What does Judith do about Gerry?

Written By: - Date published: 9:32 am, August 19th, 2020 - 113 comments
Categories: covid-19, david clark, election 2020, Gerry Brownlee, health, jacinda ardern, Judith Collins, national, the praiseworthy and the pitiful, you couldn't make this shit up - Tags:

Anyone else getting slightly tired about the Opposition running lines that the Government’s handling of Covid is an abject failure?

I mean perspective is important.

Right now among Western Developed Nations we are probably ranked the second best nation in handling the virus.  Taiwan is exceptional and deserves to be top of the class.  Other nations, like Australia, Singapore, South Korea and Japan have put up a good fight but are struggling.

And other western nations are not faring so well.

All figures are per million population.  The raw figures make the comparison much worse.

Good old Aotearoa has two outbreaks to handle but with a bit of luck and a lot of work we will get back to the state where we can all go to concerts and rugby games and protests and continue life as usual, just without overseas holidays or the income that overseas tourism brought us as a nation.  

Did the Government ever promise that it would all be sweetness and light after we got to the stage where we had no more community cases of Covid?  Hell no.  In fact over the past few months it has been warning us repeatedly that Covid will come back some way some how and we better be ready.

In fact it was so careful to say this dimwits in the opposition saw this as evidence of a conspiracy involving the hiding of rampant community transmission.  Looking at you Gerry.

Should the Government have stopped the latest cases of community infection?  Well anyone with a brain would wait for more evidence to determine what actually happened.  It is possible that the one large cluster came from an infection not through the quarantine system but through the food importation system.  Sure they should have thrown up the barricades and stopped anything being imported to Aotearoa but I expect that the party that was really gung ho about foreign students coming back would have tried politically to embarrass the government if it had done something like this.

And the other cluster, involving one person who worked in a quarantine hotel and who from descriptions so far followed all the rules, seems to just be an extreme example of what can happen. 

Here is the problem.  The professionally designed systems may address, say, up to 99.9% of the risk of infection is dealt with.  This means that, say, in 0.1% of cases we will be dealing with a virus infection that we have to deal with. We are dealing with a new virus that we still do not understand properly. Re-calibrating our understanding and our response to it will continue for some time.

Should there be weekly testing of all workers in quarantine facilities?  On June 23 David Clark announced enhanced testing of staff in these facilities. I am sure implementation of the announcement is being rigorously reviewed right now.

But enhanced testing is not a golden bullet.  Even weekly testing allows time for a worker to be infected and to spread the virus before their next test.  And testing results regularly in false negatives.  Again there are shades of grey and wriggle room through which the virus may escape.

To make us completely safe we would have to seal tight our borders, have no further physical contact with the outside world and hunt down remaining cases mercilessly. 

So kiwis make your choice.  Say no to whanau members coming back, and no imports of any sort, or accept that we have to accept there is some risk and we need a backup system.  And from time to time we are going to have to scramble.  And cross our fingers.

And here is the thing.  This virus has successfully brought down the most well resourced and technologically advanced nations in the world.  In particular the United States, which has suffered because it has an idiot in control, but also China, which in its particular way has thrown everything against the disease and has managed to contain it, but at considerable cost. New Zealand’s response has been outstanding and I hope that eradication can continue.

National has been like a pig in muck running down the country’s Covid response,  They also think, Trump like, that the media is biased against them.

 Brownlee recently sent out a fundraising email that contained this text:

[On Monday] it was confirmed that the General Election will be delayed until Saturday 17 October. Given around a third of the population is under a strict level 3 lockdown, this was the right move to make.

But with endless wall to wall coverage, the deep resources of government, and a favourable media, it is hard for anyone not to see Labour have the cards stacked in their favour.

We need to change that.

I went looking for this favourable media and struggled to find it.  I found this article in the country’s foremost paper where the Government was compared to the North Korean Government.

[tweet https://twitter.com/nzherald/status/1295442135349518337]

It is as if reality does not matter to this writer.

There were heaps of others. Like these.

So Brownlee’s claim that the media is biased against National is strange, and verging on conspiratorial.

Brownlee was asked about his media comment and chose to rebroadcast his earlier conspiracy theories.

From Amelia Wade at the Herald:

National’s deputy leader Gerry Brownlee has again batted away suggestions he was stoking the flames of conspiracy theories with his “interesting facts” comments last week.

But then raised the same “facts” he was criticised for, including why Ashley Bloomfield publically got a Covid-19 test.

“Well I just think that it’s interesting that the man at the top of the tree was, at 102 days of clear, suddenly wanting to get tested,” Brownlee said this morning.

He gave a typical Brownlee apology and said he was sorry if we had misinterpreted his comments. Get that he is sorry that all of us got it wrong.

“I’ve said that’s unfortunate. I’ve said I’m sorry people have taken it as being some kind of conspiracy accusation, it was never meant to be like that,” he said.

“I totally reject any idea that I’m a conspiracy theorist or anything other than that.”

He also stood by his allegation that the media were biased against him. Clearly in his view nothing but abject obsequiousness towards National by the media is acceptable to him.

Politics is in a pretty ugly situation right now. The country is nervous at the prospect that our defences against Covid may not hold. For a while National has chosen the corrosive response as opposed to the cooperative approach to the virus. Collins and Brownlee are in full campaign mode, an election period must be the worst possible time for a democracy to handle a potential pandemic. But Brownlee in particular is out of control and the sort of tripe he has been saying needs to be responded to vigorously.

The sooner this election is out of the way and the sooner our elected representatives can get back to working on eradication the better.

113 comments on “What does Judith do about Gerry? ”

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  1. barry 1
    19 August 2020 at 9:40 am

    How do you get Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, S. Korea to be "western" nations?

