expectation that immigration settings will, "return to normal" no matter what Government is in, is denying reality
Answer: people who believe that simplistic reductionist ‘common sense’ will solve all complex problems. They know it all, they can solve everything, and they’re never wrong. Arm-chair ‘experts’ in everything. And just wait for their protests when you challenge them …; pathetic people.
Nothing wrong with reductionism provided the interaction of the constituent pieces is considered…indeed reductionism could be deemed a requirement of good analysis
You missed the adjective!?
When is reductionism no longer reductionism?
did you say simplistic
Indeed, I did, which applies to most reductionism on display here on this site, wouldn’t you agree?
When is reductionism no longer reductionism?
When entropy is minimal.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Boltzmann#/media/File:Zentralfriedhof_Vienna_-_Boltzmann.JPG
Lovely, but can we perhaps stay within the context of the relatively mundane topic of housing & immigration? That would be grand.
I'd agree that the display of simplistic thinking extends to the response to KJT.
.
Sounds like the currently ascendant Woke ideologues … although, in their case, enacting a crude, cartoonish & ultimately self-interested ideology rather normative notions of common sense.
If forced to choose, I think I’d go for the common folk wisdom of the majority, grounded as it is in widely agreed & instinctive notions of ethics, morality & human rights … over the self-interested moral posturing of an affluent Woke Establishment that aims to systematically scapegoat.
it seems you did.
And yes speculation in land is driven by the expectations that YOU and YOUR family and their children and so on and so forth will need a place to live. I might remind You that currently we have 4368 homeless kids – they will grow up and want families of their own, we have 24000 odd people on housing lists couch surfing or car sleeping etc. And that is what we have now. Never mind what we will have next year. Or in the years after that.
So the speculators that drove the house prices up by 30% since the first lockdown are homegrown for the most part, cashed up by cheap loans courtesy of the governments monetary politics of the last year.
And that does not touch on the fact that the country up and down has a fair share of empty properties – be that for speculation, or because they need work to be rendered habitable, that we seemingly are not building for what the markets needs but what is bringing in the highest profit, that the stock that we build is subpar – see leaky buildings, apartment blocks etc, and we might start scratching on the surface of all the shenanigans that keep some people very rich, and others permanently and generationally kept in a poverty and homeless trap despite working and being kiwis.
I know it is a bit to nuanced for some to comprehend.
But blaming immigrants as against blaming those who are responsible for some of the highest per capita immigration levels in the OECD, mostly to keep themselves rich and give an illusion of economic growth, are two different things.
Immigration, and the resulting asset appreciation and lower wages, is part of the “shenanigans” that keep some very rich, and way too many below the poverty line.
Exactly. It's a greed driven immigration policy that's to blame. Immigrants themselves are acting rationally on the individual level. But that doesn't take away from the fact that 4800 new humans per month, mostly going to Auckland, is a huge contributing factor to the housing shortages
There are lots of NZ houses (~400 dwellings per 1000 people, with ~7% of dwellings vacant), and new houses are currently being built relatively quickly (~1.7% increase in the last year?) But I don’t want to share.
https://www.oecd.org/els/family/HM1-1-Housing-stock-and-construction.pdf
There is a shortage of 'affordable' houses, in part because these get snapped up as investments by the wealthy. A new 3-bedroom house (nothing special; offers over $949,000) on a subdivided section (<400 m2) in my modest Palmerston North Street sold in a matter of weeks.
Liked the recent effective illustration of part of the problem you posted.
Well said.
Speculation is not the only driver of demand. A lot of people just want some where to live.
Whoever said it was the only one.
However most people who ,just want a house to live in," either have one, usually with a huge mortgage, or cannot bloody well afford one.
And Grimes' point is that current monetary policy is making that situation worse. Except for the speculators, who are quite happy with plenty of cheap money.
Anyone with more than 5 houses should be forced to sell within 6 months, or have their stuff confiscated without compensation
Along with other points.
Which as we have just discussed are more self justification on his part than reality.
Not sure where you get the ‘self justification’ bit from. He’s only repeating the criticisms he’s levelled before. Time is simply proving him right.
This article probably reflects the unease with any change is reserve bank policy more than any kind of meaningful forecast of the economy (or causal explanation of what has occurred in the economy).
The reality of central bank inflation first policy implementations (e.g ignoring employment even when employment was part of their mandate) is discussed here.
http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/?p=48077
To summarize the reality, the RBNZ is not able to force the economies inflation rate using monetary policy. They may believe that they can but the monetary policy leaver is not really connected to the economy in that way. The policy does have a history of tightening interest rates well before inflation has been observed resulting in losses of employment however. Its been much less effective with the only partially counted in CPI price of housing and countering that however. This applies even during the 2000s when interest rates were quite high and house price growth was still surging ahead. Its also worth noting in this regard that one major component of inflation is wage growth and so being effective in limiting inflation and wage growth but ineffective in limiting house price growth for several decades may result in wide disparity between housing (and rental) costs.
