Pandemic: a flourishing enterprise. Business needs to get real.
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- Date published:
9:49 am, July 28th, 2020 - 40 comments
Categories: australian politics, covid-19, Economy, health, International -
Tags: canada, north korea, pandemic, quarantine, somalia, student protests, universities, USA, WHO
Earlier this month, I saw a Reuters article that had the snag paragraphs (my bold). That was written on July 17th and based on stats up to July 13th.
(Reuters) – Global coronavirus infections passed 14 million on Friday, according to a Reuters tally, marking the first time there has been a surge of 1 million cases in under 100 hours.
The first case was reported in China in early January and it took three months to reach 1 million cases. It has taken just four days to climb to 14 million cases from 13 million recorded on July 13.
Reuters: “For first time, world records one million coronavirus cases in 100 hours: Reuters tally”
What it does point to for NZ is that we can’t open our borders any time soon. The world outside NZ has a active and escalating pandemic. We’re having problems containing just the small volumes of returning kiwis to the point that we’re having to ration places in hotels – let alone confine the self-righteous idiots who can’t wait.
Personally I have no sympathy for any of these dangerous fools. Please judges – just throw the book at them and jail them as an example. If anyone dies from their exploits – charge them with murder or even manslaughter.
There is no way that we could contain the tourists, overseas students, part-time workers, immigrants, or even Covid-19 refugees that would want to come here or to go through quarantine. We don’t have the places, the guards,
Now we are at over 16 million confirmed cases world wide. The confirmed cases and the confirmed deaths have been drastically under reported. North Korea being a prime example. They are claiming their first Covid-19 case yesterday – a re-defector climbing back into North Korea from South Korea.
There is almost a sport amongst journalists these days having a morbid look at ‘excess’ deaths by countries, regions, and even cities. Even places with transparent and good medical systems like Canada have pieces like this.
Nearly 3,000 more bodies than usual were cremated in Ontario during the height of the first wave of COVID-19, according to coroner’s office data that provide the first glimpse into how the pandemic has affected overall mortality in Canada’s most populous province.
Ontario coroners authorized 2,941 more cremations in April and May of this year than they did, on average, during the same months in the previous three years. Of those additional cremations, about half – 1,460 – were recorded as COVID-19 deaths, according to the Office of the Chief Coroner.
The rest of the extra cremations could reflect the underreporting of coronavirus deaths, an increase in deaths among people who couldn’t access medical care during the lockdown and a preference for cremation at a time when funerals were curtailed, said Dirk Huyer, Ontario’s chief coroner.
The Globe and Mail: “Spike in Ontario cremations could reflect underreporting of COVID-19 deaths“
I have no idea of the scale of this worldwide, but I’d suspect the reporting of confirmed cases being no more than half of the actual cases. Even in NZ we current have a cumulative total of 1206 confirmed cases, and 350 probable cases. We’re not war torn Somalia, a country of around 15.4 million with less than 100 confirmed cases – where gravediggers are reporting that cemeteries are filling up fast in recent months. Nor are we the United States where the chaotic health system has often been getting covid-19 test results in more time than is required to quarantine.
Cris Julian and son Ethan emerged Friday from their two-week coronavirus quarantines in New London, Iowa.
It took less time to wait it out than it did to get their results back. As of Friday night, they were still waiting.
Youngest son Alexander was tested at the same time but got his positive test results back within 48 hours. He was exposed by another student during an open gym workout at his school. Because the state lab was closed July 3, Julian’s doctor’s office sent the tests to Quest Diagnostics.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said COVID-19’s incubation period is up to 14 days, so Julian said that means her test is “worthless now.”
“We will never stop the spread if we can’t get reliable and timely results,” Julian said.
USA Today: “‘States duking it out for supply’: Lack of federal plan leads to coronavirus testing delays“
Because many of the test results being returned are not timely, doctors and people who are concerned enough to get tests will often not quarantine when they should. This makes them probable spreaders if they go out to work or in public. This is one of the many causes of flaring of the pandemic in the USA at present.
But if you really don’t want more bad news about Covid-19, then don’t look at the graphs of the confirmed cases and confirmed deaths. Because they’re still rising fast world wide. I took these graphs from the WHO site this morning. It looks as though world wide, we’re finally getting a handle on how to prevent quite so many people dying from Covid-19. However no real handle on how to prevent people from getting infected.
And if you think that is bad, then the cumulative growth in confirmed cases is showing a classic exponential curve – in the early phases. At present, there is no indication that the rise will not increase in its infection rate worldwide.
That 2 week period that is required to be sure that someone doesn’t have the disease is a real problem. The only effective way of dealing with it without having significiant numbers of casualties has been to have rigid lock downs to suppress the disease spread and stiff rigid borders.
