General Debate 05 May 2020

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General Debate

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krazykiwi

Our government has morphed quickly from bad, to borderline corrupt. The latest revelation is that Ardern has removed all scrutiny from its decisions at what is, without doubt, the most critical time in the history of our country.

Some of the most expensive decisions ever made by a New Zealand government will receive no scrutiny from its economic watchdog after Cabinet suspended Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA), due to Covid-19.

The impact of the government’s Covid-19 economic sabotage will be felt long after my new granddaughter enters the workforce, and long after I’ve shuffled off this mortal coil. There has never been a more important time for scrutiny.

Government decisions are accompanied by an RIA published by Treasury, which analysis the impacts of any changes, including an estimate of how much they’re likely to cost. Even when the Government moves quickly, it usually produces some form of assessment of regulatory changes. The gun buyback scheme, for example, was given an 18 page “Supplementary Analysis Report ‘ written by police and released by Treasury. But a Cabinet minute from 23 March reveals that the Government has decided to release itself from these obligations, where they relate to the impacts of the new coronavirus.

This government refuses to receive advice on the impacts of its ill-conceived plans, and doesn’t want to be accountable for the consequences of its decisions. However the government does want us to live under what appears to be an indefinite State of Emergency, and a continued retrenchment of our civil liberties.

Seymour said that it was alarming that the Government didn’t seem to value the RIA process. “If they’re saying that it provides no value that’s telling me they don’t value the property rights or any other rights of New Zealanders,” Seymour said.

David Seymour gets it. Scratch Ardern’s government and a deeply communist agenda lurks just below the surface. This latest move represents another step towards corrupt, totalitarian rule. There has never been a more crucial time to remove a New Zealand government from office.
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May 5, 2020 8:00am
- all true
  
  Soon there is no difference between the world 1930 to 1945 and the NZ Government 2020.
  
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  May 5, 2020 8:37am
- PhilBest
  
  Was it Muldoon who said “the average man in the street wouldn’t know a budget deficit if he tripped over it”?
  
  I fear that the average Kiwi in the street wouldn’t know a creeping totalitarian government if it tripped him up.
  
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  May 5, 2020 8:52am
  - Random T Person
    
    Absolutely. We are grown indolent through prosperity. I’m given to thinking about the decline of the Roman Empire when they sent their slaves off for conscription, etc.
    The fat o’ the land as Lemmy would say. Turns out it can be bad for you. What’s that other idiom? Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.
    
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    May 5, 2020 9:25am
    - Random T Person
      
      Lennie, not Lemmy (one was an imbecile, the other appeared in John Steinbeck’s novel).
      
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      May 5, 2020 9:50am
      - fernglas
        
        One was a comedian and the other played bass in Motorhead.
        
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        May 5, 2020 10:15am
    - Crisplion
      
      Well I guess the upside of that is, there might be a generation of strong men on the way. Time will tell.
      
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      May 5, 2020 11:17am
- PhilBest
  
  A friend of mine who is a staunch liberty lover has always said that the promoters of trams, cycle ways etc who are inherently anti cars and anti roads, are inherently evil people who in a different time and place would be an explicitly brutal ruling class. I’ve not been that extreme in my thinking but I am coming around. Where will people stop, when evidence and reason is completely inadequate to deflect them from imposing obviously lunatic policies on the public? The road to hell is paved with good intentions, but it is also paved with large doses of stupidity accompanied by the Dunning-Krueger effect at its highest order of magnitude.
  
  And these people think people like Kiwibloggers are “evil” for opposing their stupid ideas! So it doesn’t take much mental rationalization for them to start suppressing their opponents with whatever it takes, as their rule inevitably turns a nation more and more pear-shaped.
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:00am
- chukar
  
  This government has absolutely no respect for private property rights or other rights.— David Seymour
  
  This is the direct result of MMP where there is no accountability of political parties
  
  Private property rights are the cornerstone of any successful society without which degradation is inevitable.
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:06am
  - north island kiwi
    
    globalists don,t believe in private property we are just
    serfs to them, get it yet ?
    
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    May 5, 2020 10:33am
- KevO'Brien
  
  Treasury is unacceptable as an adviser–they are too independent and speak freely. MBIE are much to be preferred, they know what is agreeable.
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:08am
  - Paulus
    
    Treasury has a new boss from Australia – she sounds like an Irish (McLeish) Aussie.
    So I assume she is in awe of her fellow women – like new IRD boss too.
    
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    May 5, 2020 10:46am
    - KevO'Brien
      
      Is there a govt agency which hasn’t got a young woman in charge?
      
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      May 5, 2020 12:20pm
      - Simon Gotlieb
        
        Does that really matter to anyone other than scared old men?
        
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        May 5, 2020 2:28pm
- freethinker
  
  KK – Party vote ACT, 10 ACT MPs to keep National Honest and provide the common sense National lack.
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:23am
  - krazykiwi
    
    I like Seymore. I disagree with a number of his policy positions, but the man is direct and honest about what he stands for. And to-date he is the only politician committed to arresting our slide towards full-blown socialism, with successive National governments merely slowing the process.
    
    I’m undecided on how to vote, but a ‘Keep National Honest’ strategy I one I hope ACT never adopts. For obvious reasons.
    
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    May 5, 2020 9:36am
  - Liberty
    
    “to keep National Honest”
    
    I’m all for a ACT – National Government.
    What we don’t need is stupid statements such as “keep National Honest”
    ACT and National are not the same but are of like mind.
    The very opposite in the forming of a Government out of the “Coalition of losers”
    With the only thing in common The dislike of Chinese sounding names and a lust
    for power at any cost.
    
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    May 5, 2020 11:02am
  - Crisplion
    
    Seymour for Minister of Finance!
    
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    May 5, 2020 11:19am
- the deity formerly known as nigel6888
  
  Fucking unbelievable! “Please don’t bother telling us our ideas are incompetent, because we are going to do them anyway!”
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:49am
  - PhilBest
    
    Exactly!! This has a philosophical background that can be explained thus.
    
    All our logic, evidence, cost benefit analysis, the scientific method itself, are merely part of an articifial “construct” by which ancient “oppressions” are perpetuated. We now have a generation of graduates from Uni Humanities courses who have been trained to think this way.
    
    People like us who insist on evidence and things like cost benefit analysis are automatically proven “evil” because of it. All that matters is the nobility of intentions.
    
    And increasingly, bureaucracies are stacked with ideologically “correct” experts who can be relied on to produce “findings” that “rebut” what used to be logical and methodical. For example, we are now seeing the comment repeatedly quoted in the media, that bicycle lanes have “some of the highest benefit per unit of cost of anything we can spend public money on”. There are health benefits, congestion reduction benefits, etc etc and these benefits add up to more than the cost of stealing the road space off cars!
    
    It isn’t us who is evil, it is these people. It is time that cozy limp centre-right politicians woke up.
    
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    May 5, 2020 10:28am
  - Engelbert Humperdink
    
    https://www.theblaze.com/news/nobel-prize-winning-scientist-shares-covid-19-data-showing-strict-lockdowns-were-an-overreaction
    
    ‘…the damage done by lockdown will exceed any saving of lives by a huge factor’
    
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    May 5, 2020 11:18am
- Mark Craig
  
  Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
  I am astrong supporter of this govt,and if the gossip around the polls is correct so is the rest of the country.The trouble is we do not have a fix on the countries mood on account of the polls not being kosher.When I posed the question here yesterday ,the lemon lipped old tory trouts ,and the wing nut girly men all put their fingers in their ears and went nah nah nah .Grow up you buffoons,you want your team to run the country and you do not even trust your own MPS with your own poll results.WTF.I despaired for a short time and curiosity took me to that oik Slaters slimepit ,where he has helpfully listed the number of national parties roosters who are going to be out on their ares if the UMR horror show(for you lot) is accurate.Happiness was of course instantly restored ,it does please one to see that the oik and Hooten have kissed and made up.
  
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  May 5, 2020 10:15am
  - Tony Stuart
    
    Perhaps Mark, if you “posed the question” without giving people a gobful of abuse, you might get a response.
    
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    May 5, 2020 10:34am
    - Simon Gotlieb
      
      Surely you jest Tony, for abuse is stock in trade at Kiwiblog. For the other-thinkers are dangerous, and to be avoided at all cost. Witches, the lot of them 😉
      
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      May 5, 2020 2:30pm
      - Mark Craig
        
        Simon I am extremley grateful for your tailgunning efforts on my behalf.Luckily for me I have been battle hardenned by 20 years of jaw boning in Northland pubs with the cranky Toerie farmers up here.Funnily enough 2 of the most successful have spoken to me about their dismay at John Keys ability to empathise with strugglers .Both of these chaps are very very wealthy and succesful,the first one refers to him ,as a money fiddler ,the other says he has made a lot of money ,but not produced 1litre of milk,1 kilogram of beef meat and not a bale of wool.They vote National out of family habit as I vote Labour ,and I can respect that .Just as I respect them and what they have accomplished .That was then this is now ,cometh the hour cometh the woman .
        
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        May 5, 2020 3:11pm
    - tui47
      
      Apologies accidentally down ticked you when attempting to do the opposite!
      
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      May 5, 2020 4:31pm
  - krazykiwi
    
    Sadly Mark, the only ‘horror show’ right now is the one being run by the government that you support. With that support, you are endorsing the largest economic and social destruction in the history of our country, and doing so because you don’t like the other mob. That you can’t see past your entrenched sycophancy is pretty disappointing.
    
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    May 5, 2020 11:09am
    - Mark Craig
      
      And still you all run for cover ,what the hell ,when did the national party become such a hideaway for cowards.I am incredibly bad typist due to missing digits in industrial accident,so my grammar is truncated .
      
