The importance of proper mask wearing

Written By: - Date published: 8:58 am, January 27th, 2022 - 55 comments
Categories: australian politics, business, covid-19, Economy, health, labour, national - Tags:

The comments session of this site has seen a vigorous debate about issues concerning Covid.  Some, including some authors, question the severity of the threat posed by Covid and believe that corporate interests are being advanced at the cost of what is good for society.  I certainly agree that corporate interests are being advanced.  I am however a firm believer in the scientific consensus that the vaccines are safe and are working.  Aotearoa’s recent experience, where we have pretty well beaten back a Delta incursion on the back of one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, is testimony to this.  Yesterday there were six people with Covid in hospital and no one in ICU.

Meanwhile business interests and some in the media are pushing the line that the Government has commandeered their supplies of Rapid Antigen Tests.  Ashley Blomfield has denied this is the case.  What the Government has done is prioritised its order so the suppliers will have to wait longer.  Ruling in the National interest is what Governments should do.

Blomfield’s response is set out in this Spinoff article:

“We’re not commandeering all the stocks that private businesses have,” said Bloomfield, in response to a report in which businesses claimed the government was doing precisely that.

Speaking at parliament this afternoon, Bloomfield added: “We have discussed with our three main suppliers that forward orders of tests that haven’t yet arrived be consolidated into the government’s stock, so that is there for the whole country, including private businesses. We already have processes in place to supply businesses with tests. This is an interim measure while there’s extremely high demand.”

It must hurt the plans of some businesses.  In Australia there has been a massive shit storm over the failure of supply of rapid antigen tests and the price gouging that has occurred.  Things were so bad there that the Government has made price gouging punishable by either a $66,000 fine or five years jail.  Tests were meant to cost up to AUS$11.95 wholesale but there were reports of tests being advertised for AUS$250 each.  Jacinda Ardern has clearly indicated that this will not happen here.

Should the Government have secured more tests earlier?  Probably although the current system, requiring the more accurate PCR tests and central collection of test results, has served us well.  Allowing widespread use of RAT tests would increase the number of wrong test results and there is no certainty that someone who tests positive may either ignore the result or keep testing until they have obtained a potentially negative result.

There clearly has been Health Ministry indifference to the rapid antigen tests and Omicron is a recent occurrence.  But there is now a race against time in getting sufficient numbers of tests into the country in time.  I bet Health Ministries fingers are crossed.

The other aspect of current importance is the correct wearing of masks.  As I walk around the streets of West Auckland I am pleased to note that pretty well everyone is wearing a mask.  But so many people are not doing it correctly.

As I indicated earlier I am a firm believer of the science but I acknowledge that others have formed clearly held views that the vaccine roll out is not as important as has been publicly indicated and that the current form of the vaccine mandate is an unacceptable breach of human rights.  There is however one aspect of the response to Covid which for me marks someone out to be clearly a fruit cake.  And that is anyone refusing to wear a mask.  The actual health threats of wearing a mask are miniscule, especially compared to the effects of Covid.  By claiming some right to refuse to wear a mask all you are doing is highlighting that you are a selfish idiot.  The down side of mask wearing is small but the collective benefit is significant.

But masks need to be worn properly.  Whenever I see someone with their nose poking over their mask or holding out their mask to talk it drives me spare.  This negates the benefit of mask wearing.

And mask wearing is one of the most important things we can do right now.   The response of Taiwan and Japan to Covid is directly related to a culture of mask wearing.

And scientists have detected a new Omicron variant, one that is potentially either easier to spread or harder to detect.  The need for a world approach to vaccine equity has never been stronger.

Hang on tight everyone.  The next couple of months are going to get rough.  But by sticking together and taking care of each other and by not being idiots we can get through this.

55 comments on “The importance of proper mask wearing ”

  1. Robert Guyton 1

    We all knew it wouldn't be long before Luxon's mask slipped.

  2. Blazer 2

    Chrome Dome Chris appears to be wearing an aussie mask(4 white stars).