Pretty much what we, and many of Aussie states did. In our case we controlled our borders better than Aussie states now being reinfected from Victoria did. But in Victoria, the cases haven’t been dropping even in the areas in lock down. If you want control Covid-19, then dithering politically simply isn’t a good idea. It is better to have a short sharp control and then to maintain it strongly. And Victoria shows this clearly. After foolishly allowing the spread of Covid-19 from quarantined travellers, they have lock down fatigue issues on a second pass at it.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says “far too many people” are going to work while sick, instead of getting tested and staying home while waiting for a result, labelling it “the biggest driver” of coronavirus transmission in the state.
The problem has been particularly prevalent in aged care, the Premier says.
Julie Leask, a social scientist who specialises in risk communication and nursing at the University of Sydney, says this reluctance to call in sick is largely linked to how financially stable people feel.
“For example, for casual workers …isolation after a test could mean no work, less chance you will get a shift in future, and considerable financial stress. In that situation, it’s easy to rationalise a scratchy throat as just being a bit of a cold,” she says.
Professor Leask says casualisation and presenteeism — working while ill — was already a problem in the health industry so we couldn’t expect it to be resolved overnight.
ABC: “Coronavirus cases aren’t coming down despite Victoria’s lockdowns. Experts seek to explain why“
While there is some good news with potential vaccines entering Phase 3 testing in various high Covid-19 infection locations world wide, none of them are likely to be entering widespread production and release until mid next year.
The world’s biggest COVID-19 vaccine study got underway Monday with the first of 30,000 planned volunteers helping to test shots created by the U.S. government ― one of several candidates in the final stretch of the global vaccine race.
There’s still no guarantee that the experimental vaccine, developed by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc., will really protect.
The needed proof: Volunteers won’t know if they’re getting the real shot or a dummy version. After two doses, scientists will closely track which group experiences more infections as they go about their daily routines, especially in areas where the virus still is spreading unchecked.
“Unfortunately for the United States of America, we have plenty of infections right now” to get that answer, NIH’s Dr. Anthony Fauci recently told The Associated Press.
Several other vaccines made by China and by Britain’s Oxford University earlier this month began smaller final-stage tests in Brazil and other hard-hit countries.
But the U.S. requires its own tests of any vaccine that might be used in the country and has set a high bar: Every month through fall, the government-funded COVID-19 Prevention Network will roll out a new study of a leading candidate ― each one with 30,000 newly recruited volunteers.
HuffPost: “Massive Coronavirus Vaccine Study Gets Underway In U.S.“
While the activity on the vaccines is incredibly fast by historical comparisons, the time scales are immense compared to the rate that the pandemic is escalating.
It takes a month just to get participants details, medical profile, test them and to inject them. It will take several months to run both the sample and the placebo groups through their lives to allow enough of them to be exposed to the virus and get a statistically valid sample. Analysing the data may take months both for the developers and for the regulatory bodies. And then if all goes well, it usually takes at least half a year to get production difficulties at scale dealt with.
If there is a viable and effective vaccine to be had (and there are still questions about that), then it will be found. It won’t take the 4 years of the previous record for a developing a new vaccine – the mumps vaccine back in 1967.
In the meantime, new treatments will be tested to reduce the death rate. But they won’t stop the spread of the disease, and probably won’t reduce the death rate much in those most vulnerable to getting severe symptoms.
All of the lobbyists in NZ who are currently producing puff material for journalists to republish on behalf of the clients can get stuffed. It may be of benefit for their clients and their employees. However it is not in the interests of the bulk of NZ citizens.
For instance, I can’t see any reason to bring in overseas students before we have a viable vaccination. The risk levels are simply too high.
Universities New Zealand chair Derek McCormack said talks with the government were going well until returning New Zealanders breached their isolation recently.
“The universities have got good ideas and we’re in a position where we need to wait on government to engage with us on what the regulations would be to satisfy everybody that it would be safe to bring in international students.”
McCormack said universities will need public trust before they can bring foreign students into the country.
But he said overseas students pose less risk than returning New Zealanders because they can be chosen from countries with few Covid-19 cases and will be deported if they break quarantine.
Foreign students are worth more than $5 billion a year to the economy and universities say they are getting more inquiries than usual from students wanting to study in in this country.
RNZ: “Universities want detail on student quarantine requirements“
It costs taxpayers billions per week to have lock downs. A single spreader could cause that, and deporting someone after they break quarantine is completely ineffectual. We’d be relying on luck that we’d be able to trace all of the contacts and to keep a outbreak contained.
What Victoria and the US have shown is that reimposing lock downs is far harder and less effective than not having problems in the first place. So this fatuous set of statements by McCormack is completely stupid. Perhaps if we imposed the full cost per instance of a breakout from quarantine on the universities (or other interested lobbyists), then they’d start to look at the actual cost / benefit ratios with a better attitude.
The same applies to tourists, seasonal workers, travel companies and all of the other lobbyists waffling out there then they will get the point as well.
Companies and organisations need to plan on vaccines arriving to NZ and in the countries that send people to NZ, at the earliest, in the second part of next year. That assumes that one of the vaccines undergoing phase 3 trials in the rest of this year provides an effective t-cell or antibody response.