  2. Pat 2
    19 August 2020 at 9:47 am

    Brownlees default tactic of bluster was well known when he was selected as deputy leader ..National will see no reason to rein in what they sought

    • I Feel Love 2.1
      19 August 2020 at 10:27 am

      Someone collected a heap of Brownlee headlines, all were emotive and angry, "Brownlee furious" was common, now we get "confused".

      • Chris 2.1.1
        19 August 2020 at 2:39 pm

        Collins tried rattling off quotes from government the other day to try to expose inconsitencies. The reality is it's a case of the pot calling the kettle black. Imagine rolling all the hypocrtical claptrap that national's excreted over the last few months.

  3. weka 3
    19 August 2020 at 9:51 am

    What's worse than a conspiracy theorist in a pandemic? A lying, fake-conspiracy theorist in a pandemic. I find it very hard to believe that Brownlee believes what he says and isn't doing this intentionally as part of a strategy to gain power for National. Hoping they drop well below 20% now and take a decade to recover. Not a partisan sentiment, but one that recognises people who will do whatever it takes to get power, no matter how much harm it does.

    • MartinC 3.1
      19 August 2020 at 10:11 am

      A decade without National would be nice. Make it a lifetime

    • AB 3.2
      19 August 2020 at 10:32 am

      Really feel that National is so outside the bounds of rational discourse now, that they should just fold their tent and go away. (And yes I am partisan).

      Call me naive, but I'd like to think that it's not just National, but right-wing ideology itself, that is in trouble. We can get through a pandemic only by setting aside private interests and making sacrifices for the common good. It is the complete opposite of what RW ideology sees as the natural order of things.

      • greywarshark 3.2.1
        19 August 2020 at 11:10 am

        RW ideology as represented by Fletchers Building here in NZ (remembering that it is NZ owned in memory only – now is a predatory bird owned by numerous overseas entities, some pension funds, others just funds of some sort or another.)

        https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12357384
        Aug.18 Analysts examine what Covid-19 means for Fletcher Building: full result out tomorrow

        https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12357719
        Aug.19 Fletcher Building result: No dividend, Ebit falls
        Fletcher Building won't pay a dividend after all divisional revenue and operating earnings fell in the last year and although Australia is the company's biggest earner, its performance was also well down.
        …The business confirmed the $196m net loss after tax for the year to June 30, 2020, and in a divisional performance summary, showed how important its operations across the Tasman are to producing revenue…

        NZ – The New Zealand-based distribution division, which includes the PlaceMakers national retail network, was the second-biggest revenue generator making $1.4b (previously $1.5b). Ebit from that division also fell from $167m to $87m…
        But in some good news, Fletcher's residential division is the second largest house-builder in New Zealand, the company said. Its work is being boosted by Government support and Kiwis returning from overseas to buy places.

        My interpretation is that Fletcher is dependent on the government sending business its way in the housing market. And looking at the stated reasons for its loss, which they blame majorly on Covid-19, is the poor outcomes of historical work which has cost them big.

        And heavy lies the head that wears the crown!

        Fletcher Building chief executive takes $1.3m pay cut as firm suffers $196m loss
        https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/122491669/fletcher-building-chief-executive-takes-13m-pay-cut-as-firm-suffers-196m-loss

        Fletchers was a once-good company that grew in conjunction with the government work it received, and that the government found excellent. That excellence has deteriorated as profit-first and influence in gummint and financial circles has triumphed, and the government and country has gone in a different direction, become a supplicant to those commanding wealth and power. I don't think that has worked out well for the ordinary citizens of NZ who are uncounted, misused resources of the country; real undervalued human resources for the country and ourselves.

        New Zealanders would do better if given the opportunity. training, practical and useful projects, and decent pay, and viewpoints that showed the likely future. Our name spells it out: New Zeal. I think the opportunity is here NOW; Let's Plan how to Use It wisely taking in the advice of development professionals and those academics who can apply themselves positively and practically.

        Then hold meetings entitled Your Dream for a NZ that Works for You plus Everyone Else, and a Healthy Sustainable Environment. Then sign up all the people who want to be kept informed about this exciting way forward, have a special suggestions blog which is curated daily with summaries of the input, then draft a working plan for the steps to take it practically forward and submit to the group for helpful suggestions.

    • Anne 3.3
      19 August 2020 at 11:26 am

      Spot on weka @ 3. And when it didn't go down well he played the… I'm so sorry, I was misunderstood card.

    • Chris 3.4
      19 August 2020 at 2:42 pm

      I can't quite put my finger on it but there's definitely a sub-human aspect to Brownlee.

  4. Robert Guyton 4
    19 August 2020 at 9:59 am

    "Politics is in a pretty ugly situation right now. The country is nervous at the prospect that our defences against Covid may not hold. For a while National has chosen the corrosive response as opposed to the cooperative approach to the virus."

    In a nutshell, mickysavage.

  5. Mika 5
    19 August 2020 at 10:01 am

    Judith herself was all over the place on RNZ this morning.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018760117/covid-19-judith-collins-on-border-testing-contact-tracing

    There must be mutterings in National's caucus by now. Shane Reti is the only one even vaguely coherent at the moment.

    • Pat 5.1
      19 August 2020 at 10:17 am

      Mutterings since the day she was selected but think the election has already been given away by those mutterers….Collins and her supporters on the other hand are going for broke…… and it looks like they will make it.

      • Stephen D 5.1.1
        19 August 2020 at 11:41 am

        Judith appears to be only interested in shoring up her base. Reckoned to be 30-35% Thereby saving a few list mps their jobs. Hoping they'll support her post election?

        Appealing to the hardcore Nat voter, and giving up on the floating. Why else continue to attack the PM, and have joke policy that belonged in the 20C?

        • Pat 5.1.1.1
          19 August 2020 at 11:45 am

          "Judith appears to be only interested in shoring up her base."