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      May 5, 2020 1:13pm
      - krazykiwi
        
        No one is ‘running for cover’, Mark. On the contrary it’s clear to me that most people here are sick of the Ardern government’s abuse of power .. and well up for a fight to restore NZ to some semblance of normality.
        
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        May 5, 2020 1:46pm
      - Simon Gotlieb
        
        Mark’s point is valid, as many here on this site are scared old men ranting at each other in their collective dismay that the world they knew has moved on and their ownership of it passed.
        
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        May 5, 2020 2:33pm
      - All_on_Red
        
        Ummm no Simon.
        Don’t know about the scared part but last time I checked ‘old men’ still owned the World.
        
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        May 5, 2020 2:36pm
      - The Proper Ghandi
        
        All_on_Red
        I know for a fact that Simon is an old white man himself.
        
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        May 5, 2020 3:31pm
      - Simon Gotlieb
        
        Hardly. I’m only just in my 50s.
        
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        May 5, 2020 4:55pm
  - Crisplion
    
    Unpleasant chap, aren’t you Mark?
    
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    May 5, 2020 11:21am
    - Mark Craig
      
      When I sold my business 20 years ago most of my 35 staff told me that I was the best boss they had ever worked for to that puts the lie to that Crispy.And even though it sounds paternal,I liked ,respected and admired them and how much they toiled for me .Ill health got in the way ,unfortunately .However before I went I got an award from the mayor of Auckland at the time from Les Mills ,for having the highest pecentage of disabled staff on the payroll.They were not all National party supporters .
      
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      May 5, 2020 1:49pm
      - calendar girl
        
        Not coy about discussing your own personal virtues, are you Mark?
        
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        May 5, 2020 5:52pm
  - JibberJabber
    
    Indeed, your semi-literate prose puts you fairly and squarely in the Labour camp of the Perfection of the Immaculate Jacinda and her mangling of the English language.
    As if we needed any confirmation.
    
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    May 5, 2020 11:25am
    - Simon Gotlieb
      
      Ad hominem (Latin for “to the person”), short for argumentum ad hominem, is a term that is applied to several different types of arguments, most of which are fallacious. Typically it refers to a fallacious argumentative strategy whereby genuine discussion of the topic at hand is avoided by instead attacking the character, motive, or other attribute of the person making the argument, or persons associated with the argument, rather than attacking the substance of the argument itself. The most common form of this fallacy is “A makes a claim a, B asserts that A holds a property that is unwelcome, and hence B concludes that argument a is wrong”.
      
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      May 5, 2020 2:34pm
      - The Proper Ghandi
        
        hypocrite (n.)
        c. 1200, ypocrite, “false pretender to virtue or religion,” from Old French ypocrite (12c., Modern French hypocrite), from Church Latin hypocrita “a hypocrite,” from Greek hypokritēs “stage actor; pretender, dissembler,” from hypokrinesthai (see hypocrisy).
        
        And no, that is not an ad hominem, because your comment is not an argument to be fallacious toward. My own comment is merely descriptive, given your recent form.
        
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        May 5, 2020 3:02pm
      - Simon Gotlieb
        
        Never said I was virtuous. Or religious. I just don’t agree with you.
        
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        May 5, 2020 4:56pm
      - The Proper Ghandi
        
        Whoosh! Disagreement is fine, but it is also beside the point. The point of my posting a definition of ‘hypocrisy’, if I may spell it out, is that you don’t or can’t argue, you just call people names. Therefore, it is blatantly hypocritical to accuse someone else of an ad hominem, as you do above, when you do so yourself. Self-awareness is a virtue. So you are correct there.
        
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        May 5, 2020 7:41pm
      - Simon Gotlieb
        
        Oh my goodness, what a load of absolute rot.
        Pointing out the inadequacies in another’s argument is most definitely not name-calling. Do try and keep up.
        
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        May 5, 2020 9:36pm
    - Scooter
      
      She’s not a perfectionist when it comes to her speech.
      
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      May 5, 2020 5:32pm
  - waldonz
    
    Tory?
    
    Ummm……wrong country.
    
    Just thought you might like to know.
    
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    May 5, 2020 11:41am
    - Mark Craig
      
      I learnt the term tory at my grandfathers knee,his family was nearly starved to death by Sid Hollands govt in the waterfront strike in 1951,the poulation was forbidden by the National party to even give food to strikers children.I think you will find that the combination of Coates and Forbes (conservative ) prolonged the misery in NZ in the early 1930 s luckily St Michael Savage came to the countries rescue .I am certain it will be a Saint Grant Robertson to the rescue as well.You conservatives have no shame you convenienetly forget the likes of Masseys cossacks as well,batonning men in the wellington streets .Luckily for you I am here to remind you of the many many foibles of your side .A job I relish ,and do not worry you can look forward to plenty of it.I am retitred now ,plenty of time for research and the family farm takes good care of me .The future is that bright ,flailing Toeries ,I got to wear shades .
      
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      May 5, 2020 1:27pm
      - All_on_Red
        
        Here you go Mark
        https://www.fishpond.co.nz/Books/Chambers-Adult-Learners-Guide-to-Spelling-Anne-Betteridge
        
        Enjoy your retirement.
        
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        May 5, 2020 1:49pm
      - PhilBest
        
        The watersiders union in 1951 were a pack of commie cold-war traitors. If the actual workers weren’t, then they shouldn’t have let these people “represent” them.
        
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        May 5, 2020 3:01pm
      - Ian Boag
        
        @PB
        
        I don’t think the Watersiders were overtly communist. No doubt there were some communist members, but so what? It’s not as if Moscow was calling the tune ….
        
        Belonging to a political party has not generally been an offense in NZ. They were a stroppy sort of union who went on strike. Had happened before and will no doubt happen again. Freedom and all that.
        
        What a good idea it might have been to not allow the union to elect its officials …. or at least until they elected someone that Holland might approve of.
        
        Funnily enough the most authoritarian PMs in NZ history were Massey, Holland and Muldoon. All good right wing men …
        
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        May 5, 2020 3:21pm
      - Mark Craig
        
        I could understand the downticks a bit better if anything I said was factually incorrect ,but if you flaccid twerps cannot rebut my arguments well shame on you .
        
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        May 5, 2020 3:25pm
      - JibberJabber
        
        And yet a few short years earlier these Wharfie holy warriors for workers rights, went on strike when my relatives were overseas fighting and dying for the very freedoms that you and Saint Cindy currently enjoy but are now trying to destroy.
        You`re not going get any sympathy for selfish workshy Unionists from me.
        Save your BS for the Standard.
        
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        May 5, 2020 3:27pm
  - KevO'Brien
    
    Cripes, another Fraser House telephonist.
    
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    May 5, 2020 12:23pm
    - Mark Craig
      
      I am a sort of amatuer (very ) military student.In my humble opinion the Russians saved our arse in WW2.Of course they had a huge amount of material help from the western allies.Thank heavens.They paid an enormous price ,made much worse by the mass murderer ,and military fuckwit Stalin.My man of the century last was Marshall Zhukov,if not for his brilliant efforts at Stalingrad ,we would all be goose stepping and speaking German.At the time 1951 there was still a residual of gratitude amongst the working class for what the Russkies had done.They sufferred as much brutality as the Jews,sometimes from their own side.It is a tragedy that it took till Gorbachev for the Russians to get a leader that was worthy of them.I am now completley dismayed we have Trump ,Xie and Putin.Cry my beloved earth.
      
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      May 5, 2020 4:06pm
    - Mark Craig
      
      My grandfather was overseas as well as a construction Sgt in the air force in Fiji ,building runways ,so what right did Holland have to starve him and his family.I await with baited breath your fulsome reply.Or not .
      
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      May 5, 2020 4:22pm
      - Mark Craig
        
        Ps he left 5 children at home my grandmother had been forced to bring up while he was in the conservative political relief camps
        in Ohaewai.Then went to war ,then got starved out well done you worthless pygmies .
        
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        May 5, 2020 4:29pm
      - KevO'Brien
        
        I remember wharfies well–minimal work, maximum inconvenience, top of the pay charts. They really puckerrood employment and you had to belong to their union to get the perks.
        
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        May 5, 2020 8:11pm
  - Chris Walden
    
    Ahhh…..name calling.
    
    Speaks volumes about your character.
    
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    May 5, 2020 12:33pm
    - Mark Craig
      
      [Mod – deleted. If you continue to abuse people, your stay here will be brief]
      
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      May 5, 2020 1:37pm
      - Mark Craig
        
        So I get to be called a twat ,and a response in kind is squashed .Go figure .In the past I was threatened with a well polished brogue up me virginal fundamental orrifice .I think the chap may have been a frustated chutney ferret ,however ,you guys let that slide. If Mr Farrar wants this to be an echo chamber he should just say so.It would be a pity as I really enjoy robust political debate ,and there has been more here than any where .And jibes and abuse are just par for the course.
        [ Polite notice : grumping at the moderators is not a good idea ]
        
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        May 5, 2020 1:57pm
      - Simon Gotlieb
        
        Alas Mark, there are many here on this site who fear the possibility of a view different to their own, and they will cherry-pick the slightest of errors to seize upon as evidence of the invalidity of any of your points. Not many here can argue successfully (although there are some gems) and the best you can hope for is that there will be one sane voice among the howls from the poo-flinging monkeys who will make your time worth it.
        
        I tell you, Fraser House ain’t paying us enough to put up with some of the people on this site. 😉
        
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        May 5, 2020 2:37pm
      - krazykiwi
        
        Mark, you arrived on this thread (and perhaps at kiwiblog) with:
        
        “lemon lipped old tory trouts ,and the wing nut girly men … baffoons …”
        
        .. then continued only to get pinged for abuse by a moderator.
        