In the meantime, we’re likely to use all of the available quarantine capacity for returning kiwis and for the other essential business that can’t do something remotely and need to send people offshore. It appears to be hard enough to contain them – and they have a stake in not bringing Covid-19 to NZ.
While the affected business models will suffer, it is less expensive for the country to support them as they scale back their businesses or shut them down. Support will be there for that from the rest of NZ, but there won’t be any widespread support for putting us at risk by opening our borders for their benefit.
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One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...3 days ago - Texas LessonsThis is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election.
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3 days ago - Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links at 6:06 am
The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours as of 6:06 am on Wednesday, April 17 are:Must read: Secrecy shrouds which projects might be fast-tracked RNZ Farah HancockScoop: Revealed: Luxon has seven staffers working on social media content - partly paid for by taxpayer Newshub ...3 days ago - Fighting poverty on the holiday highwayTurning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...3 days ago
- Bernard's six-stack of substacks at 6:26 pm
Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...4 days ago - At a glance – Is the science settled?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 ...4 days ago
- Apposite Quotations.
4 days ago - What’s a life worth now?
You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...4 days ago - Howling at the MoonKarl du Fresne writes – There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...4 days ago
- Newshub is Dead.
I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...4 days ago - Seymour is chuffed about cutting early-learning red tape – but we hear, too, that Jones has loose...Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...4 days ago
- Bryce Edwards: Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...4 days ago
- Was Hawkesby entirely wrong?David Farrar writes – The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...4 days ago
- PRC shadow looms as the Solomons head for electionPRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time. A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...4 days ago
- Climate Change: Criminal ecocideWe are in the middle of a climate crisis. Last year was (again) the hottest year on record. NOAA has just announced another global coral bleaching event. Floods are threatening UK food security. So naturally, Shane Jones wants to make it easier to mine coal: Resources Minister Shane Jones ...4 days ago
- Is saving one minute of a politician's time worth nearly $1 billion?Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced ...4 days ago
- Long Tunnel or Long Con?Yesterday it was revealed that Transport Minister had asked Waka Kotahi to look at the options for a long tunnel through Wellington. State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the ...4 days ago
- Fast-track submissions period must be extended
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. ...18 hours ago - Release: Progress on climate will be undone by Govt
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. ...18 hours ago - Release: Dark day for Kiwi kids as a third of Govt cuts affect themNews that 1000 jobs at the Ministry of Education and Oranga Tamariki could go is devastating for future generations of New Zealanders. ...3 days ago
- Release: Alarm as Government signals further blow to school lunchesMore essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...3 days ago
- Release: Quick, submit – stop Govt’s dodgy approvals billThe Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...4 days ago
- Government throws coal on the climate crisis fireThe Government’s policy announced today to ease consenting for coal mining will have a lasting impact across generations. ...4 days ago
- Release: Public transport costs to double as National looks at unaffordable roading project insteadCancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...5 days ago
- Release: Cost of living in Auckland still not a priorityA laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...5 days ago
- Greens look to fast-track submissions on harmful lawThe Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...1 week ago
- Release: Govt should stop making people’s lives harder and build more homesThe National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...1 week ago
- Release: Melissa Lee missing in action on mediaThe action Melissa Lee promised to protect democracy and the media sector is missing, Media and Communications spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...1 week ago
- Landlord Government leaves little hope for rentersThe Government’s announcement on tenancy rules prove that it does not care about renters. ...1 week ago
- Opportunity to build a more sustainable economyGreen Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...1 week ago
- Significant step forward in fixing cruel and unjust pastA significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...1 week ago
- Missed opportunity but NZ will surely one day recognise the right to a sustainable environmentNew Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...1 week ago
- Release: Don’t cut our lunches – clear message sent to GovernmentTens of thousands of people are demanding the Government commits to fully funding free and healthy school lunches. ...1 week ago
- Release: Govt makes U-turn on Suicide Prevention OfficeLabour welcomes the Government’s U-turn on the closure of the Suicide Prevention Office, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...2 weeks ago
- CCC issues warning over further climate delayToday’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...2 weeks ago
- Luxon targets lame and lousy example of leadershipIf talk is cheap, Chris Luxon’s “targets” are bankrupt. ...2 weeks ago
- Luxon targets are lousy example of leadershipIf talk is cheap, Chris Luxon’s “targets” are bankrupt. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Commitment to disability communities missing from Govt prioritiesMinister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...2 weeks ago
- Methane target review is dangerous duplicationThe Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Government must commit to school building project for disabled studentsThe Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: National must take mental health seriouslyMental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...2 weeks ago
- Referendums for Māori wards a racist step backwardsThe Government's imposed referendum on Māori wards is a racist step backwards for Māori representation, and disregards Te Tiriti o Waitangi. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Job losses at Health not worth it for tax cutsNew Zealand will feel the harm of the National Government’s reckless cuts to jobs at the health ministry for generations, says Ayesha Verrall. ...2 weeks ago
