Should Parents and Teachers Defy the Government?

Written By: - Date published: 4:02 pm, May 16th, 2020 - 66 comments
Categories: business, capitalism, child welfare, class, class war, covid-19, culture, Economy, Ethics, quality of life, schools, Social issues - Tags: , , ,

Why are parents being told to send their children back to school this Monday? Is it because the health and welfare of children is upper most in the governments mind? Maybe the psychological impact of a child losing social contact during their formative years is a thing the government’s worried about? Or maybe the government’s wringing its hands over children being denied the opportunity of an education?

No. I think not.

For weeks we’ve been fed the line that children are somehow magically equipped, such that the coronavirus will by pass them, or barely affect them, or/and anyway, they’re not really infectious.

When New Zealand’s Siouxie Wiles was asked whether children ought to be tested before returning to school a few weeks back, she responded that testing was

“…not a good use of our resources when there is so little evidence that children play a big role in the spread of Covid-19.”

Now. I’m guessing that Siouxie Wiles has become somewhat the unofficial official spokesperson or authority for New Zealand when it comes to Covid 19 – ie, she isn’t going to say a damned thing that contradicts or upsets government’s thinking.

That came at the end of an article in The Spin Off that essentially propagated the “magical children” myth – children rarely got infected and even if infected, would likely have only mild symptoms. There was a lot of numbers picked from various testing regimes that were presented at face value to underscore that comforting message.

Fast forward a few weeks, and reports of children being infected, but displaying symptoms different to “the norm” are bubbling to the surface. Pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome (PMIS), as the symptoms in children have been labeled, take, according to The Atlantic, “many weeks to manifest”.

In line with what has gone before, The Atlantic article goes on to reassure its readers that cases of PMIS are rare and that the effects tend to be mild (except for the children that die).

All of the above may be accurate enough, and there really may be very little cause for concern around covid 19 and children. Or, as a piece in The Guardian points out –

“…it is not yet clear whether [children] have a lower chance of catching Covid-19. Although fewer children have been picked up in national testing programmes, this could be due to fewer being tested. During the early phase of the epidemic in Europe, adult travellers played a dominant role in seeding infections, which also meant, purely for circumstantial reasons, that children would have played a less significant role in spreading infections.”

I think it’s entirely reasonable to harbour elements of doubt around the story we’re being told about children, their likelihood of infection and the odds that they can be infectious.

New Zealand remains at a level of lock-down. But what are we to make of ourselves as a society when we’re willing to expose our children to a potential threat in the wider environment before anyone else?

Last week, schools opened and parents could send their children if they chose to. One local school I know of normally has around 200 pupils and there has been one child in attendance. In other words, if the attendance rate at that school is even close to being indicative of attendance rates across the country, parents aren’t happy about sending their children to school yet. Regardless, this coming week, they’re being told to send their children back.

Why? Isn’t it normal to shield children from unnecessary danger or, out of all of us, expose them to potential risk last of all?

Well no. As Helen Clark might say “It’s about the economy stupid!”

Our politicians’ relationship with the idea of liberal capitalism is not unlike how a devotee might present offerings to their deity in the hope or belief that things will then be alright. The difference is that a devotee would not normally have to get the children “out of the way” and possibly into harms way to go about satisfying their religious wonts.

Just to be clear. Jacinda Ardern’s government did not, as popular belief would have it, act fast to shut down New Zealand in the face of coronavirus. They followed along somewhere around the middle of the herd, and as announced by Jacinda, would have allowed cruise ships to keep berthing at New Zealand ports until the end of March… if other countries hadn’t begun to lock down and so given them tacit permission to do what should already have been done. Luckily enough for all of us, the number of infected people in New Zealand at that time was less than in other countries.

And now with an idea of economy still at the forefront of their mind, are there those who shrug at the potential for a little human sacrifice when the prize is to be a place towards the front of the herd? There’s obviously been some thought put into calculating what potential price would be worth it – otherwise our children would not be being sent back into the wider environment first, so that the working class can get back to their jobs that essentially service the needs of white collar wallahs who are going to continue working from home for now.

