Viruses love liberty – they can breed more.

Written By: - Date published: 11:59 am, May 14th, 2020 - 25 comments
Categories: covid-19, Economy, health, police, Politics, uncategorized - Tags: , ,

Listening to some of the complete bullshit about the legislation to move to level 2 just made me realise exactly how ignorant some people are of our history and basic science. Viruses and other diseases simply don’t care about abstractions like ‘liberty’ or ‘inhumanity’ or ‘the economy’ or ‘human rights’. They just want to breed. The behaviour of their host victims is the only thing that matters to a virus, bacterium or fungi. Clearly in the last few days that escaped some unthinking critics.

Covid-19 isn’t dead in NZ. All indications are that it has had a reversal in the level 4 and level 3 containment. But is still popping up when someone starts displaying symptoms or when someone gets a positive test. Even with the best of containment, it will probably continue to do so for years or even forever.

It looks far more like a endemic infectious disease like polio or HIV than a disease like influenza. Influenza or SARS are like the title of the James Dean biography “Live fast, die young”

Whereas covid-19 looks to be trying to get the same role in humans that it has in bats. It wants to hang around forever in the population quietly breeding. Only occasionally, almost by accident, it gives someone a nasty respiratory cold and pneumonia if they have a depressed or over-reactive immune system. Relatively rarely killing victims. But also giving humans young and old strange blood clots indicating that we don’t know the full range of its behaviour yet. Including long-term effects.

Bats hanging around with no social distancing have far better immune systems than humans. Which means that this zoonotic disease, once it jumps to humans, is like a whole of species experiment to the virus as it adapts to live in us.

That means that our archaic legislation that is designed for short influenza epidemics and isolated live fast and die young outbreaks of measles or diphtheria in a largely immune population simply isn’t up to the task.

Our legislation is out of the ark. It is essentially what was written in the Health Act 1920 in the aftermath of the 1918 influenza epidemic in NZ. The epidemic parts of that legislation were essentially picked up and pushed into the Health Act 1956. But the world of 1956 was far different in NZ to what it is now.

Figure.nz: about this data

In 1956 we were only getting a total of about 27,000 incoming short-term visitors per year. Most would have come by ship like our immigrants. These days we get close to 4 million incoming short-term visitors annually almost entirely by air, not counting the tens of thousands on cruise liners.

In 1956, private cars were only starting to become used for long-distance travel. I think that the only motorway was the Auckland section between Mt Wellington and Ellerslie. I remember as a kid in the 1960s that the main roads were pretty damn appalling with large sections of State Highway 1 still using gravel. Our main domestic airline NAC, was still running the low capacity world war 2 designed DC3, and charging an arm and a leg for the slow and damn noisy ride. Like 1920, railways were long distance transport of the day.

The Health Act 1956 reflects this. It envisaged the country as separated districts with local district boards of health and their medical officer of health. Each district would largely handle the containment and eradication of their local epidemic with only minor movement from other areas. This basis of the act got tinkered with over the years but fundamentally remained the same as the world changed around it as intercity traffic by plane and road vastly increased, as did the numbers of tourists.

The effect of influenza in 1918 was devastating in the 1.15 million people of New Zealand of 1918.

No matter how the second wave developed in New Zealand, it was many times more deadly than any previous influenza outbreak. No other event has killed so many New Zealanders in so short a space of time. While the First World War claimed the lives of more than 18,000 New Zealand soldiers over four years, the second wave of the 1918 influenza epidemic killed about 9000 people in less than two months.

NZ History: The 1918 influenza pandemic – death rates

In Epidemic Preparedness Act 2006, in the wake of the SARS outbreak of 2002/3 recognized that there were some problems with trying to make an act based on the 1920s work in the modern era. So it vested most of the powers of for dealing with epidemics nationally in the Director-General of Health. It was designed to work at a national level with a state of emergency from the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002. But it was still designed for a ‘live fast and die young’ style of disease

But covid-19 isn’t a ‘live fast and die young’ disease like the influenza of 1918 or SARS. Both had a rapid incubations measured in days and single days and influenza had a fairly rapid and robust immune response if you survived. With the 1918 influenza, most areas only got a single epidemic because it spread so widely inside and rapidly that herd immunity was built rapidly. But with both, people who were infected knew about it because those who were infected developed strong symptoms.

Covid-19 is rapid spreader where many of the people who are infectious aren’t aware that they are sick or infectious. With or without the symptoms, people are infectious for long periods of time, giving ample time to spread. We have no real information if this is a stealth-adapted virus that has features that ‘hide’ from the immune system in asymptomatic infected people and don’t produce long term antibodies. Like herpes or HIV or CMV. Quite simply we haven’t seen this virus for long enough to know.