        How about debating without hurling abuse? You might enjoy it for a change.
        
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        May 5, 2020 3:17pm
- Stellaboxer
  
  Living in this country at present is like being the only sober person in a car full of drunks only I’m sitting in the back. After 28 years and millions paid in taxes and bringing up children here I am seriously considering leaving. A heartbreaking thing to have to admit. After reading posts on FB labour page literally worshipping this woman in power I have lost faith in the community. We have sleep walked into a nightmare. Very distressing.
  
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  May 5, 2020 11:26pm
Sir Cullen's Sidekick

Welcome to “pefectionist Cindy” management school for Covid-19. Another day, another ruined business, more people losing their jobs.
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May 5, 2020 8:03am
- Illegally Imprisoned in Cindy's Jail
  
  But internationally it makes Jacinda look ‘perfect’.
  
  Be kind.
  
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  May 5, 2020 8:38am
  - Random T Person
    
    Was she being kind to Duncan Garner yesterday, mocking him like that? I liked his answer. “It’s OK if you want to get personal, I’m just asking the question.”
    
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    May 5, 2020 9:56am
- rockape
  
  Was Kiwibuild “perfect” or just a perfect clusterfuck?
  
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  May 5, 2020 8:39am
  - KevO'Brien
    
    What build? Twitmouse underwrote developers who couldn’t market their properties to anyone else.
    
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    May 5, 2020 12:26pm
- emmess
  
  Perfectly destroying the economy
  Over twice as well as the Aussies according to forecasts
  
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  May 5, 2020 8:43am
  - tf78
    
    Last night Peta Credlin mentioned Jacinda’s conference with ScoMo as just a side show.
    Jacinda is so condescending she referred to him as PM Morrison, I’ve never heard him refer to her as PM Ardern, it’s always Prime Minister. She is totally classless.
    
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    May 5, 2020 9:18am
    - Faroffsound
      
      A couple of months ago Jacinda was oozing righteous indignation about the Australians exporting Kiwi-born crims.
      
      Now she wants the Aussies to help keep our tourism industry afloat. Never can tell when you’re going to need a favour ….
      
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      May 5, 2020 9:46am
      - Simon Gotlieb
        
        Your argument appears to be that if you dislike one thing about another party then you must dislike everything about that other party.
        
        It was a strategy I found effective when I was two years old. However, I’ve matured since then. It appears some others may not have.
        
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        May 5, 2020 2:39pm
    - tui47
      
      Jacinda believes she holds the high moral ground over Morrison. She will be secretly irritated that Australia is getting international praise for dealing with the pandemic without destroying their economy.
      
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      May 5, 2020 4:39pm
  - Close Hen Counters
    
    Nothing to see here according to ANZ boss on Q&A last night making out the difference between the two countries is merely semantic …. pity she is also a big jacinda fan girl
    
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    May 5, 2020 9:25am
    - rockape
      
      I gathered that when the head of ANZ used the expression, ” NZ went hard and early” i switched off to all she said after that.
      
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      May 5, 2020 9:34am
- Ruahine
  
  I feel it is actually vanity is the reason we are all being treated like criminals.
  Always playing up to the overseas media who have their NZ based little helpers writing fluff stories.
  
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  May 5, 2020 8:46am
- RW Capitalist
  
  Garner on AM Show said 1000 per day signing up for the dole.
  I suspect he’s a bit light.
  But that’s about an increase of 1% every 3 weeks in the unemployment rate.
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:08am
  - Tony Stuart
    
    That number will soon grow as employers start to issue redundancy notices four weeks before the 12-week wage subsidy payment ends.
    
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    May 5, 2020 9:26am
    - The Proper Ghandi
      
      Yip. My employer has advised they are now in the process of “restructuring.” I think I am reasonably safe, but I feel for some of my colleagues ?
      
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      May 5, 2020 10:17am
      - Swifty
        
        Best wishes TPG.
        
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        May 5, 2020 11:04am
      - Tony Stuart
        
        I second that. Sadly, few people’s jobs are safe in this environment.
        
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        May 5, 2020 12:35pm
      - Roberta
        
        Best of luck. I’m in the same boat. Been told our company will be half the size due to Jacinda Arderns decisions. The real job losses have not begun.
        
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        May 5, 2020 8:50pm
  - tui47
    
    I have had Labour supporters disagree with me on social media for mentioning the number of job losses. They don’t believe it and demand that I post the link.
    
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    May 5, 2020 4:41pm
- cas
  
  If she’s a perfectionist she could certainly use some perfectioning of her pronunciation. I screamed at the word jepradise on TV last night instead of jeopardise. And don’t get me started on all the other words.
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:23am
  - Overworked
    
    “Supmthink” still gets my vote.
    
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    May 5, 2020 11:33am
- The Proper Ghandi
  
  “Perfectionists” don’t end up on a path to becoming career politicians straight out school with no other experience to speak of.
  
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  May 5, 2020 10:20am
  - Simon Gotlieb
    
    Your argument contains two logical fallacies.
    1. You derive a sense of competence based on the way somebody talks. It is fallacious because accent is no indicator of competence.
    2. You seem to believe our Prime Minister has similar experience to a school leaver. When the truth is, she is approaching 40 years old. You also suffer from a common misconception on this site that the primary experience for political success should be business-related, when history shows the vast majority of competent leaders in politics have not come from a business background.
    
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    May 5, 2020 2:45pm
    - The Proper Ghandi
      
      1. Irrelevant. Who mentioned anything about the way somebody talks? I didn’t
      
      2. Also mostly irrelevant. Nice straw man though.
      
      My comment doesn’t fundamentally hinge on business experience. It’s a relevant factor though, when the PM and the FM have zero direct experience of operating under market forces. Except wrapping deep fried food.
      
      Politics is not really about theory. One can theorise about it in the abstract, but it is essentially an applied, practical science. Take away the theory, and you still have the practical heart of the enterprise. So that is your first misunderstanding. Politics is about understanding and therefore relating to people, especially people who themselves have a range of life experience foreign to your own. That does not apply to Ardern.
      
      When someone like Ardern (and Robertson, and Clark, and others) have limited experience outside of the cloistered and self-congratulatory world of the theoreticians occupying the halls of academia or political institutions (of which I have some direct experience over the course of acquiring two degrees, so I can speak with authority about my characterisations) then, for the reason I give above, I am not confident that they have much of a clue about a wide range of the electorate.
      
      For instance, they think that shutting down an entire national economy for weeks on end is a viable option, and also that this extreme action will somehow prevent a virus from the inevitable infections it will cause regardless of what they do in the short term. Sounds good in theory; not so good in practice.
      
      Perfectionists, in my estimation and experience, do not seek a comfortable job for life directing people who are far more able than they are: they get out there and achieve something tangible, usually despite people like career politicians, not because of them.
      
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      May 5, 2020 3:29pm
- zulumonster
  
  “Perfect is the enemy of good”
  
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  May 5, 2020 3:44pm
- Mark Craig
  
  Well stop acting it out Krazy Kiwi .Stop being old [Deleted – Mod] .
  
  [Mod: Second and final warning]
  
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  May 5, 2020 4:15pm
Tricati

Should we be concerned that the government has given itself powers to over-ride our immigration processes and to approve expenditure on projects it selects without treasury oversight or input.
Seems the totalitarian regime is nearly up to full speed – Hang on folks. Things are going to get messy.
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May 5, 2020 8:04am
- KevO'Brien
  
  Time for the GG to step in. This COL has far exceeded its mandate.
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:09am
- PhilBest
  
  I hope National finally finds the knives it has failed to bring to the political knife fight for the last 20 years. The coming election campaign has to get real.
  
  I don’t necessarily think Simon has to be replaced. He just has to get convincing about what is at stake now. There has to be a point beyond which Labour and the Watermelons go, where National WILL stop just capitulating “because we can’t fight this because media power, etc etc”. We are where we are partly because National has been wishy-washy about the urban anti-car, anti-freedom, anti-Pavlova Paradise assault.
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:09am
- Dougal10
  
  Will immigration processes include the ability for people to leave NZ as well. AKA east Germany
  
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  May 5, 2020 11:01am
- Engelbert Humperdink
  
  Well, if you’re a migrant worker in Queenstown with no money or job or tickets home – and home is a shothile – and this Government gives you a longstay visa and access to all the benefits / housing / education we Kiwis have paid for all our working lives – would you not now and forevermore vote for St Jacinda the Kind?
  
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  May 5, 2020 11:20am
Scott

Over here at Biden watch we see another major gaffe from the hopeful president in waiting?? In an interview with Morning Joe he laments the 600,000 American dead because of the virus. He repeats the number, 600,000, before the host gently corrects him. It’s 60,000. He’s off by a factor of 10!

To be fair this is what you get when someone gets a bit old. They forget numbers, they get numbers wrong, they make mistakes. Anyone whose been around elderly people sees it all the time.

But here’s the question. How the heck is this guy going to be president of the United States?

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2020/05/joe-biden-cant-be-president-3.php
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May 5, 2020 8:04am
- kowtow
  
  Won’t be a headline at stuffed or any other of our Media Party outlets , now had it been the other guy……
  
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  May 5, 2020 8:37am
- mikenmildagain
  
  He’s not fit to fetch the president’s covfefe.
  
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  May 5, 2020 8:40am
  - Ed Snack
    
    Trump puts his name on things because of his ego, Biden puts his name on things so he can remember it…
    
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    May 5, 2020 11:00am
- PhilBest
  
  Isn’t ironic in this era of progressive condemnation of “old white males”, especially Donald Trump who will be America’s oldest ever President if he wins 2020: the Democrats come up with their “best offer” alternative of an EVEN OLDER white male!!!
  