The way I’m seeing it is, that in the event New Zealand sees no further deaths from Covid 19, this mind set that has seen fit to elevate the integrity of a liberal capitalist economy above the potential risk to children’s life and well-being becomes no less toxic and misanthropic for all of that.

66 comments on “Should Parents and Teachers Defy the Government? ”

  1. bwaghorn 1

    News flash bill ,nz is on top of covid ,I'm sure if numbers rise this excellent government of ours will act.

      • I Feel Love 1.1.1

        My kids are going back to school on Mon. The schools have been communicating with us parents and kept us informed with the new policies in place. So short answer, "no".

        • bwaghorn 1.1.1.1

          Mine spent most of 5 weeks at my work ,chilling in the ute or cruising on the bike ( very laid back kid) so the 2nd week of l3 I decided the coast was clear enough for school.

        • lprent 1.1.1.2

          I was just talking to two relatives who are teachers. As far as I could tell they were more outraged at the doubling of teacher registration costs from the teaching council this week.

          In essence they said that the Teaching Council does bugger all, that the PPTA (in their case) does all of the work and that it appeared to them that the TC was raising money from teachers to provide some kind of training.Something that was already being done through multiple other channels especially down at the school level. In particular that it was raising from the lower paid teachers to pay to train the better paid teachers and principals for their future development.

          I haven’t looked into it yet.

          https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/15-05-2020/teachers-outraged-as-registration-fees-more-than-double/
          https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/121521657/teachers-fume-after-council-doubles-registration-fee
          https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2020/05/petition-to-stop-teaching-council-doubling-teacher-registration-fees-attracts-nearly-14-000-signatures.html
          https://www.nzherald.co.nz/education/news/article.cfm?c_id=35&objectid=12305918
          https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/fears-proposed-teacher-registration-fee-increase-could-worsen-current-shortage

          Interesting. I wonder what the legislative requirements are. If there are 100k teachers paying $157 per year, then that is 15.7 million. Which is way too much for a registration service, and way too little to provide much training and development. It also sounds like a pittance compared to the ongoing training and development that I know that many if not most teachers already do for themselves or through their school boards.

          • Gabby 1.1.1.2.1

            It would pay a ceo and cfo handsomely.

            • In Vino 1.1.1.2.1.1

              Hey, be fair, Gabby. I am still in the 'profession', and back in 2007 that illustrious Teachers' Council (for a fee of $200+ over 3 years) gave me a lovely, glossy Registration Certificate!!

          • Patricia 2 1.1.1.2.2

            I believe there are no actual teachers on the Teaching Council ; can that be confirmed ?
            And that recent communication from the Teaching Council (re the increase) occurred at the same time Lockdown was starting. Most teachers were sorting out on line provision of education services at that stage.

            • In Vino 1.1.1.2.2.1

              Patricia 2 – I decided not to pointlessly respond to their questionnaire. It would only have raised my blood pressure, and I am sure that they would have binned my offerings.

              Looking at the summary of input they recently sent out, I think a lot of teacher discontent was euphemised…

            • Fran 1.1.1.2.2.2

              Worse than that the letter came during the budget. Very poor timing. There are two teacher reps on the council now thanks to this govt. Unfortunately the rest, including the ceo are not.

              • lprent

                The reason that it arrived at the budget was because the budget had an amount in it for the teaching council to effectively tide them over until the increased payments from teachers came through. That was in the articles I linked.

                The problem is that it doesn't look like a lot of the teachers perceive that they're going to get value from the increased amount that they were from what they were already paying – which they also don't perceive much value it.

                You have to remember that the professional development that this is meant to be in part paid for, is already being down by the teachers themselves or the schools they're at. The teacher advocacy is largely being done by unions like the PPTA, NZEI etc – that they usually paying for as well. The teachers themselves did their degrees and teacher training by paying for student loans.

                So as I heard it – what use is the teaching council apart from just being a registration body for teachers? Something that could be done a whole lot cheaper than ever the $220 they have had to pay every three years previously? What in the hell are they paying $157 per year for?