That is where New Zealand has a legislative problem. We can’t stay in a state of emergency across the whole country for a long period of time. As pointed out by many people, you need a functioning economy to maintain the kind of contact tracing and medical systems to deal with outbreaks. But we have no effective legislative framework for doing this over the whole country without draconian state of emergency controls.

Isolation of the type that we have been doing in levels 3 and 4 is something that is effective at slowing or (in our case) effective stalling of the spread of the disease. But it can’t be supported for long.

But we don’t have the required legislation for dealing with a whole of the country epidemic that is slow and long to contain. So that legislation was introduced a few days ago and passed last night in the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020 (note that as of the time of writing some amendments still haven’t been incorporated on the site).

There has been some perfectly valid quibbling that this legislation was rushed through parliament and causes civil liberty issues. But that is because parliament hasn’t been sitting due to covid-19 infection concerns, and this legislation wasn’t already sitting on the shelf ready to go.

Frankly this particular type of legislation should have been done back in the 1980s with AIDs and HIV or anytime after we started getting other ‘novel’ zoonotic viruses entering the human population like ebola, SARS, MERS, nile virus, avian flu, swine flu and many more. About the only thing that is common for these diseases is that they’re different from each other and different from the kinds of diseases that we know from history. Our legislation needed to be more versatile as well – and it isn’t.

Stuff has a pretty good roundup of the valid and spurious quibbles once you get past the inflammation causing dog-whistle headline “Coronavirus: New Covid-19 law gives police power to conduct warrantless searches amid civil liberty concerns“. To me, most of the commentary is just meaningless criticism for criticism’s sake because it says in effect – you should have consulted about this legislation with us.

To me, virtually none of these grand-standers addressed the key problems. The legislation wasn’t already in force because generations of parliamentarians had already failed in their duty of care to provide options to a state of emergency. How do you consult widely when you don’t have a forum available to do it widely – something that usually done in select committee. Which makes this statement and other like it kind of moot.

Chief Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt said he had “deep concern” about the lack of scrutiny and rushed process for the Bill. 

“For weeks the Government has known that we would be moving to alert level 2. It has not allowed enough time for careful public democratic consideration of this level 2 legislation. There has been no input from ordinary New Zealanders which is deeply regrettable,” Hunt said.

“This is a great failure of our democratic process. The new legislation, if passed in its current state, will result in sweeping police powers unseen in this country for many years.” 

“In times of national emergency sweeping powers are granted. There is a risk of overreach. Mistakes are made and later regretted.” 

I agree with that and many other statements made in the past few days that this legislation is rushed, hasn’t had a due process, and has flaws. But I can’t see any realistic way of getting widespread inputs from “ordinary New Zealanders”. But in the end, the parts of the Act that he was quibbling about are running a balance between the human rights of those violating orders under section 11 of the act, and the rights of those who’d be afflicted or killed by idiots violating valid section 11 rules.

The legislation has flaws, but the problem really lies with the lack of legislative preparation for anything apart from another influenza or measles style epidemic.

I agree with Graeme Elger’s take (my italics)

Wellington lawyer Graeme Edgeler said the law contained additional safeguards, such as ensuring police reporting why they decided to use the powers. 

“But I’m not sure what they would be searching for in people’s homes … What are the level two rules they think people will breach?”

Edgeler,who received a draft copy of the law from the Government, questioned if a warrantless entry power was justifiable for a gathering in a home which broke the rules.

“I think that is where the concern should be,” he said. 

“However, I think it is good that there is a new law. This is better than continuing under powers that existed over the past seven weeks, which did not have safeguards and were more extreme and Draconian.”

Personally I’ve seen far too many farcical applications for search warrants by the police that have been rubber stamped by registrars to really ever trust them. They get away with it because neither the courts nor the IPCA actually impose any penalties for police lying and outright stupidity in their applications.

But the important point is the one at the end in italics.

The only realistic alternative under our existing legislation was to retain the state of emergency – which is a really draconian structure. This legislation may be flawed, got a lot of adaption in our house of representatives, and allowed us to move reasonably safely out of a state of emergency.

Hopefully, parliament will now start considering, with public participation, as they did in in 1919 and 1920 how to get reserve powers for this and other possible novel disease responses into legislative toolkit.

In the meantime, we’ll deal with the virus with this imperfect act as a tool.

25 comments on “Viruses love liberty – they can breed more. ”

  1. Dennis Frank 1

    We're all lucky it isn't more infectious than it currently seems to be. The big unknown is the proportion of the populace who are unwitting carriers, right? Symptomless.

