@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?
[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.”
Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
Yesterday Winston Peters focussed his attention on the important matter at hand. Tweeting. Like the former, and quite possibly next, orange POTUS, from whom he takes much of his political strategy, Winston is an avid X’er.His message didn’t resemble an historic address this time. In fact it was more reminiscent ...
Buzz from the Beehive A significant decline in natural gas production has given Resources Minister Shane Jones an opportunity to reiterate his enthusiasm for the mining and burning of coal. For good measure, he has praised an announcement from Genesis Energy that it will resume importing coal. He and Energy ...
“Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The political parties are legally obliged to make ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Here is my subjective ranking on a “most-left” to “most-right” scale of most of our major NZ Universities, with some anecdotal (and at times amusing) evidence to back up the claim.Extreme Left Auckland University of TechnologyEvidenceThe ...
Eric Crampton writes – I hadn’t thought about this one until a helpful email showed up in my inbox.It’s pretty obvious that income tax thresholds should automatically index with inflation – whether to anchor the thresholds in percentiles of the income distribution, or to anchor against a real ...
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Gary Judd writes – The Dean of the law school at the Auckland University of Technology is someone called Khylee Quince. I have been sent her social media posting in which she has, over the LawNews headline “Senior King’s Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Maori studies for ...
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With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would then immediately launch attacks on Rafah, regardless. We might have hoped the concessions made by Hamas would cause Israel to desist from slaughtering thousands more ...
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There’s been a few smaller public transport announcements over the last week or so that I thought I’d cover in a single post. Fareshare I’ve long called for Auckland Transport to offer a way to enable employer-subsidised public transport options. The need for this took on even more importance ...
Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National Minister Matt Doocey, reflects poorly on Genter and ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Who likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
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Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
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Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
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Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
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The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
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April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
The Minister Responsible for GCSB and the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security have been notified of this review, and have been provided a finalised Terms of Reference. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Minglu Chen, Senior Lecturer, Government and International Relations, University of Sydney Robert Way/Shutterstock As the past few years have illustrated so clearly, the Australia-China relationship is complicated. As such, it is crucial for Australians to develop a more nuanced understanding of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mariana Campbell, Research Lecturer, Conservation, Charles Darwin University Marilyn Connell Australian freshwater turtles are facing an alarming trend. Almost half of these species are listed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered. The Mary River turtle (Elusor macrurus) is one of Australia’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Debbie Passey, Digital Health Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne Algorithms have become integral to our lives. From social media apps to Netflix, algorithms learn your preferences and prioritise the content you are shown. Google Maps and artificial intelligence are nothing without ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Josephine Barbaro, Associate Professor, Principal Research Fellow, Psychologist, La Trobe University Unsplash We’ve come a long way in terms of understanding that everyone thinks, interacts and experiences the world differently. In the past, autistic people, people with attention deficit hyperactive disorder ...
PNG Post-Courier Papua New Guinea’s deputy opposition leader James Nomane has accused the government of “reckless economic management” that has forced devaluation to manage loan repayments in foreign currency and placate the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Prime Minister James Marape “must stop lying to the people of Papua New Guinea”, ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Bookseller Confessional, in which we get to know Aotearoa’s booksellers. This week: Jane Arthur, author of Brown Bird, and former bookseller at Good Books.The book I wish I’d writtenI have been working on not comparing myself to others. On accepting that what I can ...
The final decision on the Wellington District Plan makes it official: High-density housing is legal across most of Wellington. Housing minister Chris Bishop has announced his decision on the Wellington District Plan, approving a series of amendments to radically upzone most of Wellington, allowing tens of thousands of new townhouses ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. “Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to ...
RNZ News As Israel presses ahead with strikes in Rafah and seizing the Rafah crossing from Egypt, aid agencies are sounding the alarm of a “catastrophic humanitarian situation”. Rafah was “significant” because it was the only part in Gaza that had not been terribly damaged by the conflict, United Nations ...
With funding set to be scrapped for the Hamilton-Auckland commuter train, Te Huia enthusiast Georgie Dansey argues for it to be thrown a lifeline. It’s 5.45am and the chain of my crappy old bike falls off slugging up the one hill in Hamilton. I contemplate yeeting the bike into the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Cooke, Honorary Fellow, School of the Environment, The University of Queensland We feel ecological grief when we lose places, species or ecosystems we value and love. These losses are a growing threat to mental health and wellbeing globally. We all see ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shauna Brail, Associate Professor, Institute for Management & Innovation, University of Toronto A shift to hybrid and remote work continues to affect worker presence in Toronto’s downtown.(Shutterstock) Downtown Toronto, the core of Canada’s largest city, continues to reel from the lingering ...
Responding to an Auditor-General's report slamming failures in the administration of the 2023 General Election, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said: ...