    Maybe he hopes to emulate HonKey Tonks and get Australia's highest honour…the Order of Australia.

    • Gezza 2.1

      The Aussie flag shows the 5 stars of the Southern Cross constellation, (& a sixth, larger seven-pointed one under the Union Jack).

      Luxon’s mask shows only four stars of the Southern Cross, as on the NZ flag.

      • Blazer 2.1.1

        NZ flag has red stars afaik.

        I thought he may have been celebrating Australia Day=yesterday.cheeky

        • Gezza 2.1.1.1

          Technically NZ’s flag has four 5-pointed red stars that are “centred within white stars”. Or in layperson’s terms our flag has four red stars with white borders.

          Aussie’s flag uses 7-pointed white stars for the Southern Cross, except for the smallest star (Epsilon Crucis) which is 5-pointed.

          • Gezza 2.1.1.1.1

            Looks like the mask only uses two primary colours – black & white. That’ll be why they’re white & not red. Just a 2-colour stylistic representation of our flag’s Southern Cross.

            • Blazer 2.1.1.1.1.1

              To be pedantic…Black and White are not primary colours…

              ' in the material world, red, blue and yellow are the primary colors that can be combined to create additional colors of the rainbow. But if you're talking about anything tech-related (as most of us are these days), remember that the primary colors for TVs, computer screens, mobile devices and more, all subscribe to Newton's light-emitting system, so their primary colors are red, green and blue'

              I know what you mean though.-Also he is wearing a silver fern brooch.laugh

              • Gezza

                Must remember that about primary colours. 🙂

                Good spotting of the silver fern lapel badge. (Had to rack my brains for a few seconds. Blokes don’t usually wear brooches.)

                Poor bloke’s gone all out with the patriot display but still got caught with his mask down.

              • William

                To be even more pedantic, because of the way our eyes operate, what that quote calls the primary colours are actually magenta, cyan & yellow. They are the primary colours in subtractive colour mixing, what we dabbled with when mixing paints at school, and what commercial printers use. The confusion arises because the magenta is commonly but mistakenly called red & the cyan is mistakenly called blue.

                The three additive primary colours are red, green & blue. Adding red & blue together gives magenta, adding blue & green together gives cyan, & adding green & red together gives yellow. Adding all three together gives white.

                With subtractive mixing, something that for example appears yellow, is reflecting or transmitting green & red light, but absorbing (subtracting) the blue light.

                That last example probably contains an allegory about NZ political parties 🙂

  3. Ad 3

    Omicron is truly the national interest test that any business should step far, far back from.

    However MoH does not yet play nice with the private sector for example with Te Whanau O Waipereira. Business is never your friend but they can be better co-opted.

    How MoH and the Minister engages with business is a critical measure of how they will perform once the entire MoH machine absorbs the full procurement power of all DHB's. That scale of $$$billions of monopoly power is similar in scale to the supermarkets, with even less competition and full state-backed powers.

    This Labour government has rarely had to operate outside of crisis, but that will pass and Labour will need to firmly instruct MoH how to procure without fucking off the whole of the business community.

    • Tricledrown 3.1

      Ad your overlooking the cost to businesses if essential services and supplies are not able to operate .

      Hospitals short staffed already,supermarket shelves .even essential medicines could have supply problems.

      If a coordinated approach is not followed.More damage could occur to the economy if some businesses take the lion share.

      Omricon is not a business its a deadly and with long covid debilitating.

      Business has had to take a back seat in this once in a lifetime emergency .

      back seat drivers only distract the driver from keeping the passengers safe.

      • Ad 3.1.1

        It's not Omicron paying my mortgage.

        Business has been well supported, but it's the job of Government to get out of the way as soon as it can. Labour aren't very good at messaging that.

      • Gypsy 3.1.2

        You're overlooking the fact that business actually got off it's arse and planned, when the government didn't. You're also overlooking the fact that at least some of those 'businesses' are employing essential workers.