    I wonder what the ratio is that creates the tipping point. Perhaps still unknown to science, eh? News this morning of another wave of re-infection overseas is the signal we ought to heed in public policy development.

    "Bats hanging around with no social distancing have far better immune systems than humans. Which means that this zoonotic disease, once it jumps to humans, is like a whole of species experiment to the virus as it adapts to live in us."

    Yeah, that's the guts. One big science experiment happening globally. Darwinism in action! I hope our bodies are naturally fine-tuning our immune system into optimal response mode – in reaction to tiny doses of the virus breathed in. That's what ought to happen. Nature doing effortlessly what vaccination helps us to do. But if the input is greater than homeopathic scales of activity and our immune systems are already sub-optimal then nature can't cope.

    • lprent 1.1

      We're all lucky it isn't more infectious than it currently seems to be. The big unknown is the proportion of the populace who are unwitting carriers, right? Symptomless.

      Yes and no. It does mean that we have very little idea about how many people in any global (or NZ) population have had it already.

      Darwinism in action! I hope our bodies are naturally fine-tuning our immune system into optimal response mode – in reaction to tiny doses of the virus breathed in.

      I'm waiting for the report that say for a reasonable sized sample that the known symptomless infected (ie from swabs) always show specific antibodies or at least a sizeable percentage do. So far the indications seem to pointing to a low percentage. If that is the case then :-

      Darwinism in action! I hope our bodies are naturally fine-tuning our immune system into optimal response mode – in reaction to tiny doses of the virus breathed in.

      …won't happen. It would mean that small viral loads in the environment will be handled by the first line generic immune responses and that you'd have to get a large dose to trigger the secondary auto-immune 'learned' responses.

      But generally swab testing hasn't been that wide and the antibody tests look pretty cowboy for false positives and false negative. Which is probably why no-one is putting out that info yet

      News this morning of another wave of re-infection overseas is the signal we ought to heed in public policy development

      Haven't seen that yet – went straight from writing this post to working this morning without the morning news read.

      • Dennis Frank 1.1.1

        "Lebanon on Tuesday became the latest country to reimpose restrictions after experiencing a surge of infections, almost exactly two weeks after it appeared to have contained the spread of the virus and began easing up. Authorities ordered a four-day, near-complete lockdown to allow officials time to assess the rise in numbers."

        "The reemergence of coronavirus cases in many parts of Asia is also prompting a return to closures in places that had claimed success in battling the disease or appeared to have eradicated it altogether, including South Korea, regarded as one of the continent’s top success stories." https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/as-some-countries-ease-up-others-are-reimposing-lockdowns-amid-a-resurgence-of-coronavirus-infections/2020/05/12/6373cf6a-9455-11ea-87a3-22d324235636_story.html

        Also: “In the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the pandemic first emerged, authorities on Tuesday ordered the testing of all 11 million inhabitants after a cluster of six new infections emerged, five weeks after the city had apparently rid itself of the disease.”

        Also: “Iran, the epicenter of the disease in the Middle East, with more than 110,000 reported cases, has ordered a county in the southwestern province of Khuzestan to reimpose a lockdown after cases spiked there. But the government is still planning to proceed with the reopening of schools later this week, despite a marked jump in new infections since restrictions were eased in late April.”

        Which leads us to a tug-of-war between the people & the health authorities. “India and Russia eased their restrictions Tuesday even as the number of infections in both countries continued to soar.” Russian roulette & Indian roulette.

        • lprent 1.1.1.1

          Yep. In no particular order…

          • Could be a pool of asymptomatic bouncing around somewhere.
          • Could be an original reservoir source got reactivated (pet bat or pangolin perhaps).
          • Could be that there may be longer periods of virus shedding.
          • Could be stealth style virus.
          • or something else.

          The more you look at this particular virus and read about the bat colonies, the more you realise that this is an old virus. At 30k base pairs and with a high stability in its self-correction code, I suspect that it has multiple different strategies. It doesn't need to play the mutation game to look for a different identity.

          • Dukeofurl 1.1.1.1.1

            The rate of change in the virus may be small , on average. We are at 4.4 mill known cases, likely lots more.

            Who knows that person with the 7th mill case has a small mutation that means the virus attacks the health of younger people more easily …. those older people dying quickly without passing on arent a good evolutionary path.

  2. Sanctuary 2

    Most of the criticism of the legislation came in the form of low information social media reckons from the same usual suspects who were all suddenly epidemiology experts as well for the last month.