Its also worth understanding how the discussion is miss-leading with its explanation of the economies response to monetary policy (and its implication of QE as a problem). The simple reality is QE was just a way for the RBNZ to fund the governments deficit, nothing more, nothing less. It didn't impact house prices unless your counter factual was the country locking down without a wage subsidy (yes, this would likely have put the country in recession and probably have crashed house prices). But the counter factual should be, the government paying much more on its borrowing but still issuing a wage subsidy, and this would have resulted in similar house price rises (and larger profits to banks and higher interest on low risk savings). The house price rises are caused by people being willing to get into long term debt to get into the property market, banks backing them doing that, and to some extent the lock down helped there by taking away the smashed avocado forcing them to save and still providing them with income during lockdown which went unspent (which is why NZers savings rates were way up across the lockdown). Additionally this kind of commentary usually thinks about a fixed pool of savings being loaned into different areas depending on their relative profitability. In the economy areas of spending and investment are additive however so the housing market collapsing will simply leave a spending hole in the economy if rates are put up to that extent.
Its not necessarily obvious but banks and institutional investors find a high interest rate environment more profitable for their activities and a low interest rate environment less easy. This is probably one of the reasons this kind of commentary has been asking for a high interest rate environments return since circa 2010, with encouraging governments to stop spending because they think that might be the way to get there.
R.I.P Ed Asner
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/aug/29/ed-asner-dies-lou-grant-mary-tyler-moore
A great guy, Ed was a union man. He visited the National Distribution Union (now FIRST) one time in the 90s when he was in NZ. NDU at the time incorporated Actors Equity.
Pundit and film maker Michael Moore said about him today…
“When I was making my first film, “Roger & Me”, I was broke, so I wrote to some famous people to ask for help. Only one responded: Ed Asner.
“I don’t know you, kid, but here’s 500 bucks,” said the note attached to the check. “Sounds like it’ll be a great film. I was an autoworker once.”
That was the eulogy RNZ should have run,….thanks TM.
Yes Barfly, he could act.
I reckons that there is a serious case to be argued for completely shutting the boarders to nz till we have every one vaccinated , that wants to be .
Most will accept it due to the fact that lockdowns are the not the way to live .
Close the miq s till next year.
Imagine, we are all vaccinated, but can still get it, and maybe even die of it, should we keep the border closed for a little longer until something better comes along? And if that don't work, a little longer?
Yes, with the current vaccine and variants, vaccinated people can still get it and maybe even die from it.
But the risks of severe illness and death in vaccinated people people appear to be way below other risks we commonly accept as routine in everyday life. So once everyone that wants vaccination has received it, I'm happy to ease the restrictions we now have. The re-opening guidelines the government published just before our current outbreak seem entirely reasonable to me.
All plans subject to change in response to new information and new circumstances, of course.
That is not the point that i was making.
The point is that some will even ask for closed borders if all were vaccinated.
And once we are all vaccinated, we still can get it, we still can get ill of it, we still can die of it. And / or another mutation will make Delta look like Alpha.
This whole Idea that if we just do this one thing and it – Covid – will go away is just meh.
We should accept that this is gonna be around for a while now, and hopefully at the very best we get better at managing it.
And with that in mind, we might want to flesh out our Lockdown rules a bit more – who can work etc, how to distribute food to everyone if we had a complete melt down with essential workers ill en masse, education – there are still kids that can't have online education due to material issues, and so on and so forth.
But i would also not be surprised if we do nothing of the sort, and just pretend that we will go back to what was normal on a lovely day in March 2020.
And once we are all vaccinated, we still can get it, we still can get ill of it, we still can die of it. And we can still infect others…
This message is not getting through. At all. Very scary that even spokespeople on the wireless think that being vaccinated somehow casts a spell of complete immunity and safety.
[I was interested in finding out who those numpties were who “think that being vaccinated somehow casts a spell of complete immunity and safety”. So, I clicked on your link and listened, and listened again, but I could not find the part where they stated what you claimed they stated!?
Therefore, it seems that you fabricated nonsense to suit your narrative about some mythical “message”, which you referred to three times, is not getting through.
It is tiring and tedious when people make up shit to spin their own shit and I’d like to think that we ought to and can do better here on this site.
So, please explain yourself or withdraw and apologise for spinning lies here – Incognito]
You still have a better then before chance of not dying.
And that also is a point that must be stressed.
You still have a better then before chance of not dying.
Which is absolutely awesome for the approximately 30 % of people who have been able to have both jabs.
These people need to realise that they cannot consider themselves and others 'safe' from infection or infecting until all New Zealanders who want the jab have had it.
This message is not getting through.
Indeed.
So the takeaway should be that at some point in the next wee while, everyone can expect to come into contact with SARS-CoV-2.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300394158/covid19-infectious-disease-expert-warns-well-all-catch-covid19-eventually
So the question is, who wants to get vaccinated, with attendant tiny risk of short-term problems, and have their immune system all trained up and ready to fight and have the best chance of beating the virus before it turns into a full-blown round of covid.
And who wants to internalise some really complicated misinformation inside their head so they end up facing the virus with a completely naive immune system, thereby massively increasing their risk of full-blown covid and huge risk of death and debilitating long-term problems.
That really is the risk-reward trade-off. Tiny risk of short-term issues from the vaccination, versus huge risk of debilitating long-term problems or even death from the actual disease. As well as potential restrictions on privileges previously taken for granted if someone refuses the free, very safe, and very effective precaution of getting vaccinated to protect the community as well as oneself.