        • Tricledrown 3.1.2.1

          What a load the govt worked with businesses to get a roll out of rats .

          Businesses wanted to jump the gun with the type of saliva testing that used the same testing facilities that the Moh and dhbs were using overloading .

          The RATS are newer not as accurate for omricom or omricom b.2.

          The govt needs to control the way RATS are used to keep essential supply chains and the health system functioning.

          Complaining doesn't win the battle .

          • Gypsy 3.1.2.1.1

            "the govt worked with businesses to get a roll out of rats ."
            No, business did it's own planning and placed orders. In some some cases they have already paid for the RAT's.

            "The govt needs to control the way RATS are used to keep essential supply chains and the health system functioning."
            No they really don't. As with the vaccine roll out, the government has been far too slow to get it’s act together. Now they are having to use the private sector to get them out of the shit.

  4. The right type of masks as well.

    I notice you included a picture of Luxon there. But the PM has been using the cloth ones in her interviews for ages. Maybe she had a surgical lining inside them. Who knows.

    But I think it behoves our politicians to lead by example and actually use effective masks and use them properly in the current environment.

    • Tricledrown 4.1

      Their are different types of cloth masks some are just cloth others have microfilters built in they cost a lot more.around $50 dollars each.

      I doubt if jacinda or Luxon are wearing the backyard variety.

    • lprent 4.2

      I hate having to explain this to you devil

      However I suspect that the reason it was included wasn't to do with the type of mask. It was to do with the way that Luxon was mis-using it.

      Hanging a nose outside a mask is as offensive and as useless as wandering around with someone wandering around with their dick hanging out of their pants.

      You breathe out almost as many droplets from the nose as you do from breathing out of the mouth. The only real difference is that the droplets tend to be smaller – they carry a lower viral load. But on average, the smaller droplet from the nose can travel longer distances. They wind up as being just as infectious.

      You'll notice that the post was pointing out ..

      The other aspect of current importance is the correct wearing of masks. As I walk around the streets of West Auckland I am pleased to note that pretty well everyone is wearing a mask. But so many people are not doing it correctly.

      Probably you need to read the whole post?

    • Mike Roberts 4.3

      Indeed. They should also not take them off to talk, when indoors, including in parliament and at news conferences. This sends the message that masks are not necessary or that talking doesn't increase the amount of aerosols expelled. This is nonsense. I'd also like to see more people follow the example of Andrew Coster, the police comissioner who shaved his beard off when he took up the role, specifically to get a better fit with a mask. I shaved mine off before that, and no-one followed my example either! All masks, designed as masks, do have some efficacy but only if worn properly. So-called disposable masks can be washed in warm water a few times and can be worn several times if stored for a week between uses in a paper bag. These things will reduce the cost of wearing masks, so there is less excuse for not wearing them. They don't, however, need to be worn outside unless in a crowd.

  5. Robert Guyton 5

    Luxon should know better than to be waltzing about with his snout out.

    Perhaps though, he's been issued a partial-mask exemption?

  6. Robert Guyton 6

    Covid-19: Retailer criticised after P2 mask price increases by 170 per cent

    "An online retailer has been criticised for increasing the price of some face masks by 170 per cent this month.

    National Express Products (NXP) sells a range of face masks, including the N95 and P2 varieties recommended for use against the Omicron variant.

    An invoice supplied to Stuff by an NXP customer shows the business supplies distributor was selling boxes of 50 P2 face masks for $39.99 plus GST as recently as January 7.

    On Wednesday, the same product was advertised for $75 plus GST, an increase of 87 per cent."

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/127601593/covid19-retailer-criticised-after-p2-mask-price-increases-by-170-per-cent

    • joe90 6.1

      I'd seen the Whanganui made masks being used on the job by welders so late last year when I was looking at buying masks I tracked them down at two different suppliers. $76.99 and $89 for fifty. Too dear, so I looked elsewhere and NXP were advertising them as being on special at $39.99. At that price I bought a couple of boxes for family and friends. Turns out they're a little small for those of us with a big melon but a perfect fit for women and youngsters.