    It was clear to me that these entitled dimwits had no clue as to the powers the government currently had under a state of emergency – despite being parked on their arse for four weeks at home with time on their hands and an all to obvious internet connection with which to favour us with their musings – but that didn't stop half-arsed social media hysteria that really was a poster child for a definition of fake news.

    • lprent 2.1

      Yeah. I haven't bothered looking at the usual morons in the media – after all there is only so much stupidity from hosking or heather watshername or soper et al that I can stand.

      I was getting this third hand over the last couple of days from my partner reading from people she knows on facebook and querying me about it. They were obviously getting it from people who knew fuckall about reserve powers in legislation and what a state of emergency or a fighting a disease actually entailed. Not that I know that much. Just army medic, a few history papers touching on it, and a lot of general history and civics reading.

      Eventually she irritated me enough to look up the original bill and the (mostly) resulting act to answer her questions on the detail. And motivate me to write this post to point out why this legislation needed to be put in place in a hurry.

      After all the only real alternative was to remain in a state of emergency with limited safeguards and oversight.

      We just didn't have a good transition state out of SOE built into epidemic handling legislation.

  3. barry 3

    So we have 3 months with this legislation, and then we can either roll it back if not needed, or (more likely) rewrite the problematic parts to reflect the developing situation.

    I agree that warrants do not provide much protection. The important part is the reporting, so we can judge whether the powers are used appropriately.

    A problem is that you don't know what powers you need until you need them. In the end the legislation is only as safe as the police force enforcing it. In general we are happy for the police to have powers so long as they are not used against us.

  4. ianmac 4

    Entry into houses. Surely it would be used only if there are obviously a crowd inside. No doubt entry would be preceded by a knock on the door. But police knowing that they had further powers if needed would not leave them dangling impotently?

  5. Dukeofurl 5

    Do we really want Graeme Edgeler to be the most vocal public advocate on what is is not legal.

    This is his most recent case.

    New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990, s 26

    BETWEEN CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS Applicant AND MARK DAVID CHISNALL Respondent

    [1] Mr Chisnall applies for declarations of inconsistency with various rights affirmed by the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 (BORA) in respect of the extended supervision order (ESO) and public protection order (PPO) regimes.1 These regimes enable the detention of persons who have committed serious sexual or violence offences after the completion of their sentences for that offending. The application does not relate to any specific ESO or PPO. <b>Rather, Mr Chisnall seeks to impugn the powers enabling such orders…</b>

    [6] Mr Chisnall has multiple convictions for very serious sexual offending. He was due for release on 27 April 2016, having served a full 11-year sentence for two counts of sexual violation by rape. On 15 April 2016, the Chief Executive Officer applied for a PPO or, in the alternative, an ESO.violence offences after the completion of their sentences for that offending.

    The PPO or ESO or extended Supervision Order is only made after application to the High Court.

    This case already went to Appeal and Supreme court and is using a new angle .

    Edgeler wants to let the House burn down rather than have a procedural process by the Fire Brigade go unchallenged.

    This Chisnal case and his post parole provisions have produced a slew of court cases

    https://forms.justice.govt.nz/jdo/Search.jsp#/search and appearance by Edgeler

  6. Treetop 6

    I have been giving the reason for why blood clots show up in Covid-19 some thought.

    It might be helpful for a ANA to be done to measure the level of antibodies which is done for an autoimmune. Also a full ENA panel to be done to see what the autoimmune condition is.

    There is a condition seen in systemic limited scleroderma called GAVE or watermelon stomach which dilates blood vessels and they can ooze like a grazed knee or worse. A person can become blood transfusion dependent and low iron levels were the only symptom I had even though I had off the chart ANA and the ENA panel for systemic limited scleroderma.

    Immunologist certainly have got their work cut out for them in understanding what Covid-19 is doing to the immune system. It is clear to me that Covid-19 is systemic, what I find shocking with it is how rapid the effects of a complication are.

    • lprent 6.1

      Almost all of the complications (at least that I've read about) appear to be to related to the persons auto-immune responses getting way too enthusiastic.

      It is something that is common with all new diseases jumping species. Over time the two wear together. The virus evolves to reduce excessive responses. People with excessive responses get winnowed out of the population. Medics wind up with specific responses to prevent the response.

      • Treetop 6.1.1

        When I look at peanut allergy and bee stings some people can have a serious allergic reaction. I know that the body produces histamine to combat the allergic reaction. There are mast cell conditions which have increased histamine and anti histamine is the treatment. A serum tryptase test is done to establish the level of histamine. Some pathologists do a histamine test when a person has died suddenly to exclude an allergic reaction.

