Why did the chicken cross the road?

Written By: - Date published: 9:58 pm, September 21st, 2021 - 26 comments
Categories: covid-19, health, vaccines - Tags:

Us Kiwis have finally solved the age-old mystery that even confused the Babylonians. The answer is not 42, as some suspected, but it is because there’s a KFC on the other side. No pandemic, it seems, can keep Kiwis away from their beloved takeaways; the poor old Dodo never stood a chance, that much is obvious.

As devotees of the free market, the criminal circuit has got wind of this demand and under-supply of KFC and although it is possibly almost as harmful as drugs it may even be profitable enough to run the risk of being caught at a border check-point with a car boot full of KFC. We can be sure that because of this major crackdown of the black market supply chain the NZ Police will enjoy in increase in funding in Budget-2022, which should be aptly labelled the KFC Budget 2022 after the Wellbeing Budget 2021.

Please make no mistake, the malcontents are only interested in making money and profits. They’ll try to get their unwitting victims hooked and then addicted to Class A junk food from E-grade outlets. Bring back Peter Dunne, I say, and get junk food testing in place ASAP, especially of synthetic junk food so that the consumers at least know what they’re eating and don’t get unexpected food poisoning.

I have to admit that I feel sorry for the chicken because if was fairly safely cooped up in its bubble. However, there are forces at work that we all should fear. For example, the Leader of the main Death Squad in NZ has declared that ICU beds are the way to National salvation. I don’t know about you, but I prefer my own bed at home, partly because there’s a much higher chance that I will wake up still alive the next morning; I take a bad hangover or morning mood over Covid death any day. In any case, the quasi-hypocritical and pseudo-obese Leader of the main Death Squad may want to suggest extra ICU beds in South Auckland where they will be needed most because of larger proportion of Māori and Pasifika people living there. So, Talofa! We recognise authentic kindness from the heart when we can see the eyebrows.

The Government is doing a 13-dimensional juggling act on a high rope without a political safety net. One slight misstep and it could be all over. The pundits and pollsters below are barking and drooling below in anticipation of fresh fodder for their nefarious blog sites. Sampling their drool and testing their saliva might reveal the presence of nasty underlying attitudes towards others who are not as fortunate as they are or that they are as crazy as an oily bat out of hell, no offence to Meat Loaf.

According to some who cannot tell the difference between elimination and ejaculation, Government has all but eliminated the elimination strategy. The irony is that Government actually never eliminated a thing, it just showed a way to the Team of Five Million on how to do it. And they went for it and came out on top of the World. The current Delta dragon is harder to slay, but Government believes that the A-Team can do it again, although the whispering B-grade voices have become louder, more numerous, and more desperate, teaming up with a Groundswell of deniers, unbelievers, and self-anointed false prophets – the irony is immense. The conviction of the A-Team is under siege and the lure of KFC is strong. There’s no try; do or do not.

We must not despair, we must not judge, but we must do our bit in this drama for which there’s no playbook and no rulebook; we are building the plane as we are trying to keep it in the air although we can learn, but not copy or imitate, from some crashes overseas. If we make the right choices chances are that we can all enjoy our KFC by Christmas with friends and family.

This should give me enough time to book in a complete makeover because I have let standards slip somewhat in lockdown (and before …) and I don’t pretend to keep up the appearances no longer. I am starting to look and feel profoundly Palaeolithic and it is starting to scare me – I can’t even see my eyebrows anymore in the mirror – and nowadays I only use audio for those never-ending Teams and Zoom meetings because a black box with my name on their screens is easier on the eye, I reckon.

We are told that one of the right choices we can make right now is to get jabbed with a very fine needle containing 0.3 mL of a watery salty solution with a bit of fat (lipids) and sugar (sucrose) and containing 30 micrograms of the key ingredient called messenger RNA (mRNA), which is 15 times less than the weight of an unfed female flea.

Once inside our own cells, the mRNA gets read by the cells to make the spike protein that elicits the immune response; the message (mRNA) is destructed after a short time, as is the case with all mRNA. It is a nifty way to prime to body against any future invasions of the real virus. However, as always, prevention is better than cure and we are also told that personal hygiene, social distancing, and wearing mask protection are effective measures to keep the villainous virus out.