  7. Matiri 7

    Auckland GP shows how to fit your mask properly, including surgical mask worn with fabric one over the top.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/127581228/covid19-gp-shows-how-to-fit-your-n95-and-surgical-mask-at-home

  8. It is truly amazing the number of people who apparently do not breathe through their noses and on a lot of occasions, do not breathe at all.

  9. weka 9

    Aotearoa’s recent experience, where we have pretty well beaten back a Delta incursion on the back of one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, is testimony to this.

    As an aside, I remember people on TS in the spring, adamant that we wouldn't get to 90%+ vax rate. Maybe we should have a little more faith in ourselves.

  10. mary_a 10

    While criticising government's response to Covid-19, the leader of the opposition wanders around in public with his nose above his mask! The hypocrisy of the man!

  11. lprent 11

    I always find it interesting that people, businesses, journalists and apparently even other government departments simply don't understand the scope of the MoH powers under the Epidemic Preparedness Act 2006, and the previous Acts that covered epidemics back to the 1920s.

    If required, the Director General of Health running under a epidemic notice may simply state with a notice all supply and practice on medicines that are required to quell a epidemic depending on how extensive the epidemic notice is.
    See Health Act 1956 74C

    (2) While an epidemic notice is in force,—

    (a) the Director-General may, if satisfied that there is or is likely to be a shortage of medicines because of the outbreak of the disease stated in the epidemic notice, in accordance with a policy devised under subsection (1) for the medicines, by notice require persons administering, dispensing, prescribing, or supplying stated medicines that are under the control of the Crown or a Crown entity to administer, dispense, prescribe, or supply them in accordance with priorities, and subject to any conditions, stated in the notice; and

    (b) every person administering, dispensing, prescribing, or supplying medicines stated in the notice that are under the control of the Crown or a Crown entity must—

    (i) comply with the priorities; and

    (ii) comply with any conditions, stated in the notice.

    and for the usual wording nitpickers – medicines have a broad meaning under this section of the act.

    (6) In this section, medicine means any substance used or capable of being used to prevent, treat, or palliate a disease, or the symptoms or effects of a disease.

    In other words, it includes masks, tests, and even materials used for testing like reagents.

    The reason for this breadth of powers is pretty obvious. If there is a epidemic or even a pandemic running, it really isn't the role of parliament to do more than to give a notice outlining the bounds of the notice (and that is what the Epidemic Preparedness Act 2006 is all about).

    The exponential growth in cases that is characteristic of any epidemic doesn't leave a lot of time for group decision making, and eventually the decision has to be made quickly without too much dithering.

    So far in this epidemic, NZ has been particularly successful because those decisions have been made in a timely and coherent manner. You only have to look in little detail offshore to see just how bad and incoherent decisions in a epidemic can cause economic and medical disaster zones. Australia being my current favourite example.

    • Incognito 11.1

      You’re dead right, which makes it even more interesting that Government and/or DGoH have not (yet?) waved the Act(s) around as the definitive argument and justification for their latest ‘confiscation’ of RATs, at least AFAIK.

      BTW, nobody seemed to have a problem with the free testing (at testing stations), free contact tracing, free PCR tests (in labs), free frequent and regular reporting and updating (i.e. by MOH and Government), and free vaccine shots, et cetera, all courtesy of Government (i.e. the Taxpayers) and all centralised and coordinated by central government in close (but not necessarily always close enough or perfect) collaboration with local-regional entities – isn’t this an example of how a society could function well?

    • Matiri 11.2

      MPI have the same powers in the event of an animal disease epidemic.

      • lprent 11.2.1

        For the same reason. Infections don't tend to be handled well with long reviews and wide consultation.

        You'll also find the same for things like chemical or radioactive spills, geological events like volcanoes, earthquakes, floods, etc under civil defence provisions.