All very interesting, and you really ought to be running the country's vaccination publicity campaign.
But none of what you say addresses the very real issue that the message that the jabs do not confer immunity to the virus is not getting out.
While over 50% of Kiwis who want to be vaccinated have yet not been able to…all your talk of 'refusing' and 'choice' and 'risk' etc is moot.
The lucky nearly thirty percent who have been able to be vaccinated need to be reminded that they can still infect the unvaccinated and potentially cause serious illness and death.
[More explaining to do for you. You said this:
A week ago, I banned another commenter for one month for making the exact same claim and their refusal to clearly explain what they meant. Spreading false information is on par with not self-correcting, elaborating when requested, or not providing any information at all and thereby creating a vacuum of innuendo that fills up quickly with conspiracy BS.
So, how the jabs work then, if not through immunity? Do the injected microchip and nanobots create a 5G anti-virus force field?
I assume the jabs do something, yes? Or is it just another elaborate scam by Big Pharma to make insane profits without care for lives?
Please explain clearly what you meant or take a month off too – Incognito]
What is your basis for asserting "the message that the jabs do not confer immunity to the virus is not getting out"?
As far as I'm aware, two of our recent cases (Warkworth rest home worker and Auckland Hospital nurse) have been breakthrough cases. In both cases, from published information about their actions, it appears both were fully aware they could still become infected and infectious, and acted appropriately with that awareness.
If you have any evidence of anyone in New Zealand that has been vaccinated has been acting in an irresponsible way that suggests they believe their vaccination status absolutely completely protects them from infection, please link.
The ,"jabs" do confer immunity in the majority of cases. That is the point of having them.
It is how vaccines work.
Immunity is not the same, as not getting the virus.
Both the UK and Israel have high rates of vaccination and currently have some of the highest amounts of active cases they've seen since the start of the pandemic.
Given that, you would have to sceptical of the immunity they provide.
That has already been covered.
How they were "opened up" way before vaccination levels were high enough to justify it.
A lesson NZ seems to be heeding.
Even so, in Israel, The UK and USA, the pandemic has become mostly a ," pandemic if the unvaccinated" as the vaccinated rarely get seriously ill with Covid.
In the case of the UK, wouldn't that be the fault of a botched government response, like ending insufficient lock downs and keeping borders open when covid was still running rampant?
Israel is only about 67% with at least one dose of vaccine, and the UK is only about 70% with at least one dose. Full vaccination rates are a bit lower in both countries.
So no, not "high rates of vaccination".
https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations
And yet, despite active cases increasing in some countries with medium-to-high vaccination rates, the % of Covid cases that result in death is down, and the residual tragic Covid deaths are heavily skewed towards the unvaccinated.
I do wonder at the choices of the deliberately unvaccinated who willingly subject themselves to greater risk of death, and work to recruit others to their cause. Imho the 'Covid antivaxx' fraternity is clearly a 'choose death cult'. Tragic pandemic deaths will be increasing weighted towards the unvaccinated; its natural selection.
No doubt President Trump would have put it differently.
" the message that the jabs do not confer immunity to the virus is not getting out."
I do believe this falsehood is widely accepted, and it's probably what is giving the simple minded the reason not to vaccinate.
There have been no cases of seriously illness or death in NZ in those who are vaccinated. Can you refer to any cases throughout the world where this is the case?
The vaccine does confer immunity. Ask any nurse working in a covid ward who are the patients who survive the virus.
It's those who have been vaccinated.
The other salient pint is that it's an air-borne virus contracted thru the nose or mouth and therefor easily be spread to anyone in the vicinity with the next exhalation.
No vaccination will preventing such a virus being spread.
Part of the problem is anti-vaxers misrepresenting the meaning of immunity, falsely mispresenting it as an all-or-nothing thing.Whereas immunity is better viewed as being a multi-dimensional continuum.
Anti-vaxers misrepresent immunity so they can fabricate a disinformation talking point against vaccines.
Yes.
As soon as you see anti vaccers breathlessly repeating, "but vaccination doesn't stop you getting the virus" as if that is something we haven't known since the 1700's, they have already signalled they have no comprehension of how vaccination, and vaccine immunity, works.
I think that is actually what Rosemary was trying to say. Being vaccinated means I will not get as sick. I am still contagious if I do get infected. Masks and handwashing and bubbles of some sort will still be needed.
Rosemary is correct in that regard. However, there are vaccines that confer sterilizing immunity, e.g., against HPV. Unfortunately, none of the current Covid-19 vaccines appear to act like that.
The point I intended to make was that it's disingenuous to suggest the vaccine is not of much value because it doesn't guard against transmission particularly.
"Being vaccinated means I will not get as sick. I am still contagious if I do get infected. Masks and handwashing and bubbles of some sort will still be needed."
Yes, I think most of us understand that.
yeah, I think there's a semantic issue here. Some people taking being immune to mean they won't get the illness. That's not the case with the covid vaccine, so in that sense Rosemary is right. Others take immunity to mean what I would call partial immunity. Some level of immunity is provide by covid, but not in the way that many of us that grew up with vaccines understand (measles, polio etc).
We just need to increase nuance in language.