- Press release: No Māori initiatives in Government’s nothing planMāori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...2 weeks ago
- Thirty six point PR spinThe Government’s ‘36 point’ plan for the next three months is as pointless as it is hollow. ...3 weeks ago
- Thirty six point PR spinThe Government’s ‘36 point’ plan for the next three months is as pointless as it is hollow. ...3 weeks ago
- Thirty six point PR spinThe Government’s ‘36 point’ plan for the next three months is as pointless as it is hollow. ...3 weeks ago
- Release: Social housing off Government’s to-do listThe Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...3 weeks ago
- Release: Less money in most people’s pockets this AprilChanges to minimum wage and benefit indexation means many New Zealanders will get less this year, as the Government gives a big tax break to landlords instead. ...3 weeks ago
- PM’s South East Asia mission does the business
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...1 hour ago - $41m to support clean energy in South East AsiaNew Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...18 hours ago
- Minister releases Fast-track stakeholder listThe Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...20 hours ago
- Judicial appointments announcedAttorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...21 hours ago
- Education Minister heads to major teaching summit in SingaporeEducation Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...22 hours ago
- Value of stopbank project proven during cycloneA stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...22 hours ago
- Anzac commemorations, Türkiye relationship focus of visitForeign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...22 hours ago
- Minister to Europe for OECD meeting, Anzac DayScience, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...1 day ago
- Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the PhilippinesPrime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...1 day ago
- Government commits $20m to Westport flood protectionThe Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...2 days ago
- Taupō takes pole positionThe Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...2 days ago
- Cost of living support for low-income homeownersLocal Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...2 days ago
- Government backing mussel spat projectThe Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...2 days ago
- Government focused on getting people into workBenefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...2 days ago
- Clean energy key driver to reducing emissionsThe Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...2 days ago
- Earthquake-prone buildings review brought forwardThe Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...2 days ago
- Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic PartnershipPrime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...3 days ago
- Government consults on extending coastal permits for portsRMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...3 days ago
- Inflation coming down, but more work to doToday’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...3 days ago
- School attendance restored as a priority in health adviceRefreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...3 days ago
- Unnecessary bureaucracy cut in oceans sectorOceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...3 days ago
- Patterson promoting NZ’s wool sector at International CongressAssociate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...4 days ago
- Removing red tape to help early learners thriveThe Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...4 days ago
- RMA changes to cut coal mining consent red tapeChanges to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...4 days ago
- McClay reaffirms strong NZ-China trade relationshipTrade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...4 days ago
- Prime Minister Luxon acknowledges legacy of Singapore Prime Minister LeePrime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...5 days ago
- PMs Luxon and Lee deepen Singapore-NZ tiesPrime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...5 days ago
- Antarctica New Zealand Board appointmentsForeign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...5 days ago
- Finance Minister travels to Washington DCFinance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...5 days ago
- Pet bonds a win/win for renters and landlordsThe coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...5 days ago
- Long Tunnel for SH1 Wellington being consideredState Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...5 days ago
- New Zealand condemns Iranian strikesPrime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...5 days ago
- Huge interest in Government’s infrastructure plansHundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...1 week ago
- Health Minister thanks outgoing Health New Zealand ChairHealth Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...1 week ago
- Roads of National Significance planning underwayThe NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...1 week ago
- Navigating an unstable global environmentNew Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...1 week ago
- NZ welcomes Australian Governor-GeneralPrime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...1 week ago
- Pseudoephedrine back on shelves for WinterAssociate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...1 week ago
- NZ and the US: an ever closer partnershipNew Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...1 week ago
- Joint US and NZ declarationApril 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...1 week ago
- Shadow-boxing turns real for Israel and Iran
In apparent defiance of the Biden administration, the Netanyahu government has now initiated missile strikes against Iran. Last Saturday night (Sunday morning in New Zealand) Iran launched more than 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles against Israeli military targets. With the assistance of US, UK and possibly French forces, ...3 hours ago - Prime Minister Christopher Luxon meets KPIs on Southeast Asia mission
Power Play - Asked for his own assessment of the visit, the prime minister said he was returning home "excited and energised". ...4 hours ago - Embracing Māori Representation Enriches Democracy, Not Divides It
Māori representation brings a perspective that encompasses not only the interests of Māori communities but also a broader, holistic approach to environmental stewardship and community well-being, principles deeply embedded in Te Ao Māori (the Māori ...4 hours ago - Anne Salmond: My open submission on this radical, flawed fast-track billThis week in Auckland, a group of young people took over the microphone at a ministerial press conference, to explain why they oppose the Fast-Track Approvals Bill. One young woman said, ‘We’re here because we love Aotearoa New Zealand. We want to raise our children in an environment that’s thriving, ...4 hours ago