          Agree…though think the 35% may be a tad high, 30% or south would be my guess and the real possibility of long term damage to the party.

    • greywarshark 5.2
      19 August 2020 at 10:17 am

      Judith referred to Dr Shane many times. He now contains the wisdom of all NZ on Covid-19 and its management, if not the universe.

      • Gabby 5.2.1
        19 August 2020 at 12:50 pm

        Shane's easier for her to pronounce.

      • Stuart Munro 5.2.2
        19 August 2020 at 3:35 pm

        It would be interesting to see if, by taking a basically prudent medical stance, he might not rise to topple the pretenders to economic expertise and regulatory incendiarists that came to dominate the party in its halcion days, pre-Covid.

        • greywarshark 5.2.2.1
          19 August 2020 at 3:48 pm

          You might be thinking that he could doctor the economy? His expertise is in medicine, and Judith puts a lot of reliance on him I feel. But if he knows what he is talking about in that field, he might be the only one that Judith can trust for real, useful expertise in her class of recalcitrant schoolboy squibs who failed to fire and will be past their use-by date on Oct. 17.

  6. SPC 6
    19 August 2020 at 10:01 am

    Eradication

    Eradication The complete and permanent worldwide reduction to zero new cases of an infectious disease through deliberate efforts; no further control measures are required. refers to the complete and permanent worldwide reduction to zero new cases of the disease through deliberate efforts. If a disease has been eradicated, no further control measures are required.

    Elimination

    Elimination Reduction to zero (or a very low defined target rate) of new cases of an infectious disease in a defined geographical area as a result of deliberate efforts; continued measures to prevent re-establishment of transmission are required. refers to the reduction to zero (or a very low defined target rate) of new cases in a defined geographical area. Elimination requires continued measures to prevent re-establishment of disease transmission.

    https://vaccine-safety-training.org/elements/articles/eradication-difference.html

    Our policy is elimination. WHO has eradication as a policy.

    Which is why Bloomfield was called the eliminator when playing a rugby game in Michael Jones old position (before the recent cluster)

    • greywarshark 6.1
      19 August 2020 at 10:36 am

      1 What reason would the WHO have for talking about eradication of Covid-19 when it has been such a major task with other diseases?

      2 If they concentrated on elimination would that not have the affect of enabling future eradication measures?

      3 What would governments do differently if concentrating on eradication and not elimination?

      4 Would people and families become targets for stringent measures as possible carriers and start 'disappearing' in some countries? Would people become hyper-sensitive to any people who didn't fit the major conformist model for whatever reason? Would would virtual leper colonies with fences around them become a norm? Would attitudes harden against older people who are the ones more prone to develop Covid-19 and die from it but require a lot of infectious nursing special and costly procedures.

      5 Have the WHO officials any education in human and social psychology, including their own? Have they any knowledge of how people under stress, fear and confusion have behaved in history; are behaving now observably in the USA? Here in our own country? From the spreading of half-digested news such as Maxine Gay with tweet now withdrawn and Gerry Brownlee with conspiracy theories – that source should now withdraw!

      • SPC 6.1.1
        19 August 2020 at 10:49 am

        1. Eradication requires herd immunity and or a vaccine – and one available to all nations.

        2. Elimination is a territorial matter, that some nations can realise sans a vaccine. New Zealand Taiwan and Iceland are three of those close to realising it.

        • greywarshark 6.1.1.1
          19 August 2020 at 3:53 pm

          So at the back of the WHO cogitation is a vaccine that will solve most of the problems? I hope that they ensure the poor nations don't go into hock for it, and that they have enough pull with the wealthy nations to get them to agree to fund not only the vaccines for the poor, but also proper administration. Perhaps follow their diplomats and officials with laptops all ready to receive, saying put your finger here, or you can't leave.

  7. Incognito 7
    19 August 2020 at 10:09 am

    I feel kinda sorry for Gerry and everybody else (!) in this boat. Our world as we know it is rapidly changing, so rapidly it sometimes feels like an avalanche collapsing on you and burying you under tonnes of bad news & information. Hard to keep a cool head under these testing times. This is when we have to rely on and help each other through the dark times. Gerry is not helping, not himself, and not us.

    • SPC 7.1
      19 August 2020 at 10:22 am

      It's the last throw of the dice from Collins and Brownlee. They will do whatever is required to save the most powerful opposition in our political history (2017) from losing too many seats in 2020, and then move on.

      But more than that is the existential threat to the order of a generation, market economics benefitting one group the haves – with GFC debt, pandemic economic debt and the challenge of global warming calling into question the way the world's financial system is structured. The parties of the order of the haves do have reason to be insecure (and that is without factoring in the threat now posed by China).

    • left_forward 7.2
      19 August 2020 at 11:39 am

      I think you are right Incognito – Gerry just doesn't know what to do and when his habitual methods don't get any traction he just keeps spinning the wheels in the mire, because he is genuinely lost. Although I recognise that he is just another cuddly, soft skinned, warm inside, lovable human being like the rest of us, feeling sorry for someone who should just gracefully bow to his shortcomings is a stretch too far.

      • Stephen D 7.2.1
        19 August 2020 at 11:43 am

        A classic case of the Peter Principal.

        • Chris 7.2.1.1
          19 August 2020 at 3:37 pm

          Yes, although I suspect it would still have been the case if he'd remained a teacher.

        • greywarshark 7.2.1.2
          19 August 2020 at 3:58 pm

          The Peter Principle is where people rise to their level of inadequacy or incompetence. I hope they don't end up as principals, and my heart goes out to anyone called Principal who unknowingly set their son up for sly jibes by naming him Peter.

          As for Gerry, he has a bigger paunch than me and I can't gracefully bow, so doubt if he could unwind that far.