                Especially as this is a flat fee across all teachers – thereby hitting new teachers and the poorest paid harder as a percentage than the ones paid more.

                • KJT

                  As a general rule work related costs like Professional body fees, plumbers registration and indeed my own registration costs, which are not cheap, are tax deductible, and paid by your company, sole trade entity or partnership, or employer.

                  Why are Teachers paying it directly, from after tax income.

          • Fran 1.1.1.2.3

            Thanks LPrent. It is worse than just fees. The teachers council in its current form is the brain child of Hekua Parata. She didn't listen to teachers when she pushed the legislation to disestablish our council and replace it with govt. Appointed beauraucrats who don't give a rats about teachers but are empire building. We are not happy. No one asked for what the council has done. They don't represent us they are nasty parasites.

          • Mad Plumber 1.1.1.2.4

            My license fees are $90 each for my plumbing and drainage total $180. The PGBD does Professional Development, complaints etc.

  2. weka 2

    Where's the evidence that children in NZ will be at risk from covid?

    I didn't look at it in depth, but the pandemic response in NZ is about managing risk across the population, and I see the position on kids and covid being part of that. It's not saying no children can get covid, it's saying that if a child does, that the infection can be contained (kids in schools are relatively easy to contact trace), and that the risk is low of increasing the R0 value in NZ at this time. The chances of a child contracting covid now is pretty low. Obviously kids with immune issues will need to take precautions, like they do with other contagious outbreaks (measles, whooping cough).

    Also not seeing any evidence that Wiles would go against her own science-based understanding in order to uphold government lines.

    NZers do seem to have this thing about kids not being in school is really bad. I don't get it myself, especially primary school kids. But yeah, I think people are wanting kids to be in school because it's seen as important.

    The other issue here, and a real one, is that of childcare if kids aren't in school.

    • Bill 2.1

      Where's the evidence that children in NZ will be at risk from covid?

      As The Atlantic article points out, PMIS manifests after some weeks. Meanwhile The Guardian article alludes to children having slipped through testing nets because they weren't seen as carriers and would also have tended to be untested unless displaying symptoms…which they wouldn't have because "some weeks" Meanwhile we've been fed a narrative as an article of faith, that children are low risk (from being infected, from getting seriously ill, from being vectors)

      It may be the case that NZ is, to all practical purposes, clear of Covid. It could also be that infection is in the community but not yet apparent.

      Obviously, in the first instance, there is no risk.

      But insofar as there's a lack of certainty, to my way of thinking, applying the precautionary principle would have been the human thing to do. And never shove children out in front first.

      • weka 2.1.1

        "Meanwhile we've been fed a narrative as an article of faith, that children are low risk (from being infected, from getting seriously ill, from being vectors)"

        That's because the science is showing they appear to be at low risk. PMIS also appears to be rare, death from PMIS very rare. If we were in New York, there would obviously be a much higher risk. Here, where we have contained transmission along with good isolation strategies, the chances of a child getting covid are quite low. Of those that do get covid the chances of getting PMIS are much lower, and death from that even lower still.

        There might be a case for the DHB areas that are still getting new cases to be more cautious, but the SDHB for instance hasn't had any new cases for 27 days. There is still much we don't know, but I assume this means that there is no latent community transmission, or that if there is it is minimal and will be contained when it appears.

        We could get really unlucky and find that covid can transmit asymptomatically and cause active cases months after the last known case. I'm not sure there is any evidence to support that though. Given that, using the precautionary principle, how long should kids stay home from school, with all the consequences of that if it is long term?

        (repeating, the MoH approaches to public health are always going to be about how best to manage situations from their perspective. It's rare for single individuals to be the priority).

        • Incognito 2.1.1.1

          I think the chance or risk rather of latent community transmission is becoming lower as time goes by. During weekdays, they’re conducting about 7,000 tests every day and about half that in the weekends.

        • bill 2.1.1.2

          That's because the science is showing they appear to be at low risk.