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  May 5, 2020 8:49am
- Bobba Fret
  
  That is hilarious. Although to be fair, is the intelligence bar actually that high to become president?
  Even George Bush had trouble spelling “potato”.
  
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  May 5, 2020 8:51am
  - the deity formerly known as nigel6888
    
    that was Dan Quayle I believe
    
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    May 5, 2020 9:51am
    - Bobba Fret
      
      Thanks…for some reason I thought it was George.
      
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      May 5, 2020 10:19am
  - dave_c_
    
    And trouble reading books to the kindy kids. Couldn’t even hold it up the right way.
    
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    May 6, 2020 1:57pm
- cmm
  
  At least he’ll never remember the launch codes!
  
  Far more worrying is how he is taking more of a back seat and is getting his missus to do all the work.
  
  Poor old coot belongs in a rest home. He’s not up to the job.
  
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  May 5, 2020 8:51am
  - PhilBest
    
    But if there is a President who won’t remember the launch codes, mightn’t a coalition of enemies with ICBM’s find their temptation to take America out, increased?
    
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    May 5, 2020 9:11am
  - krazykiwi
    
    Spitting Image’s Reagan in a nursing home … no problem with the launch codes 🙂
    
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    May 5, 2020 9:15am
- Rich Prick
  
  If Jill was kind she’d sit him in a comfy chair, fetch his slippers and throw a rug over him.
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:02am
- freethinker
  
  Scott – Biden won’t even be the candidate, the DemonRats will conspire to have a brokered convention to slip Killary in with Pochohontas (Waters) as running mate – just imagine two females running the US, what could possibly go wrong apart from everything?
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:28am
  - Scott
    
    Freethinker – I think you raise a good point? I wonder whether the liberal media is so concerned that an addled Biden won’t be able to beat Trump?
    Maybe they’re turning on him? Is it possible he could be replaced by the Democrat hierarchy who are worried that he will lose badly to Trump?
    
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    May 5, 2020 10:35am
    - mikenmildagain
      
      Current polling would suggest no such concern.
      
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      May 5, 2020 10:51am
      - Ed Snack
        
        Does depend on what poll’s you look at. Anyway, Biden won’t be the candidate, he’s too far gone already.
        
        Did you see the New York magazine (not The Newyorker) article, headed with something like “Joe Biden’s doing the right thing staying silent and out of the public eye…”. Kind accidental truth, but he cannot remain completely hidden for a campaign and his mental deterioration will be all too obvious if he has to appear in public, unscripted. Even the most sycophantic media (ie nearly all of them) won’t be able to cover for him.
        
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        May 5, 2020 11:07am
      - Batman
        
        It’s going to be fun watching this strategy of Biden’s mental acuity over the next six months.
        
        I’ve got plenty of popcorn on hand for it.
        
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        May 5, 2020 11:54am
      - Scott
        
        Good point Mikey but a tad superficial. Biden has low enthusiasm among his supporters, Trump high enthusiasm among his. Trump generally outperforms his polls. There is such a thing as a shy Trump voter who doesn’t want to state his preference to pollsters.
        
        I think if things start to bounce back in the economy then Trump will win. If things are still bad in Nov then Biden has a chance.
        
        But again, will the dems replace Biden before then?
        
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        May 5, 2020 12:25pm
      - Ed Snack
        
        What “strategy of Biden’s mental acuity” ?
        
        I do invite you to watch his recent press conferences/interviews/etc and note how he loses the thread of what he saying on frequent occasions. Then for a real idea of how he has changed, find some interviews from, say, two years ago and watch them. The change is very noticeable, and it will be obvious to any unbiased viewer that Biden is struggling now.
        
        I wonder just how the Democrats are going to cope with this, there’s no real treatment available for what ails Joe. He won’t be able to debate Trump, he isn’t capable any more, so do they refuse to appear in the usual debates ?
        
        Or are you arguing that this is a trick, some kind of scripted performance where Joe just looks like he’s losing it ? Then having lured the Trump campaign into underestimating him he comes out swinging (not literally though that must be a risk) in the debates and scores big time ?
        
        Or is it that you can’t see the problem in his recent performances ? You think his demanour, forgetfulness, genuine confusion, really aren’t there and he’s normal ?
        
        I’d be interested to know what your or any Biden supporters point of view is. Is he just his usual self ?
        
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        May 5, 2020 3:35pm
  - The Proper Ghandi
    
    Biden has said (or his advisors have told him to say) that he should have a black female VP. Stacey Abrams (see article below) has been talked about as a possibility. She is a radical leftist, and an virulent anti-white racist.
    
    If Biden somehow managed to win and then died or was mentally incapacitated, she would become the President. Hypothetical, but possible.
    
    The following is a New York Times article by Michelle Goldberg from October 29 2018, titled “We Can Replace Them”
    
    (i.e. replacement is not a “far-right conspiracy theory”: they admit it themselves)
    
    [Note: for context, the terms “racist” and “white supremacist/nationalist” are synonymous with simply “white.”]
    
    For a few hours on Saturday morning, I felt good about America. I was at a smallish rally in the Atlanta suburb of Riverdale, listening to Democratic politicians including Senator Kamala Harris and Georgia’s Stacey Abrams, who could become the first African-American female governor in American history. Abrams told a story she often repeats on the campaign trail, about being 17 and arriving at the governor’s mansion for a reception for Georgia’s high school valedictorians.
    
    Her family didn’t have a car, and she described getting off the bus and walking with her parents along a driveway to a set of black gates. A guard approached, and she remembered him saying, “This is a private event — you don’t belong here.”
    
    Though they were eventually let in, Abrams recalled little of the event itself. “The only clear memory I have of that day is a man standing in front of the most powerful place in Georgia, looking at me and telling me I don’t belong,” she said. “But with your help in 10 days we will open those gates wide!” The crowd stood, applauding and cheering, as Abrams said, “Because this is our Georgia!”
    
    When the rally was over I checked the news. Reports of the killings at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh were coming in. The social media posts of the man arrested in the shootings echoed a lie being peddled by Donald Trump, Fox News and some Republican politicians, which paints a group of bedraggled migrants about a thousand miles away as a dangerous invading horde subsidized by a shadowy puppet master. The gunman’s rampage, believed to be the deadliest anti-Semitic massacre in American history, came on the heels of a bomb campaign against leading Democrats that the police say was carried out by a fanatical Trump supporter, and by what the authorities describe as the racist murder of two African-Americans in their 60s at a Kentucky supermarket.
    
    Right now America is tearing itself apart as an embittered white conservative minority clings to power, terrified at being swamped by a new multiracial polyglot majority. The divide feels especially stark in Georgia, where the midterm election is a battle between Trumpist reaction and the multicultural America whose emergence the right is trying, at all costs, to forestall.
    
    “Any time there is progress made there will always be moments of retrenchment,” Abrams said to me later on Saturday. But, she added, “what I am more excited about is the counterforce that we’re seeing in the number of people running for office who represent a much more forward-looking, progressive vision.”
    
    Abrams’s goal is to put together a coalition of African-American and other minority voters and white liberals. The potential is there; Georgia is less than 53 percent non-Hispanic white. “Georgia is a blue state if everybody votes,” DuBose Porter, chairman of the Democratic Party of Georgia, told me.
    
    Abrams’s opponent, the Georgia secretary of state Brian Kemp, ahead by a couple of percentage points in the polls, doesn’t want to see that happen. Last week, Rolling Stone obtained audio of Kemp telling donors of his “concern” about what might happen in Georgia “if everybody uses and exercises their right to vote.” As the secretary of state overseeing his own election, he’s taken steps to make that harder. His office has frozen new voter registrations for minor discrepancies with official records, and, starting in 2012, purged around 1.5 million people from the voter rolls — some simply because they didn’t vote in previous elections. He’s fighting a court order to stop rejecting absentee ballots over questions about the authenticity of their signatures.
    
    Kemp is the candidate of aggrieved whiteness. During the primary, he ran an ad boasting that he drives a big truck “just in case I need to round up criminal illegals and take ’em home myself.” (That would be kidnapping.) A person who claimed to be a Kemp canvasser recently wrote on the racist website VDare, “I know everything I need to know about what happens when blacks are in charge from Detroit, Haiti, South Africa, etc.” Kemp cannot be blamed for the words of his volunteers, but he’s made little discernible effort to distance himself from bigots. This month he posed for a photograph with a white nationalist fan in a T-shirt saying, “Allah is not God, and Mohammad is not his prophet.”
    
    Racists in Georgia, like racists all over America, are emboldened. A schoolteacher in Atlanta told me that over the weekend K.K.K. fliers were strewn around his suburb.
    
    But the forces of democracy are rising, too. In Georgia’s highly diverse Seventh District, Carolyn Bourdeaux, part of the wave of women inspired to run for office by revulsion at Trump, is challenging Representative Rob Woodall, a Republican. Bourdeaux said that the Seventh, a majority-minority district with immigrants from all over the world, has been on the front lines of voter suppression. Nevertheless, her campaign said that early-voting turnout has reached presidential levels.
    
    On Saturday morning, Abrams closed by reminding the crowd of Kemp’s views on democracy. “He said he is concerned that if everyone eligible to vote in Georgia does so, he will lose this election,” she said. “Let’s prove him right.” In a week, American voters can do to white nationalists what they fear most. Show them they’re being replaced.
    
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    May 5, 2020 11:29am
    - Batman
      
      So your take on the revival of the old racist America in the south is to claim that the other side is racist?
      
      You’re quite the comedian.
      
      As for your take on Abrams, you’re confusing her with the GOP and the election theft that went down there.
      