        • Incognito 7.2.1.3
          19 August 2020 at 4:15 pm

          Meet its close cousin, the Andrew Principle.

      • Stuart Munro 7.2.2
        19 August 2020 at 3:42 pm

        It's a tragedy for souls that don't find their true path in life. Gerry never quite found his vocation as a coffee table ornament and occasional life drawing model.

        • greywarshark 7.2.2.1
          19 August 2020 at 4:00 pm

          You are wrong S Munro. Gerry has been drawn by numerous cartoonists and I have heard that recipients of those artistic endeavours ask to get the originals for themselves which seems fair.

    • Ken 7.3
      19 August 2020 at 3:30 pm

      Well said.

      I see this extra month as more rope for Judith and Gerry to hang themselves with.

      What's Nick doing to help?

    • gsays 7.4
      19 August 2020 at 4:00 pm

      I feel for them too.

      Where I struggle to keep the bile contained is when one of their tribe starts opining.

      The temerity to repeat the attack lines, especially as the Nats have shown they are unfit to govern.

      Time for them to zip it.

    • Tricledrown 7.5
      19 August 2020 at 4:45 pm

      National has poor policies to keep everyone poor.

      So their only other option other than agreeing with the govts strategy is to attack at all cost's using the moral low ground.

      Flip flopping dead cat'splaying the victim of a media conspiracy just to keep in the news.no such thing as bad publicity strategy.

  8. ianmac 8
    19 August 2020 at 10:17 am

    I mean perspective is important.

    Hear Hear! Condemning the whole over the glitches at the edges seems so wrong.

  9. Ad 9
    19 August 2020 at 10:23 am

    I'm thinking a nationwide Level 2 scenario for a couple of years. With no travel.

    • SPC 9.1
      19 August 2020 at 10:55 am

      For mine

      Level 1 is most/more sustainable if there were no border incoming, but still viable and possible via quarantine of manageable levels (we did do 3 months and we are improving border security all the time).

      Level 2 is usually associated with a larger scale numbers coming through quarantine/managed isolation – thus acceptance of continuing risk of new infection mitigated by Level 2 readiness.

    • Graeme 9.2
      19 August 2020 at 12:56 pm

      Yeah, Level1 became hard to sustain once Victoria blew out.

      The current situation of L2 with occasional L3 is foreseeable for a while yet

      • greywarshark 9.2.1
        19 August 2020 at 4:05 pm

        Level 1 would have been impossible to maintain. We all felt bullet proof and people want to resume life as BAU, even now people had not taken to wearing masks till recently. And we would want people coming into the country, you can't keep tourism going without ships or planes, and you can't keep our airline going without managed two-way travel.

        When planes go, it will be long sea trips with the added cyclones, water spouts etc on top of the ones our earlier people struck.

  10. Treetop 10
    19 August 2020 at 10:27 am

    Give Brownlee some hands on insight into the problem. A day working as a security guard at the Jet Park Hotel.

    • AB 10.1
      19 August 2020 at 10:51 am

      Why are you suggesting this now? What do you know that you are not telling us? Why is your handle an anagram for "pert toe" – are you running some dodgy business from a quarantine facility? This is worrying to say the least. (From a concerned citizen possibly named Gerry)

      • Drowsy M. Kram 10.1.1
        19 August 2020 at 10:56 am

        laugh

      • Treetop 10.1.2
        19 August 2020 at 12:24 pm

        Having common sense is needed and this could be acquired by being on the other side of the fence for a day.

        I have no involvement in any thing to do with Covid management.

    • left_forward 10.2
      19 August 2020 at 11:29 am

      A security doorman at the airport?

      • Treetop 10.2.1
        19 August 2020 at 12:25 pm

        Having common sense is needed and this could be acquired by being on the other side of the fence for a day.

        I have no involvement in any thing to do with Covid management.

      • Treetop 10.2.2
        19 August 2020 at 12:26 pm

        I was being serious and there was no intention to raise the airport incident.

        • left_forward 10.2.2.1
          19 August 2020 at 1:58 pm

          I was too, and was adding another experience that may help with Gerry's self development.

        • greywarshark 10.2.2.2
          19 August 2020 at 4:07 pm

          You were being serious, we are grasping at humour to relieve the tension of waiting, waiting for election day.

          • Drowsy M. Kram 10.2.2.2.1
            19 August 2020 at 6:41 pm

            Sgt Schultz: "I see nothing, I know nothing!"

            "I know one thing, that I know nothing" (Socrates), and "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing" – see also the Dunning-Kruger effect, right Gerry?

            That’s it – will leave not well enough alone from now on.

            • Incognito 10.2.2.2.1.1
              19 August 2020 at 9:01 pm

              There are known knowns. There are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns. That is to say, we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns, the ones we don't know we don't know.

              – Rumsfeld, February 12, 2002.

              • Andre …
                19 August 2020 at 9:50 pm

                There must also be Schrodinger's knowns. Things that exist in a superposition state of known and unknown, and you only find out if they are known or unknown when you try to know them.

                • Incognito …
                  19 August 2020 at 11:09 pm

                  Ah, but there’s no try, do or do not. He who knows will not be known by his words, but by his silence, and they will mock him for it, the ignorami.

    • Tricledrown 10.3
      19 August 2020 at 4:48 pm

      Corporal Shultz comes to mind again and again with Brownlee saying I know "nuthink".

    • peter sim 10.4
      19 August 2020 at 9:41 pm

      brownlee working as a an airport security guard as brownlee barges through security doors, because he is brownlee and can do it.

      The natzis are fit to govern our borders?

      Give us a break.

      • Treetop 10.4.1
        20 August 2020 at 1:55 pm

        Just read the last 8 comments above including your one, all so funny.

        So you would not let Brownlee do security even for a day?

        He might be good at it.