          See my replies elsewhere in this thread that link to reputable sources (ie -UK Office of National Statistics) calling that conclusion into serious question.

          I can't see the basis for saying PMIS is rare. If symptoms are generally mild and not thought to warrant medical attention, then the incidence of PMIS will be underestimated.

          And the point about PMIS is whether a person with it is infectious, and if so, at what point – ie, before they exhibit symptoms or only when they exhibit symptoms…and back around to mild symptoms slipping under the radar because a) person doesn't seek medical attention and b) children are assumed to be at low risk of infection and so possibly less likely to be tested than would be the case if they were an adult.

          Parents could have been given a choice about sending their children back to school, secure in the knowledge that government was ensuring they would not face possible recrimination from employers if they had kept their children away.

  3. Porkpies 3

    I'm sending my kids back to school on Monday. There are no active cases in Wellington or the Hutt Valley where I live… what exactly is the risk?

    • Treetop 3.1

      I have noticed a big difference between level 2 from level 3 compared to from level 4 to level 3. People are now able to travel to any region so a case in one region could go to another region.

      As long as teachers can access a test and children who are unwell can access a test and some testing is carried out among children who are not showing symptoms this will help to detect a case when there is one.

  4. Treetop 4

    I would have liked to have seen a 2.5 for a month. The .5 keeping school children home. This would have been able to determine if community transmission was occurring in the adult population without great numbers of children being grouped together. I am waiting to see how things go at Marist College in Auckland with attendance and cases.

    What action will be taken when there is a case at a school needs to be swift and known. I would also like to see teachers being tested. If a child has any symptoms I expect that they will be sent home immediately and the child will require supervision.

    How understanding is an employer going to be if you have a unwell child and the number of children also could matter?

    Is it going to be a step backward for women with children not being hired?

    • Cinny 4.1

      Is it going to be a step backward for women with children not being hired?

      Sadly that's nothing new and Covid won't change that narrow minded approach from some old fashioned sexist employers.

  5. barry 5

    Schools have the advantage that they have a very good idea who is there at any time. Makes contact tracing easy.

    The best current evidence is that children are not so badly affected as older groups. There are some that get it bad, and some die of odd causes, but the percentage is very small (still not nice for the parents of the exceptions).

    Some children are coping very well at home and learning all sorts of stuff, but the ones who aren't are mostly the ones who are already at a disadvantage. The less educational time lost the better. It seems at least as important as keeping a barista employed.

    So if professional league players can play and other people can go to work in places where distancing is theoretical, it seems that children should be able to go to school. I don't think the truancy police are going to be looking for those whose parents are afraid to send them to school. I think the school is going to want to know who they are, so they can make arrangements for them.

    • Muttonbird 5.1

      Good post. Schools are inherently traceable entities. Parents can't go to schools in normal times without permission. No student is allowed out of school unless authorised.

      The principal of Massey High School, Glen Denham, made the point a few weeks ago that his Y12 and Y13 students are already difficult to engage so the reality is the longer they are kept away from school, fewer will come back at all.

      I was very sad at his summation that there will be a significant number of late teens in lower income communities all over the country who will not finish school.

    • I Feel Love 5.2

      Yes, schools are taking contact tracing very seriously, parents have been sent information about which gates will be open, if we go on school grounds we have to register at the office.

      If kids are sick that's what my sick days are for, I'm a solo father and taking days off for sick kids has never been an issue.

      I took my children out of school before lockdown, I am confident enough to send my kids back.

  6. McFlock 6

    So you're a government, you're pretty sure there's no more community transmission and your active cases are approaching zero, and even your "new" cases seem to have been cases that were missed a week or more ago – when do you open everything up?

    Because it's not just schools being reopened, it's bars, cinemas, theatres, museums, offices, etc. There's no point staying in lockdown if it ain't here.

    You really do have some odd takes sometimes.