I'm also not sure that Rosemary is wrong about the messaging. I asked on twitter if people getting vaccinated were told at the time that they could still transmit the illness. Someone showed me this flyer they were given after they got vaccinated. This flyer doesn't tell people to keep on with all the other protocols because they can still transmit covid, which seems like a lost opportunity to say the least.
No, in my opinion, this is more than simply semantics. It is about being clear about meaning of words, but it is also about understanding the scientific/medical concepts and terms that are generally very well defined, for a reason, using them in their appropriate context, and explaining clearly what they are and what they are not, and using them in and as truthful and impartial information and conclusions. In other words, it is about avoiding confusion and misconceptions that could easily mislead other people and perpetuate the spread of mis- and dis-information.
This becomes a bigger issue when combined with strong bias and negative attitudes towards a certain position on a topic. It becomes an even bigger issue when the topic involves measures to control a pandemic that comprise delicate, sensitive, complex, difficult, and controversial decisions by Government.
We’re not all experts on immunology and we have to learn, make mistakes, admit to these, correct them and each other, and improve our thinking and communication. In turn, this will make for better debate, better questioning, better informed consent, and better decisions overall. Who wouldn’t want that?
The question would be, as posited by some commenters here: why would people choose to get vaccinated if it does not confer immunity? Would make for an interesting poll.
Another way of putting it: why would the NZ Government spend well over $1billion on a vaccine if it does not confer immunity?
Instead, why not just jab people with neutralising therapeutic antibodies (nAbs) against Covid-19 if vaccines ‘don’t confer immunity’?
Doesn’t this strike you as absurd questions? Unfortunately, some people would take them seriously and at face value and answer them accordingly.
I'm still unclear on what Rosemary meant. I thought she was talking about partial immunity. Are you saying that she believes that vaccines don't work at all?
I agree about clarity and its importance. I also think there are often two or more languages being used to talk about medicine, and we need more than just the science one. This is why I would like to see everyone in this sub thread explain what they mean by immunity. Not long paragraphs of technical detail, but coming in from the outside it looked like people talking past each other over the full vs partial thing. Am happy to be proved wrong on this (and Rosemary is the one that can clear up what she meant).
"This becomes a bigger issue when combined with strong bias and negative attitudes towards a certain position on a topic."
True, but I see it on many sides, including the people who have great faith in science. Rosemary and I have a largely unspoken shared understanding of how disability plays into the debate, not necessarily vaccine damage, but how the health system routinely fails people and how people with faith in the system often ignore this.
I also have experience with alternative medicine and see ignorance and bigotry expressed against that from the people that have more faith in science (I have faith in both to varying degrees 😇). That leads into a broader conversation about evidence and wellbeing, which is something I would love to have, but it doesn't happen here often because of the scoffing. Which I can't be bothered with.
Indeed, this is/was the point: what did/does Rosemary mean when she says that the vaccine doesn’t confer immunity to the virus, which essentially means that the vaccine is ineffective in mounting an immune response. If this were the case, it would never have been approved because of lack of efficacy. The ‘field trials’ (i.e., in real heterogeneous populations) also speak of effectivity of the vaccine. So, Rosemary’s assertion is utterly wrong and misleading.
Rosemary could have clarified and qualified here assertion, her claim of fact, but so far she has refused. Not good enough, as far as I’m concerned when it comes to Covid vaccination.
I hear you and respect Rosemary and your concerns about disability and the failures of the health system in NZ. I also hear you about the issue of alternative science. However, none of those issues apply here; it is/was not about pitching one faith against another.
Probably, but I'm not sure why you are tying them to Rosemary. Are you suggesting that her comments are a problem because people reading might misconstrue them in ways that affirm their beliefs about anti-vax?
Yes!
Ok. Well that's useful to know and helps me understand what you are doing and saying better. I disagree, I don't think commenters, or authors, can be held responsible for other people that they don't even know, misinterpreting their words through a series of mental gymnastics that the writer has no input on.
I mean, the whole point of what we do in comments here is hash out ideas, good, bad and ugly ones. If someone says something that's wrong or a problem or not understood, it's on the rest of us to point that out.
I would feel differently if someone put up an anti-vax post full of misinformation.
When a comment is vague and ambiguous, the onus is on the commenter to do better. In fact, the onus is on commenters to avoid this in the first place, and be as clear as they can be to avoid possible confusion and misinterpretation. When presenting information, the onus is on the presenter to make sure this information is sound and underpinned by sound sources. In other words, responsibility for interpretation does not solely rest with the reader/recipient and it is not a binary, it is a two-way street, as is all communication.
Smart people with an agenda know how to manipulate these things and when it comes to Covid-19 (or sex/gender ID/self-ID, or Climate Change, for example) we know how much these simple rules of engagement matter.
Lastly, an ‘anti-vax post’ doesn’t have to be “full of misinformation” to be problematic to me. Misleading posts often contain a lot of truth and a little of untruth. Once these gain a foothold they’ll get distorted and amplified further on various platforms. This is how mis- and dis-information spreads (e.g., Dirty Politics); it is my goal here to break the transmission chain and get the R0 number under 1.
"But none of what you say addresses the very real issue that the message that the jabs do not confer immunity to the virus is not getting out."