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      May 5, 2020 12:00pm
      - Ed Snack
        
        Going overboard a bit there Batman. Abrams lost quite legitimately and by quite a margin, yet she has yet to accept that, inventing stories of voter suppression. She’s simply a black racist, with a good money making hustle.
        
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        May 5, 2020 3:44pm
      - The Proper Ghandi
        
        Did you read the article?
        
        They explicitly admit that they are replacing the white people who would never in a million years vote for someone like Abrams, with non-white immigrants. The title is “We will replace them.” It’s subject and it’s author hate white people. That makes them racist (by the literal sense, not by the functional sense the Leftists use).
        
        The left love illegal Mexicans and other ethnic minorities: in vast proportions, they, and the legal imports, support the big government, identity politics and insane welfare pretensions of the Democrats. The “progressive” ideas are so bad, that they have to literally change the voters. Same thing is happening here: in a few decades (if not sooner) no genuinely Conservative/Right wing party will ever attain power. The writing is on the wall if the trajectory remains the same.
        
        You also obviously have no appreciation that, as I noted at the top, ALL white people are “white supremacists” “racists” “Nazis” and such. If “all white people without distinction are x, y or z” then that is licence to wipe them out. Remember the “punch a Nazi” meme? That really means “punch a white person.” Simply because they are white.
        
        If you are a “white liberal” then that won’t help you either: look at the guy in London who was stabbed by a Muslim immigrant’s son on the bridge. His wokeness didn’t save him, because his killer didn’t give a shit – the guy was white (i.e. not one of his own), end of story. This is precisely the danger that I am pointing out: Abrams and her ilk pathologically hate all white people. All groups except the majority of white people think primarily in terms of the tribe. In-group preference. Black Lives Matter don’t care that most blacks who are murdered are murdered by other blacks. It’s fine when it’s in-group: not when someone from another group is the perpetrator (or even acting in self-defence). Caucasians are in a the midst of a war; they are the target and they don’t even know it.
        
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        May 5, 2020 3:56pm
      - Simon Gotlieb
        
        The problem with your argument mate, is that you deal completely in attempting to use outliers as generalisations.
        
        A very small minority of left-leaning people say one thing, so all left-leaning people think that. If anything the left is a much wider spectrum than the right.
        
        For goodness sake, call out appalling behaviour where you see it; fair enough. But don’t suggest that it represents everybody and use that to further suggest that those of that group are lesser because of it.
        
        That way lies war and atrocity.
        
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        May 5, 2020 5:04pm
- Stu2
  
  Why would you want either of them?
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:34am
  - mikenmildagain
    
    Because, like it or not, that will be choice American voters have. Sure, a voter could stay home, or vote for a third party candidate, but that effectively is an endorsement of who ever is chosen by the majority of those voting for the republican or democratic candidates.
    
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    May 5, 2020 10:54am
    - Ed Snack
      
      Though sometimes a third party can take enough votes to swing the result. I think Ross Perot did that.
      
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      May 5, 2020 11:09am
      - mikenmildagain
        
        Perot’s campaign did not affect the overall outcome, as his support was strongest in states that had large majorities for Bush or Clinton. There was probably more impact on the final result from Gary Johnson running in 2016.
        
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        May 5, 2020 12:07pm
      - Ed Snack
        
        I think you are wrong about Perot Mikey. In most states lost by Bush in the election the combined Bush/Perot vote significantly exceeded Clinton’s vote. Sure, not every Perot vote was a lost Bush vote, some would have been Clinton voters or non voters, but Perot took a significantly larger chunk of Bush’s vote compared to Clinton’s.
        
        At one point in June Perot actually led the polls, ahead of both Bush and Clinton. then for some reason he dropped out, only to reenter about 6 weeks later.
        
        In modern elections I think his total of 19% of the votes is a record for a third party candidate. George Wallace in 1968 only scored 13.5% but did win several states and 45 electoral votes.
        
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        May 5, 2020 3:58pm
      - mikenmildagain
        
        I agree with some of that. but from what I have read, Perot’s votes came more evenly from Democratic and Republican voters than you suggest. It is probably impossible to be definitive with the data.
        It reminds me of the sometimes of the claim that Bob Jones’s NZ Party tilted the 1984 NZ election to Labour. Although he scored over 10% of the vote, electorate-by-electorate results suggest it did not make much overall difference.
        
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        May 5, 2020 5:58pm
  - Michael NZ
    
    no we need Trump.
    For we need America to turn away from the course the Bushes and Clinton put them on.
    
    America is the city on the hill, even if they are a failed state right now…
    
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    May 5, 2020 11:01am
- north island kiwi
  
  have,nt the CDC just revised their numbers they say
  deaths from this flu are 37,000 down from 60,000,
  they have shut down the whole world for this second
  rate flu which is killing less people than our standard flu
  
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  May 5, 2020 10:53am
- Nightsky-one
  
  That’s the sort of mistake Stalin or Lenin would have made once.
  Remember it’s just a statistic….
  
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  May 5, 2020 2:38pm
Illegally Imprisoned in Cindy's Jail

Be kind.
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May 5, 2020 8:08am
- gravedodger
  
  Just as the MoH showed such magnanimous “Kindness” to citizen Christiansen.
  “By their actions they will be remembered”
  
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  May 5, 2020 8:46am
- Benedict Yu
  
  …in your bubble.
  
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  May 5, 2020 8:56am
artemisia

Certainly hope an updated pandemic / epidemic plan includes an action point to check elastic on stored face masks. That might sound trivial and ridiculous, though not so much as it turned out.

But what if it is the canary in the mine. What are the sector’s processes for managing inventory? There are a lot of well paid ‘managers’ in the sector, so what else are they not managing to keep track of.
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May 5, 2020 8:08am
- PhilBest
  
  Apparently in NYC, Bloomfield when he was mayor years ago did put in emergency stocks of PPE (he was a notorious micromanagement freak), but recently these stocks got dumped because of “perishing” – and not replaced. Just one of several things the media party ignores because Orange Man must be blamed for everything.
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:14am
fernglas

Dr Bloomfield’s attempt to minimise the incompetence of his Ministry of Health staff’s refusal to allow a man to see his dying father must call his objectivity into question. He described the High Court as having found that it was “not clear” that his staff had followed their guidelines, where in fact the Court found that they had failed to consider mandatory criteria that were repeatedly brought to their attention, thereby acting unlawfully. Their refusal to consider compassionate criteria that they were obliged to consider resulted in what can only be described as cruelty in this case, and probably the 23 others where similar requests have been refused. It’s disgraceful, but no apology or offer of amends, just Bloomfield trying to minimise what has to be one of the most egregious examples of incompetence since this whole (arguably unlawful) lockdown process began.
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May 5, 2020 8:08am
- fernglas
  
  It’s worth reading the whole judgment. http://www.nzlii.org/nz/cases/NZHC/2020/887.html
  While Bloomfield on RNZ this morning was saying that he had discussed with his team the exercise of the compassionate ground for exemption some days before, it is clear that the relevant officials failed repeatedly to even consider it, which suggest either that they were unaware of it or had decided, or been instructed, not to consider it. Either Bloomfield is not being truthful or his staff have chosen to ignore him. Either way, it is a complete disgrace.
  
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  May 5, 2020 8:32am
- gravedodger
  
  That was not head of pin dancing, it was a rock concert on the pointy end!
  
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  May 5, 2020 8:48am
- cmm
  
  A lair chooses another liar to front about a scamidemic that is comprised end-to-end with lies. Wow, who would have thunked that.
  
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  May 5, 2020 8:53am
- Scott
  
  I guess I would question the whole level of the lock down? Under level 4 you could not hold a funeral. To me that’s not right.
  You cannot visit your dying relative is of a par with the decision above.
  I think the whole scenario was too severe.
  We should always be able to mourn our dead and visit our dying relatives.
  
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  May 5, 2020 8:57am
- KevO'Brien
  
  Bloomfield is just another Cindy sycophant. His judgement is certainly questionable. Should he have the power to close down NZ?
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:11am
  - PhilBest
    
    My latest favorite illustration of the bad faith of “experts” in powerful government advisory positions, is that people must be “kept inside” – when sunshine reduces virus half-life from 6 to 18 hours, to two to three minutes!!!
    
    I have asked repeatedly – is is terminal incompetence, or is it an evil agenda? There is no point simpler and easier to understand, than the sunshine one. There is a “fresh air” factor too. Your old grandmother’s advice about fresh air and sunshine was not old wive’s fables; it has been abundantly confirmed by science. But government experts don’t know this or don’t want US to know it?
    
    This would make a great basis for mass civil disobedience. It is virtually impossible for transmission to have been a problem on beaches or in parks or sports grounds. If any expert is saying this, they are a crook. Transmission correlating to outdoors events will all be related to partying indoors afterwards.
    
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    May 5, 2020 9:21am
    - Alex13
      
      Even level 4 restrictions did not prohibit walks / runs / exercising, etc. outdoors, with getting all the sun and fresh air one wanted. Distancing and keeping it local is all that was requested.
      
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      May 5, 2020 10:54am
Sir Cullen's Sidekick

Dangerous move by NZ dicatator gummit to take control of immigration. All dodgy decisions can be made by gummit now without any scrutiny by Immigration New Zealand. National should oppose this tooth and nail. This is a dangerous move in my view.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12329521
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May 5, 2020 8:09am
- Paulus
  
  Is this to assist the Greens by getting Gharahman’s pal Behrouz Boochani into New Zealand.
  Keep them quiet up to the election.
  
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  May 5, 2020 8:43am
- Nickc2
  
  Isn’t this a way of circumventing Immigration regulations in favour of a certain kick-boxer who is currently in jail?
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:00am
Surely Knott

Simon Wilson’s Herald article “Is this the death of neoliberalism?” is behind a paywall. So I guess the answer is No.
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May 5, 2020 8:09am
- krazykiwi
  
  Brilliant!
  