    • bill 6.1

      I agree lock-down can't last forever. What I disagree with is children being among the first to be put back into a potentially hazardous environment on the basis of "pretty sure" or some such. There is a lot about covid 19 we simply don't know or understand. For example, we had been progressing under the notion that incubation times were no more than 14 days. But that's just been blown out of the water with PMIS cases. We also thought children were less susceptible to infection, but that's now being reappraised. And I haven't heard dicky on PMIS and infectiousness – when is a person with PMIS infectious, if at all?

      Anyway. Yes, bars, cinemas and such like are open. But those are spaces anyone can choose to enter or avoid. There's no choice around the school reopening – yes, a parent could keep their child away from school if the parent isn't being leveraged back into the workplace regardless.

      Why weren't single, white collar workers the first people called on to venture back into whatever this new normality might be? Why do children get to go first? (That's rhetorical – I've given my answer in the post)

      • McFlock 6.1.1

        Children aren’t going first.
        Schools weren't kept open at L4.

        They weren't reopened for L3.

        They were alongside pretty much everyone else reopening at L2. Including this single white collar worker.

        • bill 6.1.1.1

          School was voluntary at level 3. Is there a compelling reason to have made it mandatory at level 2 given our understanding of even some of the basics about Covid are in a state of flux?

          ie – now being suggested that children are not less susceptible after all, and it seems PMIS presents a whole new ball game in terms of incubation periods ( and possibly infectiousness).

          • McFlock 6.1.1.1.1

            School wasn't "voluntary" at L3.

            Can my child go to school at Alert Level 3?

            At Alert Level 3, all children and young people who can stay at home, should stay at home.

            At L2, the compelling reason to reopen schools is that there isn't the isolation imperative or personal risk involved in resuming normal routines (for most people – those with reason to be in isolation or whatevs still do distance learning).

            Your rhetoric makes it sound like white collar workers are making schoolkids walk through a minefield to clear it, while taking bets on which kid goes 'splody first.

            In fact, it's a considered assessment of the situation by people and organisations who have spent years and careers preparing for this event. Maybe we'll have to walk it back, maybe not. But it will be based on more solid information than your tilting at neoliberal windmills.

            • bill 6.1.1.1.1.1

              A government putting children in the front line at this time when new information that pertains to them and their health is just emerging, and just so workers get back to their jobs and get the economy moving, is unconscionable.

              You want to dismiss that as "tilting at neoliberal windmills", then fine.

              • McFlock

                There's always new information coming in. Should we stay in lockdown forever, the first generation of bunkerbabies?

                It's not just so people can get back to work. It's about restoring some semblance of a normal life, with community and interaction and even, fuckmedead, jobs. Purpose. Dating. Meeting people. Seeing something other than the same four walls all day. The simple act of a fucking conversation.

                There's no "front line". There's no area more dangerous that we can throw kids into and laugh maniacally. What you regard as an unconscionable risk to children is a simple act of stepping outside when the storm has (according to firsthand observation, satellite imagery, and the calculations of trained professionals) passed. Which we all have to do sometime lest we turn into morlocks.

                • bill

                  Should we stay in lockdown forever, the first generation of bunkerbabies?

                  I've already addressed that in my first response to your comment on this thread.

                  It's not just so people can get back to work.

                  I agree, but it's the government's motivation I'm talking to – not a list of impacts on social dynamics that coming out from lock-down will have.

                  I also said it was the government's decision that was unconscionable – not that the potential hazard in an environment was unconscionable.

                  A better analogy than your storm would be one referring to the potential for multiple tsunamis after an earthquake and the timing of a decision hit the beach again (children being among the first).

                  Reports on PMIS over coming days and weeks might prove to be "interesting" (though I hope they're not).

                  • McFlock

                    Oh, they'll be very interesting.

                    But not so much here. Because once we understand the main parameters of transmission (which we do now), it really is more like forecasting weather rather than predicting earthquakes. There are basic mathematical variables that can be assessed and your models confirmed via multiple observable thresholds. We are nowhere near that with earthquake prediction.

                    Your interpretation of government motivations is surreal. If you can only imagine unconscionable motives from government then every one's an aresehole, I guess.

                    • bill

                      If you can only imagine unconscionable motives from government ..