The fact that vaccinated people can still catch and spread the virus is widely reported in the media. I'm double-jabbed, I know I can still become infected and then pass to others, as does everyone else I know who is vaccinated.
?
Not that any of that detracts from the huge benefits of being vaccinated.
See my Moderation note @ 11:21 am.
I've said below I think this is a semantics issue. Perhaps a solution here is to use phrases: partial immunity and full immunity. Those are lay persons terms. Happy to use medical terms as well if they're pointed out.
Yes. If every government in the world had acted like ours in Feb-Mar 2020 and been successful – then the future might look different. But that was never going to happen. We have mounted a brilliant holding operation until effective vaccines became available. The murderous lunacy of other governments in not even attempting to do the same is amazing.
The future looks like very high rates of vaccination, protecting the most vulnerable, and some residual public health measures such as mask-wearing and maybe occasional lock-downs if local outbreaks get out of control. The intentionally unvaccinated remain a reservoir of infection for the rest of us and will be a potential drain on our healthcare resources. How we treat them will be a difficult problem – do we respect their choices or abandon them? And if we get a variant that out-runs vaccine development, then we go back to square one.
The intentionally unvaccinated remain a reservoir of infection for the rest of us and will be a potential drain on our healthcare resources.
Yup. And treating them has a devastating psychologically effect on the healthcare professionals trying to keep them alive. Because refusing the vaccine is so cluelessly pointless, and all the suffering and waste of resource is so easily and cheaply preventable.
If I were dictator, sometime about when the vaccination curve starts to level off, I'd put up big tents in the far corner of hospital parking lots and paint "Unvaccinated Covid Patient Wards" on them in big letters, and let it be known that three meals a day would be supplied and that's it as far as care provided. And barricade myself against the medical ethicists coming for me with torches and pitchforks.
If a variant emerges that evades the vaccine, we'll always have the option of closing up again for a while until we get a new vaccine that works against the new variant. With mRNA vaccine technology now having proven itself, and production facilities fully ramped up, it shouldn't take anywhere near as long as it has for the first round.
The natural history of the disease and response to treatment in unvaccinated patients will become clearer and it will be useful experience for the teams managing them. Those who refuse treatment will add to information on the unmodified disease and provide opportunities for further research.
See my Moderation note @ 10:13 am.
At around 3.20 the discussion turns to the vaccination status of truck drivers and in the absence of a vaccine mandate a company can choose to hire vaccinated drivers and/or send only vaccinated drivers across internal borders. The interviewer belaboured the point… as if a vaccinated driver crossing an internal border was somehow safer than an unvaccinated driver… when we all know that all of us should take precautions regardless of our vaccine status. Because vaccinated people can still infect others especially with the Delta variant.
The 'casting a spell of immunity' was my take on it and I apologise for missing the mark humour wise.
However…it seems to me to be highly presumptive to place the employment security of unvaccinated truck drivers (or any worker come to that) in jeopardy when, given the low level of vaccination in the country, the fact that they may be unvaccinated is most likely through no fault of their own.
I see where you're coming from. Seems to me that if drivers on 'cross-Covid alert level' routes refuse the offer of a Covid vaccine, then they could be obliged (during a global pandemic) to accept clearly signalled employment consequences, e.g. re-assignment. It's a matter of choice.
Will be interesting to follow up on whether the protest that Brock and other NSW truckies have staged cuts any ice with the QLD and federal govts.
As the company I work for do essential work, all staff were given the option of getting the covid jab back in June. I would have no issue if those who refused (unless on medical grounds) were kept from entering the workplace until they complied, if that were ever enforceable.
The current outbreak is the biggest challenge that NZ has faced. Everyone is affected. It is about the government looking after the people they govern and the people and resources they need to manage the pandemic.
Vaccination has been proven to reduce death and hospitalisation. Unfortunately break through cases of Covid occur in vaccinated people.
Crisis time is most likely to occur with the Delta strain and crisis measures are required.
I would like to know what the crisis measures are which the government will use?
Some merit in that with fauchi's indication that more than 90% may still not be sufficient.
It may well come down to do as best you can then open up with those that choose no vax taking their chances.
It's new turf and personal responsibility is just that… personal.
Closing the MIQ facilities cannot occur, they are needed for Covid positive community cases. Not everyone can isolate at home due to lack of space. Access to food could be an issue for some. Access to health care would be easier in MIQ.
The bubble with Australia and the Olympic games required spaces in MIQ. Had these spaces not have been required, returning expats or essential workers the country needs, more would have had entry into NZ. Reuniting families of essential workers with NZ working visas would probably have occurred.
Prof. Rod Jackson explains the situation well in this mornings interview on RNZ….at the point it is deemed our health system can cope (based on analysis of vaccine rates) we will ease restrictions on our border
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018810236/cabinet-considers-tougher-restrictions-under-level-4
An ICU bed with Covid, I had not thought about the extra resources required until mentioned in the audio link.
Consider the legacy blojo, gladyator, trump etc are all leaving their health systems with long covid.
Lack of ICU staff and resources is why NZ went into our first tight lockdown last year like we did. Still a major weak point.
Largely agree bwag but it is BORDERS FFS not boarders.