  11. Reality 11
    19 August 2020 at 10:38 am

    Just as most New Zealanders can see the decent human beings that are our PM and DG of Health, I trust they will also see dopey loopy Gerry for what he is. He and Judith give off such negative, nasty, toxic vibes it is enough to want to hide in a cave for the next eight weeks with no radio, tv, newspapers. They are unhelpful to our wellbeing.

    It is puzzling how many weird, untrustworthy people are attracted to becoming National MPs. Going back 10 years or so to the Exclusive Brethrens, Don Brash, and a whole string of other very strange people, they should be vetted better in the hope of getting more decent, normal candidates.

  12. Ad 12
    19 August 2020 at 10:58 am

    If I were Judith I would tell Jerry to double down.

    There's plenty of rage and conspiracy to capture out there.

    It's all the cut-through they're getting.

    • bwaghorn 12.1
      19 August 2020 at 12:04 pm

      What % of nut bar conspiracy theorists actually vote?

      Most comments I've seen from that subset tend to lump a politicians into the same pile and would not vote when push comes to shove imho

      • Gabby 12.1.1
        19 August 2020 at 12:53 pm

        I'm not sure that relying on nutbars not voting is a reliable campaign stategy.

      • Pat 12.1.2
        19 August 2020 at 6:18 pm

        Dont think they are expecting the nutbar vote (though they wouldnt turn it down) but suspect that having consolidated the base they are hoping that a bit of fear-mongering might give them a boost….35% is better than 25%

    • AB 12.2
      19 August 2020 at 4:52 pm

      Good call. Reti is trying to be sweetness and light at the moment. Gerry is going full nutbar. Judith comes through the middle as tough but reasonable, not too soft and not entirely deranged. That covers the full spectrum of the electorate – it should work well.

      • Incognito 12.2.1
        19 August 2020 at 5:15 pm

        A ternary variation on good cop – bad cop: the good, the bad, and the smugly cops.

  13. Peter 13
    19 August 2020 at 11:00 am

    Judth doesn't have to do anything about Gerry. All she has to do is grab daily headlines with her latest crap lines. That'll have the voters thinking she's strong and decisive and a great leader.

    That's the way it works.

  14. greywarshark 14
    19 August 2020 at 11:22 am

    LPrent and mods and others – I noticed how you feel the burden of keeping everything going and the lack of posts. When I sent an email asking whether you would be interested in a post on something I had done some work on, I heard nothing back.

    Is it that you don't want any posts from me?

    Is it that you want to view the work first so it must be written and then you will read it and decide? (You will know how time consuming it is to write anything – it seems to take 15 minutes approx – to read something offering more than a simple thought thoroughly, and then reply with an equally thoughtful reply, and longer if one remembers a useful fact which has to be hunted down.)

    So an indication that you are interested in thoughtful posts with factual backing and not just reckons from the instant-media might bring forward some heretofore untold gems from many heads.

  15. OnceWasTim 15
    19 August 2020 at 11:23 am

    "What does Judith do about Gerry?"

    Well there are one or two Lyttleton residents that call those lumbering big cubes of concrete used to hold up slips and crumbling banks as 'Brownlees'

    As far as I know, the work around Christchurch and Lyttleton is not yet complete

    • Chris 15.1
      19 August 2020 at 3:42 pm

      The question should be what does national do about Collins and Brownlee. The answer is leave them there because they're doing the best job they can…for everyone. The longer they stay there the better, and if the national party implode as a result that's a bonus.

      • OnceWasTim 15.1.1
        19 August 2020 at 6:32 pm

        Well a Brownlee is pretty hard to shift without the aid of a crane. (And although I hear the Association of Crane Owners have suggested there are opportunities for crane owners in this space going forward, they're not sure that shifting Brownlees could be profitable enough even with wage subsidies. I suppose a load of Chinese Coolies or other immigrant workers holding out for the promise of a pay day could do it at a pinch, although you'd have to be sure Civil Defence had thrown them a few cans of beans in order to build up their energy.

        And then. even when Ear NuZull Link used to run those pencil planes – Metroliners or whatever the hell they were called – the pilot used to have to diplomatically shift people to ensure an efficient and effective take-off. Parekura Horomia at least had a decent excuse – plus the stink wasn't as bad.

        Not so much the Gerry/ In Gerry's case, if it wasn't a case of aeronautical balance, you'd have to have worried about what he'd sleezed and slipped through a security door or whatever else he'd slipped down his throat.

        • OnceWasTim 15.1.1.1
          19 August 2020 at 6:44 pm

          "you'd have to have worried about what he'd sleezed and slipped through a security door or whatever else he'd slipped down his throat."

          Fucke me!!!! Now I know. It was Judith's cock he attempted to smuggle down his throat. However he hoped to complete the journey without gagging, I guess I'll never know.

          [You have won the Award for Exquisitely Bad Taste, which is a two-month holiday to MIQ; one more month, give or take, than the previous commenter who was banned for four weeks for fat-shaming Gerry – Incognito]

        • Incognito 15.1.1.2
          19 August 2020 at 9:07 pm

          There’s more than enough to mock in Gerry’s behaviour that surely you don’t need to mock his physique as well, yes?

  16. Maurice 16
    19 August 2020 at 11:34 am

    But …. but ….. BUT!

    Gerry believes the conspiracy theories …

    Be KIND …

  17. stuff the politicians 17
    19 August 2020 at 1:05 pm

    you said that Brownlee is out of control –

    I don't know when he was ever in control of anything.

    Certainly never in control of Ch-ch rebuild, and I doubt he knows the meaning of the word.

  18. Graeme 18
    19 August 2020 at 1:05 pm

    Gerry, it’s not just the media that are biased against you, a large portion of the population have an aversion to you.

    The media are just reflecting that view to better sell their advertisers’ wares.