- Short story: Finally, by Caoimhe McKeoghThe summer was wonderful. Evie was wonderful, too; finally a teenager, finally worthy of long, hot days. She shaved her legs for the first time and bought cut-off shorts from the op-shop that made them look long. She got a Warehouse singlet so tight on her new shape that her ...4 hours ago
- Thomas James is a master of inventionWhen Thomas James was on his solo camp as part of Outward Bound, the keen outdoorsman didn’t find it too challenging, as others often do. In what might just be the perfect illustration of his character, he saw it as a great opportunity to solve a few problems. “I thought, ...4 hours ago
- All 28 road tunnels in New Zealand ranked from worst to best
From the unstable and drippy to the hi-tech and pretty, here’s our ranking of all the tunnels you can drive through in this country. The first tunnel seems to have been built in 2200BC in Babylonia, kicking off a global phenomenon for digging holes in order to get places more ...5 hours ago - How to make the most of your market haulLucinda Bennett on the art of being greedy but resourceful. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. When I picture the market, it is always this time of year. Crisp air, dripping nose, counting coins with cold fingers. Sunlight pale, filtered through specks of dew still ...5 hours ago
- From a library basement comes a fashion historyZoë Colling’s favourite piece in the ‘That’s So Last Century’ collection is a lubrication chart for a sewing machine from the ’60s. It’s about the size of a postcard, and carefully maintained. “I like it that this piece of ephemera highlights that manual and technical side of the skill involved ...5 hours ago
- Rousing farewell for Kiwi doctors flying out to Gaza aid flotilla
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...12 hours ago - Communities Against The Fast-track Heartened By ‘Overwhelming’ Public Response; Disgusted By ‘...With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...14 hours ago
- Renters Rights To Drastically Reduce Under Landlord GovernmentThe Government’s announced changes around tenancy rules set renters’ rights back by nearly a decade. ...14 hours ago
- NZPI Submission on Fast Track Approvals BillOur response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...14 hours ago
- Fast Track Invite List Includes Most Destructive Industries In New ZealandThe new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...14 hours ago
- Eugene Doyle: Helen Clark on why AUKUS isn’t in New Zealand’s national interestCOMMENTARY: By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...14 hours ago
- Government releases list of organisations shoulder-tapped for fast-track consentsThe government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...15 hours ago
- The Week in Politics: Job cuts surge and Waitangi Tribunal troubleAnalysis - It's been a grim week for public servants, while trouble is also brewing between the government and Waitangi Tribunal. ...16 hours ago
- It never rains but it pours: intense rain and flash floods have increased inland in eastern Australi...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...16 hours ago
- Watch: Christopher Luxon speaks to media in ManilaThe PM has defended how he's talked up NZ trade on his trip to Southeast Asia, after criticism from his own delegation. ...17 hours ago
- ‘It could be the death of the museum’: why research cuts at a South Australian institution have ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...17 hours ago
- Government signs off $41m clean energy deal with Asian Development BankThe government has committed $41 million to clean energy transition at the Asian Development Bank's Energy Transition Mechanism. ...17 hours ago
- Are 2 mid-career AFL retirements a sign Australian athletes are taking brain health more seriously?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...19 hours ago
- Luxon: Waitangi Tribunal comments from coalition parties 'ill considered'Comments from ACT and NZ First ministers about the Tribunal were "ill considered" and "that message will be underscored" to them, the PM says. ...19 hours ago
- Mental Health Foundation Facing Staff Cuts From Govt Funding SqueezeThe Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...20 hours ago
- I wholeheartedly recommend The President: a brilliant revival of a play of decay, terror and revulsi...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...20 hours ago
- How the coolest little capital is shrinkingIt's not the first time a government has targeted public servants for job cuts, but this time Wellington is really feeling it. ...20 hours ago
- Many prisoners go years without touching a smartphone. It means they struggle to navigate life on th...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...20 hours ago
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Spot on opening borders at this point would be sheer madness!
"Support will be there for that from the rest of NZ, but there won’t be any widespread support for putting us at risk by opening our borders for their benefit."
lprent nails it right there. Self-interest has to be suspended for the collective good, and we will collectively tide-over anybody too badly affected by that fact.
Unfortunately I have loved one, a dearly loved one, stuck outside NZ borders and it is a really bitter pill to swallow…
It is a problem and it will take a while to get everyone home who wants to. The international flights are slowly resuming. But they’re still trying to increase capacity on the quarantine, with limits from NIMBYs and raising the capacity to guard the fools who want to get out of quarantine early.
Personally I’m just glad I got back from a business trip to the UK in December and didn’t head away again in February.
It's hard for people out of jobs, and trying to match visas, flight times and connections on different days, and borders opening and closing overseas at random. Life like being a concertina player!
Here's some Irish concertina music. This player Tim Hill really knows his Irish.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2M8P97N0Is
This lovely woman gives tuition.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axi6TrtNd_4
Perhaps people could learn while they wait at airports. Result could be that you would be put on first flight out. But then perhaps you might just get thrown out. So better not.
There is every indication that Covid-19 will become endemic, just like influenza.
And don't hold your breath for a vaccine – that will probably never eventuate. Not 100% effective, at least.
But the world is getting better at understanding this scourge and how to treat it. Soon we will find a good combination of drugs which, if applied early, will mitigate the disease.
Ultimately, we may just have to learn to live with this problem.
Treatments yes. Endemic yes. Living with it yes. The real trick if they don't get a vaccine will be to trickle the disease in over a few years.