        You can have a mast cell condition without having a food or substance allergy.

        A Dr Theoharides is a mast cell expert. I would like to see what he has to say about Covid-19.

        • Incognito 6.1.1.2

          I know that the body produces histamine to combat the allergic reaction.

          Nope, histamine is part of the allergic reaction, which is why you take anti-histamines.

          By all accounts, the ‘cytokine storm’ triggered in some patients by COVID-19 is very different from an allergic response although it may involve overlapping parts and components of the immune system(s).

          • lprent 6.1.1.2.1

            Yep 40+ years ago I used to be allergic to bee-stings to the point of needing anti-histamines around. Essentially after I got a bee-sting the area would start to swell virtually immediately, and keep swelling. If it was up around the throat (as my first one was) I also started to have problems breathing.

            I just read the histamine page in wikipedia… Yikes..

            Good thing I haven’t haven’t had a bee-sting since my late adolescence.

  7. Treetop 7

    But what are histamines?

    They're chemicals your immune system makes. Histamines act like bouncers at a club. They help your body get rid of something that's bothering you _ _ in this case, an allergy trigger, or "allergen."

    See above link as reference

    I am not disagreeing that histamine is part of the allergic reaction.

    • Incognito 7.1

      I disagree. Our body only makes histamine, singular; there are no “histamines” as such.

  8. Treetop 8

    How do you explain histamine occuring naturally in some food food?

    See above link.

    • Incognito 8.1

      I don’t understand what you’re asking me to explain. Histamine, singular, occurs naturally but it is also formed during fermentation and bacterial metabolism in certain fish, as per your link.

      My point is that there is only one natural histamine, called histamine 😉

      Ingested histamine does not necessarily have the same effects as locally released endogenous histamine, after a sting, for example. Inhaling a histamine spray, in a controlled setting, has a direct effect on the airways and they contract (congestion); I had to do this once myself.

  9. Treetop 9

    I do not think there is a difference between histamine the body produces and histamine produced in food.

    An immunologist told me that most people have histamine levels in the low digits so it is obviously produced in the body. From what I have read there are some foods which are high in histamine which need to be avoided in people who are histamine intolerant which affects about 1% of the population.

    The immunologist also told me to try and control my histamine level by avoiding high histamine food.

    Knowing the cause of the elevated histamine level is what is important. I will not go into the causes.

    • Incognito 9.1

      Well, yes, histamine is histamine, obviously. Where it is absorbed or released and where it reaches a certain concentration and which receptors it binds to in which tissues and on what cells is a completely different story though. Water on your skin is fine; water in your lungs is not.

      That article you linked to was misleading in talking about histamines in the plural sense. I still have no idea why they did this and what they meant by it!? There is only one histamine, which is a specific compound. It is not a class of compounds as such, like hormones, benzodiazepines, cannabinoids, or alcohols, for example.

      • Treetop 9.1.1

        You might be interested in Dr Theoharides an expert in histamine and mast cells. What he had to say about Covid-19 I found interesting. His treatment would raise a few eyebrows. Whether he is right or not needs to be put to the test.

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    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 ...
    1 day 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 ...
    1 day 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
    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
    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
    2 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
    3 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
    3 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    5 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 ...
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Two bar blues
    The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 13
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • AT Need To Lift Their Game
    Normally when we talk about accessing public transport it’s about improving how easy it is to get to, such as how easy is it to cross roads in a station/stop’s walking catchment, is it possible to cycle to safely, do bus connections work, or even if are there new routes/connections ...
    6 days ago
  • Christopher's Whopper.
    Politicians are not renowned for telling the truth. Some tell us things that are verifiably not true. They offer statements that omit critical pieces of information. Gloss over risks, preferring to offer the best case scenario.Some not truths are quite small, others amusing in their transparency. There are those repeated ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Funding hole for tax cuts growing by the day
    The pressure is mounting on the Government as it finalises its Budget Policy Statement, but yet more predicted revenue ‘goes missing’. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Climate Commission has delivered another funding blow to the National-ACT-NZ First coalition Government’s tax-cutting plans, potentially carving $1.4 billion off the ‘climate ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Luxon’s brave climate change promise
    The Government now faces the prospect of having to watch another tax raise the price of petrol when, only six days ago, it abolished the Auckland Regional Fuel tax. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon argued that the regional fuel tax imposed costs on lower-income people with less fuel-efficient vehicles  and that ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days 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
    3 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
    5 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
    5 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
    19 hours 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
    23 hours 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
    5 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
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  • 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 ...
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