  12. Gypsy 12

    "And mask wearing is one of the most important things we can do right now. The response of Taiwan and Japan to Covid is directly related to a culture of mask wearing."
    I travel (pre covid) a lot in asia, specifically China and Hong Kong, and since SARS mask wearing has become a normal and accepted part of their way of life. I remember many years ago seeing a small group of young people get on the HK MTR wearing masks and wondering why. When they all simultaneously began coughing and spluttering I was suddenly less questioning and more appreciative.

    • joe90 12.1

      Woman in Pak'n'Slave the other day started coughing and spluttering and it was like the parting of the Red Sea. And when the barking and hoiking got so bad that she had to take her mask off, Pamplona!

      • Robert Guyton 12.1.1

        "Pamplona!"

        Ha!

      • Gypsy 12.1.2

        Yucksad

        • joe90 12.1.2.1

          It was, but the staff were very good. Couple turned up in blue plastic gear, helped her clean herself up, gave her a fresh mask and got to work with bucket and mop, wipes and bottles of squirt.

      • mary_a 12.1.3

        @ jo90 (12.1) Pretty grosssurprise!

        Our teenage grandson through his holiday job in a petrol station faced a similar situation, where a customer intentionally took their mask off so they were able to hoik, cough and splutter, only to put their mask back on when they had finished clearing their chest!!

        • joe90 12.1.3.1

          An older woman and it was one of those dog-awful paroxysmal, forty years on durries hacks, so it's not like she had much choice in the matter. She was really upset and absolutely mortified but apart from the initial scatter, the other shoppers were great, too. So I'm actually feeling a little proud of how folk reacted.

  13. Corey Humm 13

    I mostly agree I will say there are some weird rules that seem like brain farts in regards to masks but masks are fine , a bit pricey long term for poor people and families but hey.

    Though not all people not wearing masks are a-holes Some people with autism and sensory issues and texture issues can't wear masks and get yelled at by nosy parkers which really traumatizes them..

    I do get sick of the kinds of people who will scream at you for not wearing a mask while you're on a run in an empty park or walking down the street. When you're outside away from everyone you don't have to wear a mask.

    When inside unless you're exempt , for now atleast we're a mask. They do usually give them out for free at store entrances too

  14. Treetop 14

    School going back next week is on my mind. Asking children as young as 8 usually in year 4 to wear a mask is required to help keep them Covid free. Children age 5 – 11 would have recently recieved their first paediatric Pfizer vaccination. Probably takes 2 weeks to be effective. My due date for my booster jab is not until mid February.

    Covid coming into the home and into schools is unwelcome and hard to avoid. Those with limited resources no transport, no masks, food insecurity, no data will probably struggle. School costs, uniforms, stationary and internet devices can be a burden at this time of year as well.

  15. Ever since we have had mask wearing I have treated non-mask wearers as unvaccinated and therefore possible carriers and keep well away. Mask wearing is second nature to me now and getting out of the car without a mask on seems odd.

    I see that my wonderful friend who made my cloth masks has left the middle seam unsewn and so I can put an extra filter in. I will probably just wear the cloth one over the surgical one.

    • Mike Roberts 15.1

      Well, the vaccinated are possible carriers also. Unfortunately, with omicron, it looks like the vaccinated are just as likely to be carriers as the unvaccinated (going by data of the last few days). So just treat non-mask-wearers as possible carriers (hopefully, unknowingly) but not such a risk outdoors or in very well ventilated areas.

      • Shanreagh 15.1.1

        Of course. The point I am making though is that some/many? of the non vaccinated also have some objection to wearing a mask also. Mask wearing can help protect others if you are infectious. By being anti vaxx plus not wearing a mask is a giant 'up yours' to the rest of us vaxxed or not.

        So my shorthand response is to treat non mask wearers as 'live'

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    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
    2 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
    4 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 ...
    5 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
    5 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
    4 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
    9 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
    11 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
    12 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
  • 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 ...
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  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
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