                      McFlock. Are you experiencing severe reading comprehension problems? I haven't said the government's motivation is unconscionable, and I've been quite straight forward on what I think the principle motivation for the government's decision has been.

                    • McFlock

                      You said you were talking to the government's motivation and that their decision was unconscionable.

                      Pray excuse me for thinking that one might be related to the other. 🙄

  7. There has been far too much contradictory advice about "social distancing".

    Apparently we all have to keep two metres apart when in the open air, or large enough gathering places.

    None of the above applies to classrooms or school buses?

    Why bother having a rule with those exemptions?

    Non school children need an explanation from the "medical experts".

    • McFlock 7.1

      Basically, schools are now larger bubbles. Public transport is not.

      • Define "bubble".

        Tauranga to Wellington?

        I would love to see what science was involved.

        • McFlock 7.1.1.1

          Define bubble? Have you not been paying attention over the past couple of months?

          I think most universities have courses in epidemiology if you really would like to know more than what's been rather exhaustively described in the daily pressers.

      • I Feel Love 7.1.2

        School classrooms have seating spread apart, assemblies look a bit odd with all the kids sitting apart, (they did all this before lockdown), of course it's not gonna be perfect, much like the tradies, shoppers, bar drinkers, footpath walkers, etc …

        • RosieLee 7.1.2.1

          There are large numbers of schools now which have been altered, or built, to open plan classrooms. (Sorry, Modern Learning Environments).

          Some of the newer secondary schools, which used to have 3 classes in a "space", ie around 90 kids plus teachers and teacher aides, have not been kept up to roll increases and now have 4 classes ie around 120 kids plus teachers etc. Students do not have spaced, individual desks, but group around tables and sprawl around on benches.

          So assemblies can be cancelled, but what about the teaching time and space?

  8. Incognito 8

    Here’s a link to the very recent WHO Scientific Brief Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children and adolescents with COVID-19.

    https://www.who.int/news-room/commentaries/detail/multisystem-inflammatory-syndrome-in-children-and-adolescents-with-covid-19

    • lprent 8.1

      That is more a link about how to report than anything else. But an interesting link none-the-less. Gotta love how you can see full-text on almost all covid-19 reports.

      They have recognised an issue and now they're trying to standardise the reporting back to a central point based on observed symptoms so that it can be mapped and analysed.

      The things that they do have data on (refs 13-15 in the link)

      13: Italy 10 children with kawasaki across of whole province.

      14: Washington DC 177 children with confirmed covid-19. 39% with pre-existing conditions. Most with the usual covid-19 presentations. 1 with kawasaki disease type symptoms

      15: Detailed diagnostic of a single case with kawasaki disease type symptoms

      It looks like the under-20 make up about 2% of all known cases in a US analysis in Ref 15. But Ref 14 also says that a reanalysis of the Wuhan epicenter data gave 12%. I'd hazard a guess that when the environmental load goes up high, then so does the younger infection rate.

      • bill 8.1.1

        The thing is the "1001" unknowns…still trying to figure out who's infectious, how long a person may be infectious, possible asymptomatic infection, symptoms and how they differ across ages and back to unknowns around infectiousness…

        ONS date from the UK contradicts other studies that have been cited to suggest children are more in the clear than adults and reportedly shows children were as likely to catch coronavirus as adults

        Further down he same article…(bold added)

        Azeem Majeed, a professor of primary care at Imperial College London, said the data suggest some previous studies, based on hospital admissions, may have underestimated the rates of infection in children.

        “Children usually have mild symptoms and therefore may not often need medical care. The next step will be to try to determine whether children are as likely as adults to infect other people,” he said.

        I'd be curious to know the age of the Maris College case from the other day. And to know what symptoms they had when they tested negative, and what symptoms they have now ( -eg -more in line with PMIS?) that they have tested "weak positive", as well as what "weak positive" is known to mean in the case of covid 19 and infectiousness (ie – not a punt on probabilities).