Unfortunately, for me personally, there is no meaningful difference between Lockdown Level 4 and Restrict Level 3. Even Reduce Level 2 is no picnic in the park for me either, but it is not all about me, is it? If Kiwis want to eat their KFC in the park then I’ll do my bit to make that possible. It is that simple.

26 comments on “Why did the chicken cross the road? ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Kiwijoker 1
    21 September 2021 at 11:05 pm

    A head less traveled perhaps?

  2. Gezza 2
    22 September 2021 at 3:15 am

    As the Covid-19 crisis began in 2020, NZME chief executive Michael Boggs wrote a letter to all New Zealanders. It promised the company’s publications and radio stations would uphold the “highest standards of journalism” during the pandemic.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/assets/news_crops/99236/eight_col_HoskingTakes1610.jpg

    Many of the company’s workers have done so, imparting information on how the virus spread, documenting its effects on low-paid workers, and delivering Q&As with experts.

    But its most popular, high-profile employee has struggled to live up to Boggs’ edict. Despite being hailed as a source of vital information, Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking seems to have used the pandemic to see how fast he can oscillate from opinion to contradictory opinion.

    These are the positions the morning talkback host has taken, in chronological order:

    1. We need to stop overreacting to coronavirus
    Hosking entered March 2020 thinking coronavirus is no big deal. On March 6, he argued Covid-19 isn’t a “killer virus” but merely a “virus that can kill” under the headline ‘Coronavirus hysteria is out of control’.
    2. The government shouldn’t be too quick to intervene in the economy
    Around the same time, Hosking was arguing the government shouldn’t be too quick about delivering stimulus to deal with the economic fallout from the pandemic. Under the headline ‘No need for coronavirus economic panic’, he wrote “these are tough, uncertain days, but they're still early days. Holding your nerve is a skill, hopefully not missing in this government.”
    3. The government should have been quicker to intervene in the economy
    Just over a week later, the man who urged the government to hold its nerve had vanished, replaced by one who couldn’t understand why it hadn’t acted faster. “The fact it isn't is yet another example of a government that has been caught in too many meetings, and doesn’t know how to be bold. You don't close your country on Saturday and tell us to wait three days to be told how the economic gaps are to be filled," Hosking wrote.
    4. We need to shut the country down
    After saying the response to Covid-19 amounted to “hysteria” on March 6, on March 23 Hosking called for the government to put the country into lockdown to deal with the spread of the virus.
    5. We didn’t need to shut the country down
    On April 1, Hosking returned to his original point: our fears over coronavirus are overblown. Despite criticising the government for not pushing the country into lockdown fast enough, he went back to saying it was an overreaction to put the country into lockdown.

    After an interview with Auckland University epidemiologist Simon Thornley, Hosking downplayed the danger posed by Covid-19, saying most of the people it kills are sick or elderly and may have died anyway of different causes
    … … … …

    Strangely, Hosking doesn’t appear to have ever acknowledged his views changed so much over the course of the month of March 2020, and might not even know they did. It’s possible that he exists in an eternal present where the past is eradicated every morning, just in time for Mike’s Minute to begin.

    Another possibility is that Hosking is more concerned with criticising the government than being consistent. That kind of oppositionality can have its place. But it’s arguably not appropriate during a public health crisis where getting people timely, accurate information can save lives.

    One of Newstalk ZB’s promotions for Hosking’s show reads ‘the vital news you need to know, here and now’. It would be nice if it lived up to that promise – at least for the length of the Covid-19 crisis.

    *Shamelessly plagiarised from an RNZ op ed at: https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch/audio/2018741210/mike-hosking-s-many-contradictory-takes-on-covid-19

    • Chris 2.1
      22 September 2021 at 8:59 am

      This should've been the post, and the author's piece a comment (if they'd felt the need).

      • Gezza 2.1.1
        22 September 2021 at 9:28 am

        Um. Thanks … I think?

        I remembered reading this OP last year, & The Hosk has been irritating me on his intemperate soap box of late. So I googled it, & did a bit of judicious editing.

        The pic in the link's a hoot too. On another blog, at another time, in a galaxy far, far away, I used to joke about him wearing his wife's jackets in his Mike's Minute rants.

        And I called him Jihadi Mike, becos of that scruffy beard. Altho after the LynnMall stabbing attack I won't be doing that any more.

        That OP sure sums Hosking up tho, imo. A talking head man, too fond of the sound of his own voice, & with plastic principles.