This best indications that I can see are that they're get a vaccine into widespread production, but it will only have a limited time of effectiveness. 2-3 years maybe. But that will be hugely expensive because you'd have to provide capacity for medical support for the worst cases beforehand. The better the treatments are, the easier that gets. So the later we leave it the better off and less expensive it will be.
If they get a vaccine, then vaccinate the bulk of the population – which will take a while, then open up again.
We have had continuous calls from National and business leaders from the beginning of lockdown to open our borders by July for overseas students or from Australia who were doing alright until only 1 or 2 idiots broke quarantine.
That;s all it takes we are just going to have to tough it out the new norm will be that we are going to be worse off for the first time since WW2.
Govt needs to help reprioritise the economy train locals to fill up Universities ,polytechs teacher training etc.
Build more houses fix bottlenecks in the economy.
Online business has a massive potential especially the likes of game development.
This will be the new reality until a vaccine is very widely available .Health research another area with huge potential.
Austerity will lead to huge damage to our economy National have the dog swagger ACT barking mad at its heels Seymour the career Party grovellar only understands how to get paid for being a complete idiot who keeps pumping out failed economic policies while trying to appeal to the far right and conspiracy theorists is wagging Nationals tail.
More as National support declines.
We will have to go back to what happened in the 1930s print money to keep our internal economy afloat.
But only for productive purposes ie education,housing,agricultural productivity improvements,transport,and a massive boost to our health system which would have failed had Covid got out of Control.
Judarth Collins said in her maiden speech we have a World class health system is that why we were 30th equal to the US in lack of health infrastructure to cope with Covid at the bottom of the OECD.
Years of cuts the sinking lid firefighting mentality by National when health costs inflate at 7% plus while only funding increases of 1% under the National less than inflation less the 20% population growth.
Massive cuts employing immigrants at lower wages .
This should be reset of the NZ economy to cope with the massive changes that we will have to make to stay Covid free.
Online business has a massive potential especially the likes of game development.
It does – but the competition is fierce. Although we have generated success stories like Grinding Gear Games, we are underepresented in the market. A good task for a clued-up minister to take on.
"Business needs to get real"….with a picture of a University.
There's the problem right there..certain so called 'businesses' should be re Nationalised..fully funded..if the UK Tories can re Nationalise the railways, after months of warning the voter that Corbyns railway plans would be disastrous..then surely our progressive NZ Labour 're Nationalise' the Universities..at the very least for the duration
(On my facebook this piece was accompanied with a photo of the Old Arts Building…)
I was having this discussion with my partner this morning after I wrote this.
Auckland University (that is their clock tower in the photo), has been effectively transformed into a business dependent on overseas students.
In 2019, they had 8,678 overseas students out of about 34,500 – close to a third. They had costs of ~$1.2 billion and a revenue that looks slight higher. Just under a quarter of their revenue was (probably) from overseas students.
If you look at page 45 of their annual report, you'll see the financial breakdown.
I haven't looked through the report for more than a glance and I couldn't see a breakdown of tuition fees by local vs overseas students. However there is some material about the compulsory tuition fee that local student have to pay further up. It looks minimal compared to the tuition fees. Even the direct subsidy (presumably for local students) is only about a quarter larger than the tuition fees revenue.
The reason for this is obvious. Successive governments, especially National ones, have been skimping on the support for local students for decades while the number of local students has risen and the percentage of the population gets tertiary education.
To my MBA educated eye, the Auckland University looks just like a business, and one that is highly exposed to the business risks of disruptions to international travel.
Not to mention the numbers of private colleges and schools around that have very high numbers of overseas. And the high schools etc.
McCormack describes the sector as having a total revenue of $5 billion. It sounds a bit inflated. But effectively it is drastically diminished without air travel. Same as incoming overseas tourism.
If you look at the budget for Auckland University, you'll see an awful lot of fixed plant as well as staff in there that can't easily be changed on a dime. Unlike the UK Rail, it isn't just a matter of picking up a smallish deficit relative to the revenue. It is picking up a *lot* of deficit and a significiant level of rather gross restructuring.
Personally, I'm not that sure that the government should be used as the bank of the universities – right now they have more important things to do than going through the exercise of restructuring something that is so malformed financially. Auckland University should have never taken on the level of risk that they have – that is so dependent on a single point of failure.
I don't know of many large businesses who would have without taking out quite a lot of contingency planning to limit the risk. Which is why I picked them as an exemplar.
The tourism sector businesses have been rapidly restructuring. I'm less sure about the overseas education industry.
it may be a stupid question, why isnt the education business pivoting quickly to educating online ? having to move humans around the world to do things that can be done quicker,cheaper and more efficiently online, seems so last millenium.
they pivoted during lockdown, level three and two.
just in case you missed that.
"Online only" has been the wet dream of educational institutions for decades. It would be so much cheaper than having lecture theatres and tutorial rooms.
But the fuzzy stuff about education doesn't go well online. And then the assessment is also not so hot – there are ways to game the system.