        • Incognito 8.1.1.1

          Aged between 15-19.

          https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-current-situation/covid-19-current-cases/covid-19-current-cases-details

          As far as I’m aware there is no clear or at least no clearly articulated definition of “weak positive”.

          https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-16-05-2020/#comment-1712338

          They were “not considered infectious now”.

          The number of known active cases is dropping every day.

          Make of that what you will.

          • bill 8.1.1.1.1

            So you think the reasons being given by medical professionals as to a) why young people will not have been as widely tested among as other age groups, and b) why they are underrepresented in data sets…you think those reasons are bogus?

            Weak positive merely signals that low levels of the virus were found. But given the uncertainty around infectiousness and what not, it doesn't really mean anything very much.

            • Incognito 8.1.1.1.1.1

              Nope.

              Do I think it is safe to send children back to school under current Level 2 in New Zealand?

              Yup.

              If we knew what a ‘weak positive’ really means, we wouldn’t have to speculate as much. My speculation (https://thestandard.org.nz/covid-19-may-be-endemic/#comment-1712132) was close to that of Professor David Murdoch, Dean of the University of Otago, Christchurch. Based on that and the particular case history, I think it is safe to assume it means that that case was indeed “not considered infectious now”.

              • Sacha

                If children were infecting adults, it would have shown up in cluster tracing and random community testing. The level of confidence with which our public health experts are advising government reflects that.

                • Incognito

                  Indeed, I think we safely can rule out children being a major vector of COVID-19 in New Zealand. Hopefully, it stays that way. So far, there have been 157 reported cases in the 0-19 age group of which four are still active. No deaths and no other reported complications or delayed symptoms yet, as far as we know.

                  https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-current-situation/covid-19-current-cases

                  • bill

                    Indeed, I think we safely can rule out children being a major vector of COVID-19 in New Zealand.

                    If there are any young people who were exposed to covid 19, they will not develop any signs of PMIS for weeks. I have no idea (and I don;t think it's known at this stage) if a person with PMIS is contagious and so able to transmit Covid 19 onto anyone.

                    But if those two factors (exposure and contagion) exist, then ruling out children as a potential major vector is going to have quite the teeth on it.

                    • Incognito

                      That’s a fair comment but it doesn’t change the view that children are currently not a major vector of COVID-19. We might see delayed symptoms but in all likelihood, the numbers will be small if not zero.

  9. Why are there so many definitions of bubbles?

    Where is the science?

    • McFlock 9.1

      A "bubble" is an illustrative description of a concept designed to help people understand the principle. The concept it illustrates is that of lowering the transmission of an infection throughout the population via the use of physical distancing between the most practicably-atomic social units (nuclear families, households, etc). The lower transmission is reflected in a lower R0, which in turn reflects itself in flatter and wider infection curves, where the area under the curve corresponds to the total infected population.

      To use another analogy, it's a fire-break. The flames of infection hit the fire-break and don't spread to the next forestry block (or at least the spread is slowed).

      Here's an article about the math, if you want. But the size of bubbles isn't based on any line in the sand, it's based on practical group sizes: households, offices, classes, schools.

      If you need prescriptive rules enumerated to the tenth significant figure, this is not your friend. It's a science, not an art, but it's practical engineering rather than lab work in a controlled environment.

      • I Feel Love 9.1.1

        I'm reminded of the old Lotsa Noodles Soup ad, the kid saying over & over again, "but what's it called?" = "but what's a bubble?" A brilliant description McFlock.

        • McFlock 9.1.1.1

          Cheers.

          I don't have much truck with the eternally morose, but some people do just regularly have intense difficulty with gray areas and blurred lines.

          The fun bit is with things like confidence intervals – one variable might be "within the interval" and the other "significant", when really there's a 1-point difference at the third significant digit between the two of them. In reality, both of them are sort of "meh… maybe, maybe not, but kinda interesting". Whereas I tend toward the "do we really give a shit" about whether one total should be grouped with another, when the clinicians are like "yeah, actually they're fundamentally different both in treatment and in diagnosis, even though the sound the same".

          Takes a village, sort of thing.