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  May 5, 2020 11:30am
Yvette

Behrouz Boochani
[Ardern] said New Zealand’s immigration system is “robust” …
Immigration New Zealand (INZ) granted the refugee a one-month visitor visa.
After arriving, Mr Boochani then reportedly applied for asylum and is understood to still be in New Zealand awaiting a decision on that application.

It was well documented back about December 20 that “Behrouz Boochani travelled from Papua New Guinea in November on a temporary one-month visa to speak at Christchurch’s literary festival about his book”, so that visa had expired.
Someone even asked Ardern about it – A statement said the prime minister doesn’t believe that Boochani remaining in the country will cause any problems for New Zealand’s close relationship with Australia. Her office referred further questions to immigration officials.

Ardern said she wasn’t told by her immigration minister that Boochani was coming and would have liked a heads-up. Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway, in turn, blamed immigration officials, saying they initially told him that Boochani had applied for a visa but then neglected to tell him they’d approved it.
“I was disappointed about this, and would have liked to have been able to provide a heads-up for the prime minister,” Lees-Galloway said in a statement. “I have spoken with Immigration New Zealand about this and they have apologised.” [1]

So with being “left out of the loop” yet again (awareness of Labour summer took Ardern over a month) and Lees-Galloway left out of the loop too, you’d think one or both would pop a note in their diaries to check up, before being caught out again.

The immigration system is “robust”? Not really, because now Ardern is today to discuss “joint national bubbles” with Scott Morrison, who she has earlier affronted with several questions of immigration before – specifically that people from Manus Island could slip by the attention of New Zealand’s Immigration – Behrouz Boochani from Manus is sitting here as a prime example of Immigration’s perceived incompetence. It is more than a little ironic that New Zealand’s current covid-19 struck trade, the exchange of tourism, and simply the extended freedom of 5 million people has Boochani, freedom champion, as a fly in the ointment.

Boochani could not be immediately reached for this story [back, December 20] When he was interviewed by the AP last month, he said he had no interest in returning to Papua New Guinea but wouldn’t be drawn on whether he would seek asylum in New Zealand.
“I’m really focused on my work here right now. I don’t want to think about those things, or ruin my concentration. I don’t want to politicise things,” Boochani said at the time. “I’m a free man. I want to focus on this festival” [1]

Pity that MP Golriz Ghahraman, who was on hand at Christchurch Airport to welcome to Boochani to New Zealand, , didn’t suggest to him – from her vast knowledge of refugees and immigration – that he sort out his one month visa to avoid becoming an embarrassing overstayer.

“In Manus I experienced violence. Cruelty. Humiliation,” Boochani said. “In New Zealand I’m welcomed by people. I’ve experienced kindness. [2]

But, in response, Boochani appears to display self-involved arrogance, in not bothering to comply with what should seem to be a few reasonable rules – after what he says he has been subjected to, under Australian control.

[1] https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/118352890/refugees-overstay-in-new-zealand-could-fuel-aussie-tensions
[2] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/04/new-zealand-denies-behrouz-boochani-benefited-from-politicised-process-in-asylum-bid
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May 5, 2020 8:11am
- Bobba Fret
  
  He will still be here this time next year!
  
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  May 5, 2020 8:59am
  - Jack5
    
    Boochani’s goal will be NZ residency so that he can go through the back door to Sydney or Melbourne, giving an “up you” insult to the Aussies who shut him out.
    
    Jacinderella and the Melon Greens would be quite happy if this provoked the Australians to shut visa-free entry to Australia for New Zealanders.
    
    They want to take New Zealand into the Third World.
    
    Jacinderella’s team is introducing to Parliament today the Immigration (COVID-19 Response) Amendment Bill, which gives our ruling politicians dictatorship power over immigration. Here Immigration Minister Lees-Galloway explains it:
    
    “The Bill will enable the government to amend visa conditions for groups of people, extend visas for groups of people for varying periods of time (enabling processing to be staggered), stop people overseas from making visa applications while it is not possible to travel to New Zealand due to border restrictions, and provide the ability to refuse entry to people who are deemed to hold a visa.
    
    Border crasher Behrouz Boochani could be home and hosed.
    
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    May 5, 2020 9:31am
    - Ian Boag
      
      Why would he want to go to Oz on a 441 visa? NZers on this sort of visa are guest workers with no right to anything. KBers seem to have a rosy view of what life is like in Oz for 441’s. Pay taxes, buy houses, raise family – no social benefits though. So don’t lose your job …..
      
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      May 5, 2020 10:19am
      - Jack5
        
        Why would Boochani want to get into Australia?
        Why did Napoleon want to get to Moscow? Why did Eisenhower want to get into Normandy? Why did Hillary want to get to the top of Everest?
        
        Australia was Boochani’s goal, and now, backed by the Far Left, he wants to beat, and beat very publicly and very loudly, Australia’s policies on border crashers. He isn’t after Australian wage rates and working hours.
        
        Boochani was trying to gate-crash into Australia when the Australians sent him to Manus Island and then Papua New Guinea.
        
        Australia has declined New Zealand’s offer to resettle some (or would it be all) of the would-be border crashers Australia has had held in detention outside Australia. Australia doesn’t want Boochani and, from the rejection of our broad resettlement offer, doesn’t condone New Zealand sheltering him.
        
        If Boochani is allowed to stay in NZ that becomes a glove smack on Australia’s face by Jacinderella, and a victory within NZ to the Far Leftists who want us to greatly increase our intake of refugees, and overwhelming Muslim refugees.
        
        If he’s allowed to stay in NZ, Boochani will soon qualify for residency, and ultimately citizenship. Then he will be able to step through the back door to Australia, giving the fingers to the Australian Government.
        
        This would likely jab Australia to close that back door – close it to all of us. We won’t be able to take revenge on Jacinderella, because she’ll be safely ensconced in some United Nations post. The only question is whether she will take any of the sycophantic media feministas with her.
        
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        May 5, 2020 12:32pm
- Benedict Yu
  
  “robust” is one of my trigger words these days, along with kind, bubble, conversation, inclusive, sustainable, neoliberal, racist, green, hate….
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:00am
  - Papalazarou
    
    And well-being, resilience, and many more
    
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    May 5, 2020 7:03pm
- Durden
  
  Jacinda is a liar. When she gets shrill and vehement in self-defence to a simple question using words like “offensive suggestion” (or absolutely reject / refute) you can be absolutely sure that she is lying.
  
  Lees-Galloway is her enabler, exactly the same he was in the Sroubek case. They are using plausible deniability as a defense. It is simple, if BB lied on the visa application, as confirmed by his subsequent statements before he even left Manus, his visa should be withdrawn and he should be immediately deported to where he came from. Immigration should release the visa application publicly if they have the guts.
  
  BB is a minor manufactured celebrity. Because some people wanted to go against overall Australians’ wishes, found some guy incarcerated for trying to gain access illegally, and who could write a few words English, created a special category of writing, and gave him an award.
  
  Boochani’s arrival in NZ was fraud cooked up by Labour and Green MPs and other activists including some “useful idiots” Ngai Tahu in Christchurch. There was also a Green MP in Australia colluding. To say that NZ’ers have welcomed him its a lie. It is a small group of self aggrandizing fanboy/fangirl virtue signalers getting all wet.
  
  The application for NZ visa was clearly a lie based on statements he made as reported by RNZ. “Before leaving Port Moresby, Mr Boochani told the ABC he would never be going back, saying he wants to be somewhere where he is a person, not just a number.”
  
  https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/403352/manus-island-refugee-behrouz-boochani-not-seeking-nz-asylum-for-now
  
  Based on this statement the visa should have been revoked immediately for false declarations and Boochani sent back to Manus. Also he was “recently accepted for resettlement in the United States” means that he had no right to country shop after that. Country shopping…mm isn;t that what the Ghahraman’s did when they passed through Malaysia?
  
  Boochani was aided and abetted in his fabrication by collusion between:
  – WORD Christchurch’s programme director Rachael King, who invited Mr Boochani to the event
  – Golriz Gharaman Green MP
  – Donna Miles-Mojab activist
  – Lianne Dalziel Labour mayor of Christchurch
  – Marie Tau of Nga Tahu
  – Ian Lees-Galloway minister
  – Jacinda Ardern – Prime Minister
  – Unnamed Immigration department officials
  – Some unnamed immigration lawyers ?
  
  When he arrives on a visitor’s visa, Boochani has no right to say these:
  “I want to be here for a while, and later we will look at that possibility, because I’m already accepted by America so for now I prefer to focus on this story and share it with people.”
  
  “Before leaving Port Moresby, Mr Boochani told the ABC he would never be going back, saying he wants to be somewhere where he is a person, not just a number.”
  
  “Mr Boochani was recently accepted for resettlement in the United States and told ABC at Port Moresby that he was investigating whether he could fly from New Zealand to the US, once the process was completed.”
  
  “First, I would like to just spend some time as a free man, but after that I will look at that – is it possible that I go to the US from New Zealand? Or I should stay there?”
  
  The whole lot above can F right off.
  