    • greywarshark 18.1
      19 August 2020 at 4:11 pm

      If you are too nasty about him you will find there is a portion of the voters who will flip and vote for him out of sympathy because everyone is being so nasty. Don't underestimate that response, of being for the underdog. Better just leave him alone at this stage.

      • In Vino 18.1.1
        19 August 2020 at 9:49 pm

        Greywarshark – you may have hit the wrong target there. Graeme was writing about the media and the public, even though he addressed Gerry.

        Agree overall..

        • greywarshark 18.1.1.1
          20 August 2020 at 12:43 pm

          Thanks in vino – it just struck me as a pre-election fear, that the incredible might happen and the emotional tide that slurps about the rohe might just rise and swamp judgment and objectivity (that is if there is some). I guess I had an emotional wave of my own just then.

          • Treetop 18.1.1.1.1
            20 August 2020 at 2:15 pm

            What you say is correct about not giving the other side ammo. I know that Gerry has feelings, unfortunately he is a politician and there is an election.

            Covid fear is a new phenomenon and politicians are not immune.

            • greywarshark 18.1.1.1.1.1
              20 August 2020 at 2:33 pm

              You mistake me Treetop. I don't care a stuff about Gerry's feelings – I am talking about the feelings of those voters who are not capable of thinking along hard lines examining the worth and legacy of this politician, and his and National's anti-citizen policies and lack of policies where needed. There are so many soppy people out there that must not have their 'compassion' circuits switched on. We should note that many of them cannot remember more than a few months' history or may not have even understood it correctly, and don't ever bother to resort to recorded facts by reliable sources. The current crop of conspiracy theories is an example.

              Some of the ones that cannot think in a straight line may be officials entrusted to do a good and honest job for the country. This from the UK accompanied by the thought that if it weren't for such wretched people they might have had a Labour government with Corbyn at its head.

              https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-corbyn-labout-party-2017-general-election-theresa-may-a9660511.html

  19. Observer Tokoroa 19
    19 August 2020 at 1:41 pm

    National – upside dowm

    Will National soon put in a replacement for Judith Collins? She seems to be unable to converse soundly, or to keep on topic. Thirty minutes of nothing is Judith's calling.

    Her efforts to knock out the Prime Minister, who is very much younger than herself, produces real national chaos.

    Regrettably, Judith has not found a workable way to get Gerry Brownlees to put his shoes on and live and dwell in New Zealand. Currently, he seems to be slobbing around in mountains of unfathomable Conspiracy. Amazing !

    Nobody expects a lot from Gerry Brownlees, but surely someone could point him towards something useful.

    • OnceWasTim 20.1
      19 August 2020 at 2:44 pm

      As a new Green Party party voter, AT LEAST H2 has an adequate bullshit detector built in, if nothing else.

      Bit of a shame she couldn't have waltzed her way around the lower The Terrace over the past 3 years and delivered one or two punches where it'd have counted without our having to go through all this needless shit.

      She could’ve taken out half of Treasury and the State Services Commission. I’d have happily donated a whip
      And even then it’d have been a practice run before she let rip in Ballance Street

      • Ad 20.1.1
        19 August 2020 at 3:15 pm

        It would be preferable to not rely on officials like Heather Simpson no matter how talented, and instead have Ministers with a bit of grunt and planning capacity.

        What we have instead is Megan Woods holding up most of the sky, and Parker, Hipkins, Robertson, and Ardern holding up the rest of the entire government.

        Seriously I hope they can bring some fresh brains and capacity in the post-election shuffle. They sure look like they need it.

        • OnceWasTim 20.1.1.1
          19 August 2020 at 3:27 pm

          "It would be preferable to not rely on officials like Heather Simpson no matter how talented, and instead have Ministers with a bit of grunt and planning capacity."

          I agree @ Ad. What's the next best thing.

          I find it quite amusing really after the gNatz having spent the last decade or so running down the Public Service and converting many of them to their religious persuasion, NOW protesting that they aren't SUPERMEN.

          Fuke 'em and all who sail in them! We get what we deserve. Things probably have to get worse before they get better, and roll on that day. The sooner the better

        • greywarshark 20.1.1.2
          19 August 2020 at 4:14 pm

          You are sure to be better informed than I on this Ad, but usually there are some hard working MPs in the background who don't have the charisma but are good in their jobs?

        • mac1 20.1.1.3
          19 August 2020 at 4:50 pm

          Look at the best that National have- Collins, Brownlee, Muller, Bridges, Smith, Woodhouse, Goldsmith.

          As Hipkins cracked today in Parliament, the best weapon that National have against Covid-19 is Judith Collins' eyebrows…………..

          • Chris 20.1.1.3.1
            20 August 2020 at 9:50 am

            I hope the government takes full advantage of the Collins' eyebrows gag and that it's fully ulitised on every occasion. It will never become overused, outdated or lose impact. It's effect is cummulative so has amazing potential. The more it's employed the sooner we'll see Collins implode with rage.

            • mac1 20.1.1.3.1.1
              20 August 2020 at 11:18 am

              She didn't do well in Parliament yesterday. Maybe the new, subdued Judith is to lessen the EyeBrow Effect. Yesterday, she got chastened by the Speaker twice, once for not reading her primary question correctly, and again for trying it on with some ploy, waving a piece of paper across the House at the PM. She got flustered and made little impact in her speech in the general debate. I thought at one stage that, like Muller, it was all getting on top of her.

              I never thought I'd see the day I felt sorry for a National leader……………. twice.

    • Chris 20.2
      20 August 2020 at 9:42 am

      It was a mistake to use security guards for a job like this in the first place. Unskilled, underpaid and if the MSD security guard fiasco is anything to go by a tendency for thug-like behaviour.

  21. tc 21
    19 August 2020 at 3:10 pm

    What if she's powerless to reign him in as part of the deals done that bolted the current facade together after the house of Todd melted.