(Sorry this spelling has been seen on TS several times now and it is starting to irritate)
Noted ,but I'm going to blame that little spell checking goblin in my ph,
Bearded git is starting to get irritated by a simple spelling mistake and already is using the FFS language, wow! Hate to see you get really ittitated .. I bet you are a barrel of laughs to be locked down with.
Ittitated? WTF?
Glad you got the deliberate mistake BG .. and I appreciate the smile .. hope you have a fabulous day ..
.
Just boarders ? … what about renters & people who own their own home ?
RIP Lee Scratch Perry
https://www.npr.org/2021/08/29/1032226388/reggae-lee-scratch-perry-dies
That is so sad.
The term gets overused but Perry was a true original.
I never tire if hearing songs with his prints on them.
There is an interesting BBC doco in the net somewhere about The Upsetter.
The USA are the modern masters at creating terrorism and terrorists….
"Nine members of one family were killed in the US drone strike targeting a vehicle in a residential neighbourhood of Kabul, according to a relative of those killed reported by CNN. The overall civilian death toll remains unclear."
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2021/aug/29/afghanistan-live-news-terror-attack-highly-likely-in-next-24-36-hours-says-biden-last-uk-troops-leave-kabul
….though it has to be said that from what we are learning about this 20 year conflict, it was nothing more than a way to funnel money into the pockets of the usual capitalist pigs…so killing children and civilians and enraging/radicalizing more men would be right up their ally.
“War Is a Racket”: The US War in Afghanistan Validates General Smedley Butler
https://www.globalresearch.ca/war-racket-us-war-afghanistan-validates-general-smedley-butler/5753880
Was the Afghanistan War a failure? Not for the top five defense contractors and their shareholders.
"These numbers suggest that it is incorrect to conclude that the Taliban’s immediate takeover of Afghanistan upon the U.S.’s departure means that the Afghanistan War was a failure. On the contrary, from the perspective of some of the most powerful people in the U.S., it may have been an extraordinary success. Notably, the boards of directors of all five defense contractors include retired top-level military officers."
https://theintercept.com/2021/08/16/afghanistan-war-defense-stocks/
Exactly right. So how long will it be, before the next US War of aggression and profit will be leveled at the next victim Country in line?
The US being military regime with an economy based on the misery of war
Their gunsights are still on Cuba, Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Iran. All of those countries have committed the capital crime of conducting an independent foreign policy.
And Syria.
In the meantime stealing their oil.
The danger is, now that the US is a laughing stock, they will try for a war they think they could actually win, but of course they will fail again like all unjust wars do. When will they ever learn, they are just not competent at war.
Small Caribbean islands had better watch out!
They rolled triumphantly over Panama six years after taking out the dire threat of Grenada. They named it, hilariously, "Operation Just Cause."
Yea, coz Cubans were helping build an airstrip, that invasion had a news black out put in place.
Did anyone really believe the msm reports that the operation was completely successful and the only casualties were the intended targets?
[Crikey! Yesterday, Lprent gave you a stern warning about posting links without explanation or commentary and today you do it again, thumbing your nose at Moderation here, with a YT clip of over 40 min that appears to off-topic too.
Take a week off – Incognito]
Kerry's brief moment as a hero. What a sell out.
He never had what it takes to survive the mean streets of Northcote.
See my Moderation note @ 7:59 pm.
Andrew Geddis on Spinoff has an interesting comment on police overreach with covid rules.
He covers the video of police confronting a guy with L4 rules because he was filming an arrest they were conducting (Weka posted the tweet with the video yesterday, but the videos got taken down), and a couple of other instances where cops relied on what they thought their powers were, rather than what they actually were.
It's not a histrionic "fascism gone made" comment, and covers that some of these powers are needed at this time. But cops gonna be coppin', and will always push the extent of their authority.
Although on that theme, I reckon the cops who didn't like being filmed would have found some other reason to demand details and threaten arrest. They're good at that…
Yeh it didn't look much different to me from how they usually behave.
Yes they has been overreach, guidelines clearly say ypu can drive a short distance ie to a local park for exercise. My elderly parents were threatened with fines and were told driving to the park 5min drive away walks was a breach. Shook them up a bit.
Before anyone wants to say they should of walked to they park they're old, the street they live on is very steep and slippery in winter whereas the local park is large and dead flat.
As usual, Kathryn Ryan's foreign correspondent this morning was horrible
RNZ National, Monday 30 August 2021, 9:50 a.m.
Over the years, listeners to Nine to Noon have been afflicted at ten to ten each day with a hit of what is often shameless propaganda from some of the most bloody-minded propagandists on the planet. The line-up of grotesques masquerading as "foreign correspondents" has included U.K. correspondents Matthew Parris, who is an ex-Tory M.P., and Dame Ann Leslie ("Arrrrgggh! Every year we have to listen to the militant rabble rousingof the teacher unions!"); U.S. correspondent Jack Hitt who, on the very day that Chelsea Manning's show trial in Maryland began, chose to witter on about Game of Thrones instead [1]; and Israeli correspondent Irris Makler, who is possibly the most brutally dishonest of the lot of them. [2]
This morning, listeners were subjected to yet another dim and dismal addition to Ryan's dim and dismal line up: "our Latin America correspondent, the BBC's Katie Watson." She was not as shamelessly partisan as Dame Ann or Irris Makler; her problem—and ours—was that her "report" was at about the level of a substandard Year 10 student's Social Studies homework.