Online tool are excellent for some aspects of teaching and learning, but detecting when students just aren't getting it – and teaching them – isn't as effective as being there.
There are already too many students who battle through a degree without having the basic vibe of the discipline they studied. They can do technically-defined problems in a sterile environment, but have no idea when seeing the same issues in the real world.
so, those of us who want to learn something, find a Utube video, watch a couple of times, then go out, practise , and teach ourselves, without having our pockets picked and out hands held ,are doing it all wrong? well ,there goes my do it yourself brain surgery. guess I will go back to rocket science(yes, you can learn rocket science from Utube).
Some can. Others can pick up just enough knowledge to blow themselves up, because they missed a fundemental principle and no teacher was there, fully engaged, to pick that up.
I do a lot of learning about a couple of crafts from youtube. Been doing them for ten years or more. But those are hobbies, and neither my livelihood nor my life depend on that training. I can make some nice things. But I also know what real training for those crafts can involve, and I know I'm not anywhere near the level of a journeyman in those fields.
It's fun to learn when nobody's life depends on it. But Dr Google as primary care physician has likely killed as many patients as saved.
Some very interesting korero on Natrad re tertiary on- line learning…this one featuring Nat MP Nicola Willis, going out to bat for those students seeking the fuzzies of face to face education. Ironic, because wasn't it the Nats who had an agenda to cut down on the 'wasted' acreage associated with universities and poly techs?
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/419722/victoria-uni-faces-call-for-students-to-be-compensated-over-continued-online-learning
There was talk back when they were downsizing AUT in 2016 (https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11620635) that one very real possible outcome of more online learning would be the effective destruction of the 'student body'…and the stifling student political activity.
nice juxtaposition
The most basic reason is that it is very expensive and very front-loaded to develop online course material. It be in the order of 10x-100x harder to develop online course material than it is to have a few slides and a lecturer. You then need to monitor the material to fine tune it.
Of course once you have the material working, then it is a lot easier to modify over time. Right up until you decide to change the course.
But once created usually the running costs are pretty low
After that you get into issues about having server farms, backup systems, etc.
Online enrolment systems aren't cheap either, and notoriously hard to get right.
None of it is hard to do. It is pretty hard to do right and very hard to do during a pandemic.
That's an interesting angle. Raises the question of bankruptcy from lack of turnover, eh? I presume the uni is somehow protected though – residual effect of originating as a non-business – but I wonder how. Is a govt bail-out likely?
If their governance bodies have genuine business expertise incorporated, then we'd expect operational costs to be trimmed as the number of foreign students drops. Is there any other way of achieving that other than shedding operational staff. Will professors have to walk the plank?
Pretty hard to argue with that. So where was the business planing around risks to the business and insurance or other mitigation of that risk? Certainly not hard questions to ask, especially for an organisation with that intellectual grunt.
Or did the management ask the questions, didn't like the answers and expected to be bailed out. Would be interesting to see how the senior management employment contracts were incentivised.
That was essentially what I was saying to my partner.
It is also why I am less worried about the larger players in the tourism industry.
You can understand it in tourism, the game is all marketing, so players start to believe their own bullshit. But universities, come on….
But yeah, most of the bigger players in tourism will be ok, tourism does this and they are generally ready for it. There's a couple that might be a bit exposed but also expect them to make it through with a few bruises.
Mid level, and especially newer operations, I'm not so sure about. They tend to be seduced by the bright lights.
I won't be shedding any tears for Auckland University. They seem to have plenty of money to spare when they choose to:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/119122778/auckland-university-buys-5m-parnell-mansion-for-incoming-vicechancellor
Reluctantly agree LP.
Incredible surges.
WHO warnings are so dark now.
It was pretty obvious to me from Feb/March that was what we could expect – exponential slow growth in populations with 'sudden' surges. My musing from the start have been somewhat darker than the WHO – who after all are still mostly politicians who don't want to scare the horses too much.
Damn thing is a high population density endemic that is partially adapted to humans. It is a stealth virus for human populations. It will outbreak wide into populations whenever conditions are right and it will do it nearly silently and show up as a outbreak well after it has already happened. Most of the time our disease control systems will only catch it well after it has already re-established itself into a population.
We just got lucky that we closed up so early. Also that our export economy isn't that dependent on overseas travel. Our internal economy will have a bit of tortuous reshuffle over the next year or two. Hopefully it will settle into something that is a little less risky than relying on air-travel.
To prove that their overseas student enterprise isn't just clipping the ticket on cheap imported labour and backdoor ctizenship, maybe the vicechancellor could explore opening a campus or two in the target countries.
Heh. It's selling residency under the guise of education (most of the students I see already have superior degrees to the Diplomas they get here), price-gouging the students’ families, passing a highly vulnerable and therefore docile workforce on to exploitative employers (sometimes from the same country as the student), and externalising the infrastructure costs of high immigration onto taxpayers and ratepayers. A truly elegant example of "accumulation through dispossession"- rather than through producing anything useful. The very definition of ‘privilege’ is to be able to get yourself into a position when you can run such schemes.