  3. Gezza 3
    22 September 2021 at 3:35 am

    “Unfortunately, for me personally, there is no meaningful difference between Lockdown Level 4 and Restrict Level 3. Even Reduce Level 2 is no picnic in the park for me either, but it is not all about me, is it?
    … … … …

    Ae. Much the same here. Reckon I’m gonna be hand-washing, scanning in, social distancing, & masking up until there’s absolutely so many people 2x vaxed in NZ that there’s no NEED to continue ALL of these measures.
    … … … …

    “If Kiwis want to eat their KFC in the park then I’ll do my bit to make that possible. It is that simple.”
    … … … …

    Yup. 👍🏼

    • Maurice 3.1
      22 September 2021 at 4:40 am

      2X vaxing will not remove the need for hand-washing, scanning in, social distancing, & masking up as it (the vax) does not prevent the spread of the virus but just reduces the severity of illness until it reduces in effect – the better option is apparently so called "natural immunity" obtained by exposure to the virus (something which the opening up will eventually expose us all to).

      Then there is the Mu variation already endemic in numerous US States and sure to arrive here in the future. Not to mention any variants produced by mutated virus surviving from the vaccinated here which may also arise.

      The whole paradigm has changed and we are not even aware of the unintended consequences.

      • Gezza 3.1.1
        22 September 2021 at 5:12 am

        Good points.

        I won't be making any changes to what I'm doing now until the official medical advice is to change.

        Haven't heard much about the Mu variant yet. You?

        When I first heard it mentioned a month or two ago they were saying it wasn't known yet how infectious it was compared to Delta – nor how severe symptoms were for those infected with it.

      • weka 3.1.2
        22 September 2021 at 9:01 am

        This from National Geographic 9/9/21 suggests the Mu is not necessarily worse than delta, and hasn’t become a dominant variant in the US.

        https://archive.is/L32AF

        looks complex to me, the virus adapting but also human response eg tracking. NZ is in a fairly unique situation, I agree we should be thinking about the long term strategies including *us adapting around new variants. Biggest threat to our ability to adapt as a society is fear, stress and mental health. This is why dirty politics and trumpian politics is so dangerous now.

  4. bwaghorn 4
    22 September 2021 at 7:01 am

    Getting caught with KFC is a cunning ploy by the the underworld, as the police will destroy the evidence 1 finger licking piece at a time, they will soon be to fat to run down the crooks !!

    • Gezza 4.1
      22 September 2021 at 7:23 am

      You've reminded me of when I was working as a public servant in a building behind Parliament a couple of decades back.

      Can't remember what the relevant issue was, but there was a major protest called for outside Parliament & the Police were clearly expecting it to be so big that a couple of us, out on a work errand, witnessed a whole troop of young policepersons (possibly recruits from the Porirua Police Training College) walking down a back pathway from Hill Street, coming to take up positions to keep protestors from ascending Parliament's front steps univited.

      And every one of them had a box of KFC in their hand. Their K(FC)-rations, obviously. 😀

  5. gsays 5
    22 September 2021 at 10:00 am

    South Park touches on this in the 'Medicinal Fried Chicken episode.

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bmjrTErn4bc

    Because of the health impacts of fried food, the local KFC is closed and a medicinal cannabis dispensary opens.

    This has Cartman running chicken over state lines and Stan’s dad trying to get testicular cancer so he can partake in the ganja.

  6. Tricledrown 6
    22 September 2021 at 10:43 am

    Localised lockdowns should be used instead of locking down whole cities.

    With these localised lockdowns high testing rates with plenty of testing sites as well as vaccination sites.

    The govt should give food vouchers petrol vouchers.and have drop off food parcels to those affected in localised lockdown areas.

    Our testing rates are very low compared to NSW.

    Vaccination vouchers for food could be given to everyone who gets immunised to speed up vaccination rates.

  7. Tricledrown 7
    22 September 2021 at 11:02 am

    A third gang a hells angels associate has tested positive for covid .These gangs could be the straw that break the camels back. As they don't follow authority maybe the person who sneaked into hospital while unknowingly having covid is a sign of things to come.

    We need to Vaccinate not sounding like a Dalek.

    Some people just refuse to follow societies rules and Covid sneaks through.

  8. Jenny how to get there 8
    22 September 2021 at 11:19 am

    ‘
    Why did the chicken cross the road?