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  May 5, 2020 10:52am
Happychappy

Jacinda Ardern slams Nationals ‘offensive ‘ claims of political interference in Boochari asylum bid.
Can some please remind me what Immigration Minister Lee’s Galloway with the help of Jacinda Ardern in the Karl Strobeck and how many of the Prime Ministers friends gave references to help this drug peddler get residency. So why would Stuart Smith or National have any faith or respect in the Prime Ministers bullshit and bluster.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/jacinda-ardern-slams-nationals-offensive-claims-political-interference-in-boochani-asylum-bid
Governments are there to make sure the law is doing its job not to use for there own purpose.
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May 5, 2020 8:11am
- Bobba Fret
  
  How can she say its robust after the Sroubeck debarcle?
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:04am
- Tony Stuart
  
  And Oppositions are there to make sure the Government is observing the rule of law, which is precisely what National is doing. Sorry Ms Ardern, but you don’t get carte blanche to do what you and your colleagues want.
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:11am
- Nickc2
  
  NZ Citizenship for Dotcom with the possibility of a Knighthood thrown in as an apology for any wrongful actions taken by the NZ Police?
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:13am
burt

Recent govt actions have resulted in far greater equality in NZ, has our wellbeing improved?
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May 5, 2020 8:12am
- Swifty
  
  Exactly burt.
  
  It’s just like Maggie T said.
  
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  May 5, 2020 8:16am
- PhilBest
  
  Sweden tames its ‘R number’ without lockdown
  by Fraser Nelson
  The Spectator 5 May 2020
  
  Sweden has been the world’s Covid-19 outlier, pursuing social distancing but rejecting mandatory lockdown. Schools, bars and restaurants are open – albeit with strong voluntary social distancing compliance and streets that often look almost as empty as Britain’s. Has this been enough? Sweden’s public health agency has now published a study of its R number, a metric which the UK is using to judge the success of lockdown. The objective is to push R below one, which means the number of new cases is slowing. Last week, the UK’s R number was estimated at 0.8 (± 0.2 points), a figure described as an achievement of lockdown. But Sweden’s reading is 0.85, with a smaller error margin of ±0.02 points.
  
  This raises an interesting question: might voluntary lockdowns work just as well? And might they keep the virus at a manageable level with lower social and economic costs?
  
  The UK government has used modelling from Imperial College London, which makes some firm assumptions about lockdown. Its graph shows self-isolation, voluntary social distancing and even school closures making very little difference to the R number. Lockdown, by contrast, is shown to be a gamechanger with the R sinking immediately.
  
  The UK has not been tracking ‘the R’ on a daily basis so we cannot test Imperial’s model. But we can for Sweden. Imperial used the same assumptions to publish a forecast saying Sweden’s rejection of lockdown was likely to leave the virus growing at an R rate between 3 and 4. Imperial’s assumptions envisaged Swedes having 40,000 Covid-19 deaths by 1 May and almost 100,000 by June. Even a mandatory lockdown was expected to have only limited Sweden’s Covid-19 death toll to 20,000.
  
  The latest figure for Sweden is 2,680 deaths, with daily deaths peaking a fortnight ago. Imperial College’s modelling, the same modelling used to inform the UK response, was out by an order of magnitude. Sweden has now published its own graph, saying its R was never near the 4 that Imperial assumed and has in fact been below the safe level of 1 for the past few weeks.
  As Johan Norberg has written, Imperial’s model ‘could only handle two scenarios: an enforced national lockdown or zero change in behaviour. It had no way of computing Swedes who decided to socially distance voluntarily. But we did.’ Anders Tegnell, Sweden’s state epidemiologist, has seen his trust ratings soar: some Swedes are even having his face tattooed on their arm (picture below).
  At present, Britain is considering the South Korean model: tech, surveillance, track and trace. But given that Sweden achieved what Imperial College had thought was undoable without the surveillance or the tech, its lessons are also worthy of consideration. Swedes have been asked to use what their PM calls ‘Folkvett’ – people’s wit, or common sense. As Boris Johnson considers his options, he should also ask whether a folkvett option – described in a recent Spectator leading article as a ‘trust the public’ approach – might work for Britain.
  
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  May 5, 2020 8:18am
- JibberJabber
  
  Quite right Burt, an equal sharing of the misery, it`s a socialist Utopian wet dream.
  
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  May 5, 2020 8:20am
  - PhilBest
    
    Except that the Nomenklatura, which now consists of hundreds of thousands of people working for The State itself, don’t share the misery AT ALL…. And they see this as the good and right outcome….
    
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    May 5, 2020 10:31am
    - JibberJabber
      
      As it has always been, it will always be…..Comrade.
      
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      May 5, 2020 11:31am
- MT_Tinman
  
  Given recent revelations about the illegality of the dictatorship’s little experiment with our lives I call on ever retailer in the land to open their doors on Friday 8, 09:00.
  
  Every restaurateur to open their doors for inhouse dining Friday PM.
  
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  May 5, 2020 8:21am
  - Paulus
    
    How do I eat my dinner through my mask ?
    
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    May 5, 2020 8:45am
    - Blackface Twin Reverb
      
      Order the soup.
      
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      May 5, 2020 9:33am
  - Alex13
    
    I doubt that retailers or restaurants will be interested in opening just for 1 customer only.
    
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    May 5, 2020 11:00am
All_on_Red

Worst Govt ever.
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May 5, 2020 8:12am
- Simon Gotlieb
  
  Whenever I see that all I hear is “I am Groot”.
  
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  May 5, 2020 5:06pm
G152

If you wear glasses dont use a mask.
Gets a mite foggy
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May 5, 2020 8:14am
- MCos
  
  Mine did initially until I adjusted the mask a fraction and now I don’t have an issue.
  
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  May 5, 2020 8:49am
- kowtow
  
  Can always practice holding your breath……… for very very very long periods ……..
  
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  May 5, 2020 11:01am
Tony Stuart

Another outstanding scoop from Mike Morrah at Newshub; this guy is doing some seriously good work exposing a disconnect between MoH, DHB’s and frontline health staff:

Newshub can reveal six patients on a previously COVID-19-free ward at Waitakere Hospital are now considered close contacts, and are being treated in isolation on the presumption they have the virus.

Waitematā DHB says it’s apologised to families of patients on the ward and it’s planning to change its rosters for nursing staff.

It comes after three nurses at the hospital tested positive for the virus. Colleagues of the nurses that tested positive told Newshub they requested to management that if they worked in the COVID-19 ward that they shouldn’t also work in wards that were free of infection. However, their concerns were ignored.

As a result, staff worked on the COVID-19 ward one day – which is Wing A in the Muriwai Ward – and then on the Older Adults Rehabilitation Ward, or Wing B, the next day. Now six elderly patients in the previously virus-free ward are considered close contacts.

Chief medical officer for Waitematā DHB Dr Jonathan Christiansen says there are plans to care for these patients.

“They will be managed in strict isolation on the presumption they have COVID,” Dr Christiansen says.

The DHB says it had regional clinical backing that such a rostering system was safe, but it’s now changing its policy so nurses working on the COVID ward work exclusively there.

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2020/05/coronavirus-six-elderly-patients-probable-cases-at-waitakere-hospital-after-nurses-work-in-both-virus-free-and-covid-19-wards.html

This is mind-numbingly, head-slappingly dumb. What was the DHB thinking, rostering staff to rotate between COVID patients, and vulnerable elderly people who had not yet been exposed to the virus. Heads should roll.

Here’s hoping that none of these vulnerable elderly patients die after having been unnecessarily exposed to coronavirus. If they do, I hope authorities consider a charge of manslaughter against whoever ordered the nurses to rotate in the manner described.
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May 5, 2020 8:14am
- raven
  
  This article is about a hospital cleaner overseas, who is happy that after cleaning Covid wards he can clean maternity wards and hear babies crying instead of seeing sick people: https://metro.co.uk/2020/05/03/hospital-cleaner-burned-letters-loved-ones-12628982/
  
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  May 5, 2020 8:30am
- Yvette
  
  A statement attached to Tony Stuart’s linked item says –
  *An earlier version of this story said the six patients were being treated as probable cases. The six patients are being treated on the presumption of having the virus but the DHB says they are “close contacts” and not probable cases.
  
  Since “presumption” indicates “still not confirmed by test results”, on which of the last few days of 1pm media stand-ups should ‘probables’ have included these six? Or are they not yet mentioned in official figures, and why not.
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:02am
- Bobba Fret
  
  Mike Morrah seems to be one of the few journalists in NZ that actually does a lot of actual investigative work and digs deep………he will be very unpopular with a lot of powerful people.
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:07am
- Brian McDonald
  
  Read your own links Tony.
  “The DHB says it had regional clinical backing that such a rostering system was safe, but it’s now changing its policy so nurses working on the COVID ward work exclusively there.”
  Great that you are working for home but the front liners are all reports stretched. I like to think that is was a no brainer not to do this, on the other hand, I don’t the pressures on staff numbers.
  Let’s hope the presumptive doesn’t turn to positive.
  
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  May 5, 2020 10:19am
  - All_on_Red
    
    ‘but the front liners are all reports stretched. ‘
    
    I’m happy to be corrected but my understanding is that the hospitals aren’t stretched at all and are now virtually empty.
    
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    May 5, 2020 10:31am
    - Tony Stuart
      
      Correct, few hospitals were running at even 50% occupancy during the Level 4 lockdown, as all elective surgery and non-emergency outpatient appointments had been cancelled.
      
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      May 5, 2020 10:37am
    - Brian McDonald
      
      Admittedly my personal knowledge is low 2 Doctors re-trained in CCU procedures and a nurse, apparently, there was a large shift in skills experience required. But I’ve read online of them saying they’d welcome a break. Of course, the people going to the mobile testing stations did not come out of thin air and testing labs must be going overboard, then there is the tracing, just gets bigger and bigger.
      
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      May 5, 2020 11:38am
  - mikenmildagain
    
    It seems that the usual practice was followed. Given appropriate clinical precautions, it does not seem that staff should only be restricted to working on Covid-19 cases. Covered in Kim Hill’s interview this morning with Ashley Bloomfield.
    