    Don't they both have detailed maps of the 3+ terms 'worth' of skeletons and misdemeanours. Mexican standoff perhaps ?

  22. ianmac 22
    19 August 2020 at 3:33 pm

    Brownlee declared in the General Debate today that under this Government, there are huge holes in the border and have been there for a long long time.

    40,000+ people have passed through the border without one known leak. Either he is making stuff up or he has no idea of just how the border works. Brownlee for Deputy PM? Never!

    • mac1 22.1
      19 August 2020 at 4:37 pm

      Shaw pointed out the illogicality of Brownlee's claims.

      As for Brownlee being Deputy PM, ianmac, take comfort from the fact that since 2000 National have had seven deputy leaders, two of them twice, but only one ever got to be PM- Bill English, when Key resigned suddenly.

      Take heart. Of eight National leaders since 2000, four have not become PM.

      I hope that the National leader who next becomes PM is not yet in Parliament.

      Or better, that National goes the way of the Liberals, United, Reform, Social Credit, along with United Future, and joins the great roll call of former NZ political parties. https://teara.govt.nz/en/political-parties

      From the wreckage, something worthwhile might be salvaged.

    • Peter 22.2
      20 August 2020 at 9:02 am

      He knows how borders work all right – you just push your way through where you want to get in / go out don't you?

      Maybe a leaflet can be printed and given to those arriving at or leaving airports:

      " Gerry Brownlee's easy airport lessons."

  23. PsyclingLeft.Always 23
    19 August 2020 at 6:34 pm

    Boofhead bully Brownlee…and his assault on a near 60 year old Neil Abel, half his size.

    Brownlee has always seemed to have that potential. No comical clown…just some level of vicious beneath a veneer.

  24. georgecom 24
    19 August 2020 at 9:07 pm

    Brownlee should do daily press conferences…he is the best reason to vote left

    I was reflecting that just a few weeks ago National was wanting borders open to foreign students and the private sector to run the quarantine, their former leader was promoting such. Fortunately we have a government who takes the lessons that come along and take steps to minimise them occuring again, heaven knows what National would have delivered us had they been in power.

  25. peter sim 25
    19 August 2020 at 9:55 pm

    Judith cannot do anything about brownlee. Nobody wants his job.

    • mac1 25.1
      20 August 2020 at 10:33 am

      He obviously wants it. It's his second go at it. The other National Deputy Leader to have two goes at the job was Bill English, and by outlasting John Key got the PM's job. Just relating facts………

  26. newsense 26
    20 August 2020 at 1:11 am

    Knighthood? American Ambassador?

  27. Austringer 27
    21 August 2020 at 6:06 pm

    The pair, one older than the other, old proper farm fence apprentices of their cult of profit exploit and business care and protection of profit and its exploit. For them both, it will make their time in the hoos of illusion and deceit either crowns of unbelief or a dunces seat up the back and only the uncaring self-serving would sit there after being so prominent. And the new outside farm but yet old new monied more ruthless for Profits exploits shall attempt to rule and with time shall.

  28. Austringer 28
    21 August 2020 at 9:18 pm

    Oops, Austringer, is not a big gun thing, I and my dog, with my Hawk, used to hunt rabbits.Austringer, is the name of a learner teaching Hawks, never tame a Hawk, like a Falcon, six weeks best done, snob thing Falconer, used to be a Austringer, a trainer if possible of Hawks.Real, flight caught, dog stay, open the rabbit give the share of the gisards to both bird and dog,and never fear among them, as they enjoyed the gisards.Austringer, a attemp trainer of Hawks, farmers ignorance these hawks look at them eating the unborn ,fool farmer.

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  • The very opposite of social investment
    Nicola Willis (in blue) at the signing of the coalition agreement, before being sworn in as both Finance Minister and Social Investment Minister. National’s plan to unwind anti-smoking measures will benefit her in the first role, but how does it stack up from a social investment viewpoint? Photo: Lynn Grieveson ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • Giving Tuesday
    For the first time "in history" we decided to jump on the "Giving Tuesday" bandwagon in order to make you aware of the options you have to contribute to our work! Projects supported by Skeptical Science Inc. Skeptical Science Skeptical Science is an all-volunteer organization but ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • Let's open the books with Nicotine Willis
    Let’s say it’s 1984,and there's a dreary little nation at the bottom of the Pacific whose name rhymes with New Zealand,and they've just had an election.Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, will you look at the state of these books we’ve opened,cries the incoming government, will you look at all this mountain ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • Climate Change: Stopping oil
    National is promising to bring back offshore oil and gas drilling. Naturally, the Greens have organised a petition campaign to try and stop them. You should sign it - every little bit helps, and as the struggle over mining conservation land showed, even National can be deterred if enough people ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • Don’t accept Human Rights Commission reading of data on Treaty partnership – read the survey fin...
    Wellington is braced for a “massive impact’ from the new government’s cutting public service jobs, The Post somewhat grimly reported today. Expectations of an economic and social jolt are based on the National-Act coalition agreement to cut public service numbers in each government agency in a cost-trimming exercise  “informed by” head ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • The stupidest of stupid reasons
    One of the threats in the National - ACT - NZ First coalition agreements was to extend the term of Parliament to four years, reducing our opportunities to throw a bad government out. The justification? Apparently, the government thinks "elections are expensive". This is the stupidest of stupid reasons for ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • A website bereft of buzz
    Buzz from the Beehive The new government was being  sworn in, at time of writing , and when Point of Order checked the Beehive website for the latest ministerial statements and re-visit some of the old ones we drew a blank. We found ….  Nowt. Nothing. Zilch. Not a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • MICHAEL BASSETT: A new Ministry – at last
    Michael Bassett writes – Like most people, I was getting heartily sick of all the time being wasted over the coalition negotiations. During the first three weeks Winston grinned like a Cheshire cat, certain he’d be needed; Chris Luxon wasted time in lifting the phone to Winston ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Luxon's Breakfast.
    The Prime Minister elect had his silver fern badge on. He wore it to remind viewers he was supporting New Zealand, that was his team. Despite the fact it made him look like a concierge, or a welcomer in a Koru lounge. Anna Burns-Francis, the Breakfast presenter, asked if he ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • LINDSAY MITCHELL:  Oranga Tamariki faces major upheaval under coalition agreement
     Lindsay Mitchell writes – A hugely significant gain for ACT is somewhat camouflaged by legislative jargon. Under the heading ‘Oranga Tamariki’ ACT’s coalition agreement contains the following item:   Remove Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 According to Oranga Tamariki:     “Section ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • BRIAN EASTON:  Peters as Minister
    A previous column looked at Winston Peters biographically. This one takes a closer look at his record as a minister, especially his policy record. Brian Easton writes – 1990-1991: Minister of Māori Affairs. Few remember Ka Awatea as a major document on the future of Māori policy; there is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Cathrine Dyer's guide to watching COP 28 from the bottom of a warming planet
    Is COP28 largely smoke and mirrors and a plan so cunning, you could pin a tail on it and call it a weasel? Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: COP28 kicks off on November 30 and up for negotiation are issues like the role of fossil fuels in the energy transition, contributions to ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Top 10 news links at 10 am for Monday, Nov 27
    PM Elect Christopher Luxon was challenged this morning on whether he would sack Adrian Orr and Andrew Coster.TL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere at 10 am on Monday November 27, including:Signs councils are putting planning and capital spending on hold, given a lack of clear guidance ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the new government’s policies of yesteryear
    This column expands on a Werewolf column published by Scoop on Friday Routinely, Winston Peters is described as the kingmaker who gets to decide when the centre right or the centre-left has a turn at running this country. He also plays a less heralded but equally important role as the ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    6 days ago