First topic for the once-over-lightly this morning was Brazil. Watson stated that Jair Bolsonaro "won" the 2019 election because "people were fed up with the Workers' Party." She did not mention—and, crucially, Ryan did not press her on this—that the most popular politician in the country, Luiz Inácio da Silva, had been imprisoned on trumped-up charges and that his successor Dilma Roussef had been ousted in a farcical judicial coup, following an avalanche of disinformation and character assassination by the right wing political establishment and its media accomplices, to be replaced by the Iago figure of Michel Temer.
That assault against democracy happened in 2016—Standardisti may recall spectators at the Rio Olympics waving "FORA TEMER" protest signs during some events. But Katie Watson's "report" rigorously excluded any context, and she talked as if Bolsonaro had won a normal democratic election.
Topic 2 was Venezuela; Watson spoke of the "opposition leader Juan Guaidó" as if he were a normal democratic politician; she chose not to mention the fact that he has zero credibility and even less support in Venezuela. [3] He is supported, however, by the Washington political class and its media servants like Katie Watson.
Last but not least was a "feel good" story about swamp rats in Argentina. Unlike the first two items, this one had some actual substance to it.
[1] https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-04062013/#comment-643309
[2] https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-18-01-2018/#comment-1437205
[3] https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/The-Making-of-Juan-Guaido-US-Regime-Change-Laboratory-At-Work-20190129-0021.html
Morrissey Can you remember that meeting jon key had with Dilma Roussef around Olympic game time in Rio,Re:escapee with wig,his name alludes me but live on Tv,Key made an idiot of himself,again to the world.
Looking for link,not sure I'll make friends replaying it though.
Phillip John Smith – child sex offender and murderer
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/from-escape-to-capture-phillip-smith-s-8-days-on-the-run-6128823
In the short term some gaffs seemed to add to the inexplicable 'Key mystique', but there may have been a growing awareness that he was a political dilettante – PM only to further his own interests.
"Working for my rich mates.", or as US President George 'Dubya' Bush put it:
He was going to treat the Chilean premier—another decent South American woman targeted by the extreme right wing impeachment weapon—to his trademark wit. She wisely cancelled the meeting.
—New Zealand prime minister JOHN KEY, asked what he’d say to Chilean premier Michelle Bachelet regarding murderer and paedophile Phillip John Smith, who absconded to Chile. Bachelet subsequently cancelled the planned meeting.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10730662/John-Keys-killer-paedophile-joke-falls-flat?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
hurr hurr
Ta..that's the shithead.
Thanks for that post Morrissey, you are the best and most reliable interpreter around these parts of RNZ's sad decent into it's current role as New Zealand very own guard dog for the neo liberal status quo…much like The Guardian, keep up the good work.
Is anyone else getting unsolicited calls from an outfit offering to 'train' them in derivatives trading? Some decidedly non-local voices – it reminds me of the various 'microsoft' and 'spark' scam callers we had a few years back, this kind of thing:
Three arrested over 'phone scams' which has allegedly cost elderly thousands | Stuff.co.nz
I get them all the time, all from overseas but sometimes showing a NZ number. You can assume whatever number they show is fake anyway. Got to the point that I dump any unfamiliar number to voicemail. They never leave a message
Interesting, Stuart, that you placed this item about shonky derivatives traders directly under a discussion about John Key.
I presume that was deliberate?

numbers look better for Auckland today…..but less testing over the w/e
i note the govt are now releasing covid no’s. before the 1pm presser. Methinks that is what most people tune in for, so therefore less likely to watch at 1pm and therefore avoid the media “holding them to account” aka desperately finding any small issue to blow out of proportion…but just my reckond
I am liking the shape of the curve, but as you say; Anker, that may be due to reduced testing on Sunday.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/450347/covid-19-update-on-30-august-53-new-community-cases
Though isn't the press conference at 4pm today (with PAL announcement), rather than 1pm? Hence the early announcement of numbers (53 in community).
I overlook a testing station its been a ghost town for the last 4 days prior to that it was packed hundereds of cars 6am queues etc… cases will fall purely based on less testing.
we-ell not necessarily, if the bulk of tests are due to an abundance of caution rather than likely contact or symptoms. We might find that the ones being cautious leave it, while the ones who are really worried or have been instructed to get tests still test at a similar rate.
80 to 50 is a big jump, sure. But not out of the realm of hope – in march/april last year it went up pretty smoothly and then went from 89 to 67, and kept going down.
Here's hoping….
Sure there's definitely truth to that and im sure the test return time which had pushed out 4-5 days is now shortening,
I'd love to know how many people with Delta are asymptomatic was talked about alot with the first waves of Covid esp even of our current cases it would he interesting to know. Really high test numbers esp given how many places of interest there are I hope pick up those asymptomatic cases that could be very problematic and likely to become more prevalent as vacc rates increase.
We need to keep test numbers very high and fast return at home type tests would be really useful in that regard.
I think the last few days they have announced the approx numbers. But I could be wrong about their motivation in so doing.