  10. Cinny 10

    We received detailed emails from both of my children's schools. Here's an example of some of their important new rules.

    Children that do not adhere to Level 2 rules will be sent home.

    Parents are not encouraged not to enter school grounds. Parents of year 1-3 students will have to sign a contract tracing book and will need to use the hand santiser upon entry to the classroom.

    School sports shed and gym will be closed, student leaders will be preparing activities for students that allow for physical distancing.

    All lunch passes will be cancelled.

    When students return to school their well being will be the number one priority ahead of any academic learning or any assessments.

    I’m back at work and my kids will be back at school on Monday. And they are looking forward to it so very much.

  11. Leighton 11

    Interesting to learn this morning that the confirmed case yesterday was a pre-schooler (between 1 and 4 years old). That little tidbit got a bit buried in all the level 2 self-satisfaction.

    • Incognito 11.1

      What’s your point?

      • Leighton 11.1.1

        Just reinforces the point that young children are susceptible and potential spreaders, which is not the messaging that the government was putting across at the time schools and ECE's were reopening at level 3 and not what they'd want in focus as things return to "normal" today .

        To me the statements around children have been the biggest misstep of the otherwise excellent government communications, where the messaging has crossed the line from factual to spin. Hopefully they've got the spread of the virus under control to the point that it will not now matter in practice – the next three or four weeks will tell the story.

        • Incognito 11.1.1.1

          You and others seem to be operating under the misconception that our Government has stated in no uncertain terms that children are not susceptible to COVID-19 and (therefore?) no potential spreaders. The Marist cluster is a case in point, but a child at school did apparently not start this outbreak. You’re free to believe that they have been spinning the facts but that is certainly not my view in this regard. What we know now and what we’ll know in four weeks are likely to be very different.

          • Leighton 11.1.1.1.1

            You're right that they did not categorically state it in no uncertain terms (that would have been an outright lie rather than just spin) but Dr Bloomfield's statements in April that the virus "doesn't infect or affect children and teens in the same way it does adults" and "Children and teens … don't tend to pass the virus on to adults," seemed to be based on anecdotal evidence rather than reliable research. I remember that at the same time as he was saying this, there was a study by John Hopkins University in the US saying that there was insufficient information to draw any conclusions about the risk of children spreading it. It just stood out to me as a very optimistic/she'll be right approach when in all other respects the government had (and still has) proceeded with caution.

            • Incognito 11.1.1.1.1.1

              I thought all along that Bloomfield’s statements and language were careful and cautious and never for a moment thought there had “crossed the line from factual to spin” as you suggested earlier. Bloomfield was aware of the inherent uncertainties in the information at hand. The messaging was sometimes a little unclear and even confusing but they seemed to be keen to correct and update and be as clear, open, and honest with the NZ public as possible under the circumstances. I’d say that it was excellent communication and PR but not spin. In any case, we were in Level 4 lockdown, not re-opening schools in L2 and what applied then does not apply now and vice versa. Lastly, as bill has pointed out, there are still many questions particularly around children.

  12. Muttonbird 12

    Both kids went back to school today. They loved it. We as parents loved it too. Not because we didn't enjoy the time with them but because we can't do the job of teachers and schools.

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • At a glance – Does CO2 always correlate with temperature?
    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 ...
    3 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 hours ago
  • Relentlessly negative
    Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 hours ago
  • Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    Bryce Edwards writes –  It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 hours ago
  • Promiscuous Empathy: Chris Trotter Replies To His Critics.
    Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played. “Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
    6 hours ago
  • Don’t run your business like a criminal enterprise
    The Detail this morning highlights the police's asset forfeiture case against convicted business criminal Ron Salter, who stands to have his business confiscated for systemic violations of health and safety law. Business are crying foul - but not for the reason you'd think. Instead of opposing the post-conviction punishment and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 hours ago
  • Misremembering Justinian’s Taxes.
    Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I - Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
    7 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    8 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    9 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    12 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    12 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    12 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    12 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    14 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    14 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    17 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    2 days ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
    Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
    Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-03-19T09:28:49+00:00