  • The New Government’s Agreements
    Last Friday, almost six weeks after election day, National finally came to an agreement with ACT and NZ First to form a government. They also released the agreements between each party and looking through them, here are the things I thought were the most interesting (and often concerning) from the. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    6 days ago

  • How many smokers will die to fund the tax cuts?
    Maori and Pasifika smoking rates are already over twice the ‘all adult’ rate. Now the revenue that generates will be used to fund National’s tax cuts. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The devil is always in the detail and it emerged over the weekend from the guts of the policy agreements National ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • How the culture will change in the Beehive
    Perhaps the biggest change that will come to the Beehive as the new government settles in will be a fundamental culture change. The era of endless consultation will be over. This looks like a government that knows what it wants to do, and that means it knows what outcomes ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago

  • No More Winnie Blues.
    So what do you think of the coalition’s decision to cancel Smokefree measures intended to stop young people, including an over representation of Māori, from taking up smoking? Enabling them to use the tax revenue to give other people a tax cut?David Cormack summed it up well:It seems not only ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago

  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #47
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 19, 2023 thru Sat, Nov 25, 2023.  Story of the Week World stands on frontline of disaster at Cop28, says UN climate chief  Exclusive: Simon Stiell says leaders must ‘stop ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Some of it is mad, some of it is bad and some of it is clearly the work of people who are dangerous ...
    On announcement morning my mate texted:Typical of this cut-price, fake-deal government to announce itself on Black Friday.What a deal. We lose Kim Hill, we gain an empty, jargonising prime minister, a belligerent conspiracist, and a heartless Ayn Rand fanboy. One door closes, another gets slammed repeatedly in your face.It seems pretty ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • “Revolution” is the threat as the Māori Party smarts at coalition government’s Treaty directi...
    Buzz from the Beehive Having found no fresh announcements on the government’s official website, Point of Order turned today to Scoop’s Latest Parliament Headlines  for its buzz. This provided us with evidence that the Māori Party has been soured by the the coalition agreement announced yesterday by the new PM. “Soured” ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • The Good, the Bad, and the even Worse.
    Yesterday the trio that will lead our country unveiled their vision for New Zealand.Seymour looking surprisingly statesmanlike, refusing to rise to barbs about his previous comments on Winston Peters. Almost as if they had just been slapstick for the crowd.Winston was mostly focussed on settling scores with the media, making ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago

  • When it Comes to Palestine – Free Speech is Under Threat
    Hi,Thanks for getting amongst Mister Organ on digital — thanks to you, we hit the #1 doc spot on iTunes this week. This response goes a long way to helping us break even.I feel good about that. Other things — not so much.New Zealand finally has a new government, and ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 week ago

  • Thank you Captain Luxon. Was that a landing, or were we shot down?
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Also in More Than A FeildingFriday The unboxing And so this is Friday and what have we gone and done to ourselves?In the same way that a Christmas present can look lovely under the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • Cans of Worms.
    “And there’ll be no shortage of ‘events’ to test Luxon’s political skills. David Seymour wants a referendum on the Treaty. Winston wants a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Labour’s handling of the Covid crisis. Talk about cans of worms!”LAURIE AND LES were very fond of their local. It was nothing ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago

  • Disinformation campaigns are undermining democracy. Here’s how we can fight back
    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Misinformation is debated everywhere and has justifiably sparked concerns. It can polarise the public, reduce health-protective behaviours such as mask wearing and vaccination, and erode trust in science. Much of misinformation is spread not ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
    A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Further humanitarian support for Gaza, the West Bank and Israel
    The Government is contributing a further $5 million to support the response to urgent humanitarian needs in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, bringing New Zealand’s total contribution to the humanitarian response so far to $10 million. “New Zealand is deeply saddened by the loss of civilian life and the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

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