I am keeping my fingers crossed that the 53 cases today means we are defeating Delta
Pablo well worth reading on foreign policy matters.
http://www.kiwipolitico.com/2021/08/9-11-forever-wars-and-the-end-of-liberal-internationalism/
Not sure I agree with his conclusion though.
“More can be added to this litany of unhappiness but for the moment the point is this: the era of liberal internationalism has come to an end as both a practical objective and a foreign policy theory. It remains to be seen what will emerge in its stead once the repercussions of the pandemic and US decline fully filter throughout the global community. But therein lies a basis for hope, because in a multipolar world in which no one actor can impose its vision of the “proper” order of things and yet the need for international cooperation is more apparent than ever, perhaps the makings of more equitable and balanced global society can be made.”
Things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. The COVID vaccine debacle worldwide shows us that international cooperation is along way away.
If Pablo can't figure out things worth fighting for, he's not much use as a commentator on any international conflict.
Pablo might want to focus on which conflicts are likely to come before the UN Security Council: Actions with Respect to Peace, Breaches of the Peace, and Acts of Aggression.
https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/content/repertoire/actions
There's a few out there that don't require the entire international multilateral system to collapse first.
Thanks for that, Ad.
That is a clear warning, surely, to the regimes in Washington, London, and Tel Aviv, as well as their vassals in Ottawa and Canberra.
I can't figure out now whether action in the UN Security Council in terms of mandated intervention is now worse than inaction. Maybe I'm having a minor theo-political crisis and just need to open another Penfolds GSM.
Also addressing a man made existential threat is the upcoming People's Inquiry .
The online public hearing begins on the 2nd September.
This is a public hearing, everyone is welcome to attend and listen to survivors, advocates, scientists, researchers share their oral testimony on the impacts of toxic chemicals and poisons.
I am concerned by the recent announcements by the Government that they cannot maintain the current rate of vaccinations, and that our next big shipment of Pfizer isn't due till late October.
Frankly, I think they have made a mistake not choosing to use other vaccines alongside Pfizer. We should be able to maintain that pace through the use of other vaccines. The sooner people are vaccinated the sooner our economy can start to open back up.
Which is key to everyone's wellbeing. I hope these questions are asked…
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300394580/covid19-nz-chris-hipkins-admits-misinterpreting-vaccine-delivery-schedule-by-a-month?fbclid=IwAR04gf8LIupZguKcZypC_wO3nMZqvhGy3QXScM_WbJRfhbA9Y_eZwxKxBEI
Here’s the timeline of Medsafe approvals of Covid-19 vaccines in NZ: https://www.medsafe.govt.nz/COVID-19/status-of-applications.asp
IIRC, they said yesterday that a new vaccine would (could?) slow down the current vaccination roll-out.
I’m concerned that you think that opening up the economy is key to everyone’s wellbeing. You might want to elaborate on that.
Obviously introducing a new vaccine could complicate the roll-out – but I'm sure those risks could be mitigated, especially if they are actually potentially having to dial down capacity in some areas due to the shortage.
Those would be the areas I would propose another vaccine could be implemented, also Janssen is only one shot which would simplify things a bit, you wouldn't been to worry about them being booked back in for the wrong vaccine etc.
I kind of expected that mentioning of the economy would open me up to being framed negatively.
What I mean to say is that opening back up is where we want to be in terms of citizens being able to do the things they value – see their families, get back to work, access healthcare, travel, go shopping, move house etc. The economy is not an end in itself.
Yeah, nah.
IIRC, there were good reasons to go exclusively with Pfizer. That hasn't changed. Not least of which is the Pfizer is arguably the best-performing of the four vaccines we did an early sign-up for, with lowest risks of adverse events.
Now that we have a good argument that our need has become somewhat more urgent, I reckon there's a good chance Pfizer will be able to flip a few more our way a bit sooner.
After all, the crazy high rate of vaccine refusal in the US means there's probably tens of millions of doses that Pfizer had penciled in for sale in the US that they'll be looking for alternate customers for.
Trouble brewing between WA (which has implemented a highly successful Covid lockdown) and the federal government (which opposes lockdowns and supports a Boris-style opening of the borders) today. From the Sydney Morning Herald just now:
"Mr McGowan [WA Premier] fired back at a press conference earlier today. I really find it odd that [the federal Treasurer] says things like this, Mr McGowan said.“NSW is in a catastrophic situation and he’s worried about people flying to Bali. Perhaps instead of attacking us they should show a bit of gratitude and appreciation for what Western Australia has done. Over the course of last 19 months we kept all have our industries open. We kept our mining industry open and COVID free, we poured countless billions of dollars into the federal treasury, which they are now pouring countless billions of dollars into NSW.”
Link please
Oops here you go-I forgot. It's way down the pages.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/australia-news-live-nsw-covid-cases-continue-to-climb-as-victoria-braces-for-lockdown-extension-20210830-p58n05.html
cheers.
Popup Scotty and gladyator have fkd it and now want to drag the rest into their mess.
Watch that space as the rest of oz is pretty pissed with a PR focused PM and a state premier who lost control with the pathetic postcode approach etc
Does anyone know how the Covid patient is doing in Middlemore that was flown in from Fiji?