    Because the there was no traffic on the road due to Level 4 lockdown.

    It's the same reason that covid infection rates went down.

    Could the chicken safely cross the road under Level 3.?????

    Probably not.

    Could covid infection rates go down under Level 3.????

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPlQGcWvCx8&t=2s

  9. Stuart Munro 9
    22 September 2021 at 11:46 am

    I heard that the chicken crossed the road because it was too long to go around it.

    It does seem an obvious inducement for the jab shy though – there being more flies caught with honey than vinegar.

  10. Maurice 10
    22 September 2021 at 12:06 pm

    One test not being done here is anti-body testing to ensure either vaxed response or natural immunity – Indeed this type of testing is simply not allowed here for when requested with routine blood tests one it told that this test is "not allowed".

    If we do not have data here for antibodies we do not have any idea about the level and status of immune response.

    Far more "scientific" to base lowered lock down levels upon high percentage society anti-body levels than just mere historic "jab" levels. This would also indicate if further booster jabs became needed to keep a plateau of immune response … in my inconsequential opinion!

  11. Muttonbird 11
    22 September 2021 at 6:26 pm

    Good to see Aucklanders quickly adapting to level 1 today.

    indecision

    • Drowsy M. Kram 11.1
      22 September 2021 at 7:41 pm

      NZ could adapt to rising daily case numbers by testing less. Eliminating COVID-19 has been really great – hope Kiwis don’t find out just how lucky we’ve been.

      Trump downplays spike in COVID-19 cases, blames media, increased testing for high numbers [24Oct2020]

      120,579 new cases and 1,927 new deaths in the United States [21Sept2021]

      • DukeEll 11.1.1
        23 September 2021 at 11:05 am

        lets aspire to be completely isolated from our friends and family as well the world. As long as there is zero covid, we are the greatest and it's un-kiwi to think otherwise

        • Drowsy M. Kram 11.1.1.1
          23 September 2021 at 11:30 am

          Agreed, "zero covid" is aspirational, achievable (in NZ), and has saved Kiwi lives – a fantastic result. Some people are OK with giving up the fight and living with COVID, and that's fine too – any number of countries went down that path early, and the results are plain for all to see.

          https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

          NZ will follow eventually, that’s for sure, but for now we’re still (just) in the enviable position of having a choice – when it comes to uncontained COVID outbreaks NZ shouldn't aspire to be a 'fast follower', imho.

          Unite against COVID-19
          https://covid19.govt.nz

    • Jimmy 11.2
      23 September 2021 at 2:20 pm

      Right through the level 4 lockdown, it was always level 1 at Okahu Bay with van loads of people turning up and hugging each other.

  12. esoteric pineapples 12
    23 September 2021 at 11:16 am

    No intelligent chicken would cross the road to visit a Kentucky Fried Chicken for obvious reasons

    • Maurice 12.1
      23 September 2021 at 12:20 pm

      How ever many, many unintelligent chickens do end up crossing that road and end up quite tasty ….. though that may be down to the secret herbs and spices

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    Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three.  ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago

  • Should the RBNZ be looking through climate inflation?
    Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours, as of 9:16 am on Thursday, April 18 are:Housing: Tauranga residents living in boats, vans RNZ Checkpoint Louise TernouthHousing: Waikato councillor says wastewater plant issues could hold up Sleepyhead building a massive company town Waikato Times Stephen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the public sector carnage, and misogyny as terrorism
    It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    1 day ago

  • Meeting the Master Baiters
    Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 day ago

  • How extreme was the Earth's temperature in 2023
    This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blog In 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 day ago

  • Backbone, revisited
    The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Ministers are not above the law
    Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • What’s the outfit you can hear going down the gurgler? Probably it’s David Parker’s Oceans Sec...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point  of Order first heard of the Oceans Secretariat in June 2021, when David Parker (remember him?) announced a multi-agency approach to protecting New Zealand’s marine ecosystems and fisheries. Parker (holding the Environment, and Oceans and Fisheries portfolios) broke the news at the annual Forest & ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Bryce Edwards writes  – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Matt Doocey doubles down on trans “healthcare”
    Citizen Science writes –  Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • A TikTok Prime Minister.
    One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • Texas Lessons
    This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    2 days ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links at 6:06 am
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours as of 6:06 am on Wednesday, April 17 are:Must read: Secrecy shrouds which projects might be fast-tracked RNZ Farah HancockScoop: Revealed: Luxon has seven staffers working on social media content - partly paid for by taxpayer Newshub ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Fighting poverty on the holiday highway
    Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago

  • Bernard's six-stack of substacks at 6:26 pm
    Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • At a glance – Is the science settled?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • Apposite Quotations.
    How Long Is Long Enough? Gaza under Israeli bombardment, July 2014. This posting is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...
    Bowalley Road
    3 days ago

  • What’s a life worth now?
    You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Howling at the Moon
    Karl du Fresne writes –  There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Newshub is Dead.
    I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Seymour is chuffed about cutting early-learning red tape – but we hear, too, that Jones has loose...
    Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago

  • Was Hawkesby entirely wrong?
    David Farrar  writes –  The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • PRC shadow looms as the Solomons head for election
    PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time. A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Climate Change: Criminal ecocide
    We are in the middle of a climate crisis. Last year was (again) the hottest year on record. NOAA has just announced another global coral bleaching event. Floods are threatening UK food security. So naturally, Shane Jones wants to make it easier to mine coal: Resources Minister Shane Jones ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • Is saving one minute of a politician's time worth nearly $1 billion?
    Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Long Tunnel or Long Con?
    Yesterday it was revealed that Transport Minister had asked Waka Kotahi to look at the options for a long tunnel through Wellington. State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    3 days ago

  • Smoke And Mirrors.
    You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • What is Mexico doing about climate change?
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • State of humanity, 2024
    2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Govt’s Wellington tunnel vision aims to ease the way to the airport (but zealous promoters of cycl...
    Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • The case for cultural connectedness
    A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Useful context on public sector job cuts
    David Farrar writes –    The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated.   While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell On When Racism Comes Disguised As Anti-racism
    Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    4 days ago

  • Govt ignored economic analysis of smokefree reversal
    Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • True Blue.
    True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • Who is running New Zealand’s foreign policy?
    While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago

  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #15
    A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 7, 2024 thru Sat, April 13, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week is about adults in the room setting terms and conditions of ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Feline Friends and Fragile Fauna The Complexities of Cats in New Zealand’s Conservation Efforts

    Cats, with their independent spirit and beguiling purrs, have captured the hearts of humans for millennia. In New Zealand, felines are no exception, boasting the highest national cat ownership rate globally [definition cat nz cat foundation]. An estimated 1.134 million pet cats grace Kiwi households, compared to 683,000 dogs ...

    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    5 days ago

  • Or is that just they want us to think?
    Nice guy, that Peter Williams. Amiable, a calm air of no-nonsense capability, a winning smile. Everything you look for in a TV presenter and newsreader.I used to see him sometimes when I went to TVNZ to be a talking head or a panellist and we would yarn. Nice guy, that ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Fact Brief – Did global warming stop in 1998?
    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Did global warming stop in ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • Arguing over a moot point.
    I have been following recent debates in the corporate and social media about whether it is a good idea for NZ to join what is known as “AUKUS Pillar Two.” AUKUS is the Australian-UK-US nuclear submarine building agreement in which … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    6 days ago

  • No Longer Trusted: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    Turning Point: “What has turned me away from the mainstream news media is the very strong message that its been sending out for the last few years.” “And what message might that be?” “That the people who own it, the people who run it, and the people who provide its content, really don’t ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago

  • Mortgage rates at 10% anyone?
    No – nothing about that in PM Luxon’s nine-point plan to improve the lives of New Zealanders. But beyond our shores Jamie Dimon, the long-serving head of global bank J.P. Morgan Chase, reckons that the chances of a goldilocks soft landing for the economy are “a lot lower” than the ...
    Point of OrderBy xtrdnry
    6 days ago

  • Sad tales from the left
    Michael Bassett writes –  Have you noticed the odd way in which the media are handling the government’s crackdown on surplus employees in the Public Service? Very few reporters mention the crazy way in which State Service numbers rocketed ahead by more than 16,000 during Labour’s six years, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • In Whose Best Interests?
    On The Spot: The question Q+A host, Jack Tame, put to the Workplace & Safety Minister, Act’s Brooke van Velden, was disarmingly simple: “Are income tax cuts right now in the best interests of lowering inflation?”JACK TAME has tested another MP on his Sunday morning current affairs show, Q+A. Minister for Workplace ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago

  • Don’t Question, Don’t Complain.
    It has to start somewhereIt has to start sometimeWhat better place than here?What better time than now?So it turns out that I owe you all an apology.It seems that all of the terrible things this government is doing, impacting the lives of many, aren’t necessarily ‘bad’ per se. Those things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • Minister to Europe for OECD meeting, Anzac Day
    Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    54 mins ago

  • Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the Philippines
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.  The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago

  • Government commits $20m to Westport flood protection
    The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago

  • Taupō takes pole position
    The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    19 hours ago

  • Cost of living support for low-income homeowners
    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners.  “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago

  • Government backing mussel spat project
    The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago

  • Government focused on getting people into work
    Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Clean energy key driver to reducing emissions
    The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Earthquake-prone buildings review brought forward
    The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic Partnership
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Government consults on extending coastal permits for ports
    RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Inflation coming down, but more work to do
    Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • School attendance restored as a priority in health advice
    Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Unnecessary bureaucracy cut in oceans sector
    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Patterson promoting NZ’s wool sector at International Congress
    Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector.    "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Removing red tape to help early learners thrive
    The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • RMA changes to cut coal mining consent red tape
    Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • McClay reaffirms strong NZ-China trade relationship
    Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Prime Minister Luxon acknowledges legacy of Singapore Prime Minister Lee
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.   Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • PMs Luxon and Lee deepen Singapore-NZ ties
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.  During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Antarctica New Zealand Board appointments
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner.  The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Finance Minister travels to Washington DC
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.  “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Pet bonds a win/win for renters and landlords
    The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Long Tunnel for SH1 Wellington being considered
    State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • New Zealand condemns Iranian strikes
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel.    “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says.    "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Huge interest in Government’s infrastructure plans
    Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Health Minister thanks outgoing Health New Zealand Chair
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board.   “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti.  “I have asked her to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Roads of National Significance planning underway
    The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.  “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Navigating an unstable global environment
    New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.   “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States.    “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • NZ welcomes Australian Governor-General
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Pseudoephedrine back on shelves for Winter
    Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • NZ and the US: an ever closer partnership
    New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Joint US and NZ declaration
    April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • NZ and US to undertake further practical Pacific cooperation
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further New Zealand cooperation with the United States in the Pacific Islands region through $16.4 million in funding for initiatives in digital connectivity and oceans and fisheries research.   “New Zealand can achieve more in the Pacific if we work together more urgently and ...
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  • Government redress for Te Korowai o Wainuiārua
    The Government is continuing the bipartisan effort to restore its relationship with iwi as the Te Korowai o Wainuiārua Claims Settlement Bill passed its first reading in Parliament today, says Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith. “Historical grievances of Te Korowai o Wainuiārua relate to 19th century warfare, land purchased or taken ...
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  • Focus on outstanding minerals permit applications
    New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals is working to resolve almost 150 outstanding minerals permit applications by the end of the financial year, enabling valuable mining activity and signalling to the sector that New Zealand is open for business, Resources Minister Shane Jones says.  “While there are no set timeframes for ...
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  • Applications open for NZ-Ireland Research Call
    The New Zealand and Irish governments have today announced that applications for the 2024 New Zealand-Ireland Joint Research Call on Agriculture and Climate Change are now open. This is the third research call in the three-year Joint Research Initiative pilot launched in 2022 by the Ministry for Primary Industries and Ireland’s ...
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  • Tenancy rules changes to improve rental market
    The coalition Government has today announced changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to encourage landlords back to the rental property market, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “The previous Government waged a war on landlords. Many landlords told us this caused them to exit the rental market altogether. It caused worse ...
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  • Boosting NZ’s trade and agricultural relationship with China
    Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay will visit China next week, to strengthen relationships, support Kiwi exporters and promote New Zealand businesses on the world stage. “China is one of New Zealand’s most significant trade and economic relationships and remains an important destination for New Zealand’s products, accounting for nearly 22 per cent of our good and ...
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  • Freshwater farm plan systems to be improved
    The coalition Government intends to improve freshwater farm plans so that they are more cost-effective and practical for farmers, Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay have announced. “A fit-for-purpose freshwater farm plan system will enable farmers and growers to find the right solutions for their farm ...
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