Yep and they can start by repurposing salaries and perks of the top layer – that will plug a lot of the holes. Push some of the accommodation into flats – some of the hotels have.
Then further down offer up and coming staff permanent doable jobs that are a mix of teaching and research – let the various staff bid for the research hours according to their interests at the time. Government could be happy to fund some of the research with the appropriate controls. The research, if good, ups rankings and then can charge large sums for for genuine top quality post grad students if so inclined. We want to be McGill not the warehouse
Train locals and for heavens sake have understandable lecturers. heavy accents take more than a few lectures to get used to them.
Hiring understandable lecturers would cost more money meaning the universities would have less to pay the Vice-Chancellor's KPI bonus. Therefore, not going to happen.
the only ones currently putting us at risk are returning kiwis who can not abide by their tax payer funded stay in some rather nice hotels to quarantine.
maybe that is our problem, we should bring people in that a. would happily pay for the quarantine, and b. would happily abide by the rules cause……Covid Free.
are these the same students, who when caught breaking laws, do the sergeant shultz shuffle? sounds like another, privatize the profits, socialise the loses ,routine.
Our education providers should stop bitching about how they cannot bring in international students, and start focusing on educated NEW ZEALANDERS. Which is what they were built for in the first place.
And some idiot at WHO should stick to their knitting – trade and work are possible with a closed border, the only affected industries we have are tourism and the overseas education visa scam market. When the numbers come in over time I'm picking that we may find some very real economic benefits from smaller border traffic.
And WHO’s executive director of the health emergencies programme, Dr Mike Ryan, said on Monday that international travel bans aren’t sustainable in the long term.
“It’s going to be almost impossible for individual countries to keep their borders shut for the foreseeable future,” he said.
“Economies have to open up, people have to work, trade has to resume.
“We do believe that it is possible to identify and minimise the risk associated with international travel.”
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/122265072/coronavirus-who-director-general-says-new-zealands-apt-covid19-response-prevented-a-largescale-outbreak
I guess he must mean the people trade.
Sure – however I suspect that Dr Ryan was referring mostly to the business travel. It is a pretty essential part of travel market. There is only so much that can be done with zoom.
As an example – over the last 4 years, I've averaged about a quarter of each year working as an software engineer in other countries delivering bespoke systems that I've written the code for to customers. The code that I write comes in large > 40kg and little hand held boxes – all connected with large complex wide area networks.
It is really hard to deliver systems and get them up and working without hooking them into the systems on the ground. Training people to use those systems is almost impossible without doing hands-on.
And I’m just the end of the chain. There are other people who go to the clients and determine what they need, fight their way to get contracts signed. And get the programmes delivered.
Even amongst the authors at The Standard, I’m not alone with this kind of task. One of our former authors used to (and probably still does) spend a lot of time delivering installations world wide. Completely different industry. Same essential set of tasks. Virtual worldwide market niches employ a hell of a lot of people in NZ. And even more indirectly.
There is a limit to how little long term we can travel and still fulfil the needs of customers.
It is (as usual) instructive to see what is happening in China. They showed the world how to control the disease, but they also showed that it is impossible to keep it from popping up occasionally.
I also am skeptical about the vaccines being tested. The level of side effects in healthy volunteers are a concern. It is likely that in the population as a whole the overall damage from side effects will rival the damage from natural infection. Of course this will abate as more development produces safer vaccines, but NZ will not want to be first (or even second) in line.
So the answer is, do whatever is required to keep it out, and aggressively control any outbreaks. China has less damage to its economy than most other places, in spite of lockdown and travel bans.
I would like to know how health insurance would work with foreign students
I was listening to a discussion on the radio about foreign students being allowed back into NZ perhaps by the start of next year. My own views run along these lines – if the institution importing the students can set up appropriate quarantine facilities (be it hotels or students dorms or whatever) which are self funded and can guarantee public safety to the same level as the govt sponsored facilities then I would be reasonably ok with a rationed return of overseas students. Some appropriate and fairly robust criteria established and the institutions apply for the ability to import students.
As for foreign workers on various types of fixed term visas. My views may be a little tough however things have dramatically changed. For those on super essential skilled lists yes, welcome them. Those who are not super essential workers sorry but you are probably not going to be able to return. When your visa expires its time to return home. If you cannot make it back to NZ before the visa expires, sorry, but you will either need to be on that super essential list to come back. As an example, and it's not representative on many situations I acknowledge, a business management student working in a suburban bottle shop is not an essential worker and there is not a labour shortage there we need to fill with foreign workers.
An excellent programme on the ABC “QandA” on U-Tube last night about reopening the boarders, a must see for all National party MPs & any others in NZ who think that it will be easy to control.
The programme also illustrates the vast difference between what we are dished up by TVNZ Current affairs & what the Aussie’s get, ours is similar to a visual fluff rubbish on a par with what you see in the Women’s Weekly or No Idea, most of it is brain dead rubbish.