Productivity apps now make up a big chunk of the software market. But do they work? And why do they all have AI integrations?Despite being firmly on the record as a physical planner fan, I sometimes dream of something better than my pretty diary and its scrawled, ugly, interior ...
The Taxpayers’ Union says the Beehive need to lead by example, following reports of more than $50,000 spent upgrading video conferencing equipment and furniture in the Prime Minister’s office. Taxpayers’ Union Campaign Manager, Connor Molloy, ...
An objective list of the 50 most powerful people in New Zealand, as judged by the Spinoff Editorial Board. It’s power list season, baby, and we want in on the action. Sure, there’s the rich list and the powerful “c-suite” list and the young people with power (hmmm) but here, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thalia Anthony, Professor of Law, University of Technology Sydney ShutterstockThis article contains information on deaths in custody and the names of deceased people, and describes ongoing colonial violence towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. First Nations people in Australia ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alex Simpson, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Macquarie University Netflix Baby Reindeer’s phenomenal success has much to do with its writer and lead, Richard Gadd, who plays Donny in a tender semi-autobiographical account of sexual abuse, harassment and stalking. Gadd’s story has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Collins, Laureate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Newcastle KarolinaGrabowska/Pexels If you didn’t have food allergies as a child, is it possible to develop them as an adult? The short answer is yes. But the reasons why are much ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Moon, Professor of History, Auckland University of Technology Ans Westra, self-portrait, c. 1963. National Library ref AWM-0705-F They try but invariably fail – those writers who believe they are capable of encapsulating in prose or verse the essence of ...
Stewart Sowman-Lund looks at the growing concern around the world in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. What’s all this? When Covid-19 arrived on our shores in early 2020, some argued we were too slow, or crucially, ill-prepared for a pandemic. So ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Franco Montalto, Professor of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering and Director, Sustainable Water Resource Engineering Laboratory, Drexel University Water runs into a storm drain in a Los Angeles alley on Aug. 19, 2023, during Tropical Storm Hilary.Citizen of the Planet/Universal Images ...
The inquest into the death of Gore toddler Lachlan Jones has turned up a new witness who says he saw two teenagers and a small child in a high vis vest in the area where the boy’s body was found the day he died. Lachie’s body was discovered face up ...
Stories from the tenancy trenches, featuring spider infestations, cupboard rats and same-sex discrimination. Lucy’s brother was living in a damp 1930s building in Mt Eden where “he had to tie the cupboard doors closed so the rats didn’t get in”. Although he shared custody of his six-year-old son, his property ...
Simeon Brown, Chris Luxon, and Wayne Brown climbed into a hole and announced a plan to solve Auckland’s water woes. This is how it’ll work. New Zealand’s pipes are munted. They’re cracked and leaking, and struggling to handle all the extra poos excreted by our rising population. It’s a big, ...
What do a sombrero in Argentina and cognitive driving tests have in common? Don’t worry, we’re not setting up a bad joke. Hinengaro Clinic dementia clinician Gregory Winkelman has the answer on today’s episode of The Detail. “We ask a patient’s spouse or son or daughter: If you went to ...
Wellington long jumper Phoebe Edwards is back and she’s having fun again. Until this year, Edwards, a top athlete in her teens, had never competed as a senior athlete in New Zealand. In March, the 26-year-old won a national long jump title in a lifetime best of 6.28m after ...
After replacing a fifth of their caucus in just four months, the Greens’ opportunity to reset, reshuffle and refocus on the Government is quickly slipping away The post Persistent Green Party scandals delay caucus reset appeared first on Newsroom. ...
I knew Taika Waititi quite well when he was a kid. His mother lived in a tall narrow house in Aro St, and my youngest sister had a similar house two doors along. They were both single mums, they each had a son aged seven. Taika and my nephew Stepan ...
Opinion: “As time passes, knowledge of the circumstances of the August 2016 outbreak will fade and its immediate impact will be lost.” This statement is from the 2017 report of the Official Inquiry into the Havelock North campylobacteriosis outbreak. The then National-led government established the inquiry after the outbreak left ...
Opinion: Nicholas Khoo looks at two key points in the high-stakes foreign policy pact debate – and asks if NZ can engage with as little drama as possible. The post Where to next for the Aukus ruckus? appeared first on Newsroom. ...
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Opinion: ‘Reference-class forecasting’ is at the heart of improving pricing a project and identifying the expected timeframe but it doesn’t appear to be in use here The post ‘Think fast and act slowly’ is failing big projects appeared first on Newsroom. ...
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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.
https://twitter.com/epidote250/status/1431831041795264516?s=20
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.
I read somewhere that the only 'war' the USA has successfully won since WW2 has been the invasion of Grenada in 1983.
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?
https://twitter.com/MuslimShirzad/status/1432067670141243394
[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?