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    May 5, 2020 10:45am
- Random T Person
  
  ‘I didn’t know you were an epidemiologist, Tony, congratulations on your new qualification’…
  
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  May 5, 2020 10:40am
  - Tony Stuart
    
    Thanks for that. It was hard work, but worth it 😀
    
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    May 5, 2020 12:39pm
- Sacha
  
  I worked in many ‘infectious wards’ during my career. NEVER was the staff of an infectious ward sent to another infection-free ward. It was commonly an 8-week rotation. Emphasis was on mask wearing and hand washing, with clean gowns and gloves when performing personal tasks – and staying within one’s working area. Occasionally one would look after an infectious or immuno-compromised person in a side-room in a general ward. In that case one was never permitted to work in the open ward – which could make for long and tedious shifts, but spread of infection was unthinkable.
  I can only wonder a the ignorance/negligence of administrators who allow staff to rotate out into ‘clean’ wards.
  Even worse, I think I heard Dr Bloomfield comment on this this morning, with not a note of criticism.
  Perhaps this is the logical outcome of having ignorant but politically approved hospital administrators.
  
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  May 5, 2020 11:11am
cmm

Herald: “Reeferendum: Don’t like weed? Why that shouldn’t be a factor in how you vote”

By that principle, the headline could also read:

“Reeferendum: Like weed? Why that shouldn’t be a factor in how you vote”

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12329017

Bottom line, IMHO, is that the proposed legislation has far too many nanny state clauses. It is not a matter of dope good or dope bad, just the proposed laws are bad.

They are “feel good” laws to make some people think that there will be effective controls in place. Of course there will be none.

Max 2 or 4 or whatever plants per household. Is this to be monitored by the dob in your neighbour line?

Max THC levels in plants. Yeah? How? Are growers of 2 plants supposed to send off samples to a lab every month to ensure their plants haven’t gone turbo?

Dispensary packaging will be reused etc. How is anyone supposed to know what’s actually inside.

If they want to make it legal (and I personally don’t care either way), then just open the gates. That is what it becomes anyway.
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May 5, 2020 8:16am
- Inandout
  
  cmm, our local drug house apparently is like a supermarket; what sort of stuff do you want? If Labour think the gangs are going to let this chance go by without supplying the ‘strong’ weed, together with some meth ‘on special’ then..well yes they are dense. Andrew Little, that great defender of the criminal element, might see this pot legislation throw back in his face.
  
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  May 5, 2020 8:26am
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Socialists will not relinquish their control easily
  
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  May 5, 2020 8:29am
- Benedict Yu
  
  I am inclined to make it legal. But as you say the law administration will be a shambles. It will either be ignored which is bad in principle or the police will try to enforce the rules which will be a shambles.
  
  The maximum THC limit on home grown plants will only work if you can only buy seeds or seedlings from a licensed store. It will never work.
  
  If I grow cannabis in my vege garden can I give away the harvest? If I am a mad keen gardener can I grow a crop for my neighbour?
  
  There will be dozens of anomalies. I think the chances of the referendum passing are slim. A better regime would have been to have a wide range of stores to sell licensed, labelled products, ban home grown products, and limit sales to those over 25.
  
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  May 5, 2020 8:30am
  - cmm
    
    THC levels are only partially a result of the plant type. Other factors include temperature, humidity, light, water and soil.
    
    The only reasonable way to make legislation is to use the same principles as with home brew: make what the hell you like for your own consumption. You can give it away but you can’t sell it.
    
    Sure, control the commercial outlets all you want, but if people can grow it at home then how are you going to really stop them?
    
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    May 5, 2020 9:01am
  - Yvette
    
    Benedict Yu – If I am a mad keen gardener can I grow a crop for my neighbour?
    
    Not a crop, because you probably can’t call two plants a crop (grown on a large scale commercially).
    
    Also –
    2) If more than 4 cannabis plants are grown on a property, there is a contravention of subsection (1), and the following persons commit an infringement offence:
    (a) an occupier of the property:  (b) the owner of the property, if the property is unoccupied
    
    So, to remain within the law, you would have to sell to your neighbour the piece of land in which the plants is growing.
    
    And –
    (1) A cannabis plant may be grown under section 24 only if the cannabis plant is grown—
    (a) out of public sight; or
    (b) in an area that is not accessible from any public area.
    
    “Out of public sight” implies that the public have no knowledge of its existence, so if you sold your neighbour the required piece of land, they would likely know about it, and they presumably being a member of the public, that would infringe the “spirit” of this clause –”spirit” of the law being something that Jacinda is sensitive about and mentions time to time. So Andrew may yet fix this clause.
    
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    May 5, 2020 9:43am
  - KevO'Brien
    
    Great tax take too.
    
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    May 5, 2020 12:36pm
- krazykiwi
  
  The ‘Reeferendum’ is ploy to get more young, Labour/Green voters to turn out on polling day.
  
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  May 5, 2020 8:40am
  - All_on_Red
    
    Exactly
    
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    May 5, 2020 9:21am
    - mikenmildagain
      
      I heard a rumour that Winston Peters wanted a referendum question on free air travel for gold card holders.
      
      4 4
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      May 5, 2020 12:21pm
      - Ed Snack
        
        I though the only gold card holder he had the slightest interest in helping already has that privilege ? Being himself of course.
        
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        May 5, 2020 4:31pm
- KevO'Brien
  
  $500,000,000 new tax source based on promoting drugs.
  The home grown varieties will be much stronger and the gangs will continue skunking along.
  Shame on any govt to actively encourage such public health outrage.
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:18am
- Sacha
  
  A long time ago my very good friends had a lovely north facing but steeply sloped and rocky section on the hills of Seatoun, Wellington.
  Their house was situated at the top by the road, and their children had the run of the ‘forest’ down below.
  Imagine their surprise when one day. the kids came up to the house waving branches of a distinctly non-native plant. So they clambered down to investigate and found a veritable plantation of presumably sown on the wind Cannabis . I couldn’t possibly say what they might have done with it –
  
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  May 5, 2020 11:23am
  - Batman
    
    Sown on the wind? More like planted by the local grower. Seatoun is convenient to Strathmore and Miramar.
    
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    May 5, 2020 12:01pm
JibberJabber

So now we have a Govt creating a law to grant them power to circumvent the law.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12329521
With Lees-OwnGoalloway in charge you just know this will be a clusterfark.
It would be nice if the Law Society could maybe concentrate on the danger to New Zealand law rather than hand wring about another nations?https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/415803/nz-law-society-raises-concerns-about-court-changes-in-samoa
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May 5, 2020 8:17am
- KevO'Brien
  
  NZ should keep well out of matters concerning fa’asamoa, especially their Lands and Titles Court. Ancient oral traditions and genealogies are dealt with there. There are people who have rights to speak on such matters.
  
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  May 5, 2020 12:19pm
MrTips

Helen Clark:
“Woman leaders have handled this CoVID crisis better because they don’t have ego’s”

Jacinda Ardern:
“We will be your one source of truth”
“I’m a perfectionist”
“I wasn’t aware you’re an epidemiologist!”
“Do you honestly think I don’t care about business?”

Jacinda sounds very Trump like to me. Woman can just the same as men in leadership – who knew?

Actually Jacinda’s more like a version of Helen Clark without the death-stare psychopathy and competency.

H1-Lite™
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May 5, 2020 8:21am
- Komata
  
  MrT@0821
  
  A nice precis; shame you ruined it with the unnecessary ‘Trump’ reference.
  
  Thank you.
  
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  May 5, 2020 8:51am
- Benedict Yu
  
  ““Woman leaders have handled this CoVID crisis better because they don’t have ego’s””
  
  I thought you were kidding that she said that. I googled it 🙁
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:02am
  - Swifty
    
    What an appalling comment from Clark.
    
    Not only is it incorrect, it is an implied sexist slur against all men.
    
    Just imagine if Key or English said that (only) all men had some desirable characteristic and implied that all women didn’t – there would be hell to pay.
    
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    May 5, 2020 10:11am
- Tony Stuart
  
  Just in the last few days, Ms Ardern’s “kind” mask has slipped a little. She got snappy with Mike Hosking yesterday, and couldn’t resist a sarcastic dig at Duncan Garner. It will be interesting to see her demeanour in Parliament this afternoon, as National has a number of issues to grill the Government and especially the PM over.
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:15am
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    PMS. Putting up with men’s shit. LOL
    
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    May 5, 2020 9:37am
  - Scooter
    
    Where can I find the weekly Mike Hosking interview with JA. It seems he’s the only one that asks serious questions of her.
    
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    May 5, 2020 9:59pm
Mobile Michael

Life is getting better. The local European bakery has reopened today, I’ve already done my shop local thing for today and breakfast has been a Berliner.

Yes, every time I have one I say to myself, “Ich bin ein Berliner.”
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May 5, 2020 8:22am
- Komata
  
  Mobile M@0822
  
  Danke mein Herr, although your age IS showing and the reference will probably pass over the heads of most of those who visit here….
  
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  May 5, 2020 8:56am
  - Random T Person
    
    JFK, West Berlin, 1963, claimed to be a donut. Reckon most who visit here are at the least amateur students of history.
    
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    May 5, 2020 10:43am
- fernglas
  
  So all those people queuing outside McDonalds should say “Ich bin ein Hamburger”?
  
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  May 5, 2020 8:57am
- All_on_Red
  
  Well, you are what you eat.
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:39am
  - Random T Person
    
    in that case I am a Big Mac with fries and coke. After the initial lemming rush, I took my boys for an exciting drive through yesterday at around 530pm. No wait, no mess, no fuss.
    
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    May 5, 2020 10:44am
Akitio

Bloody Aussies; taking the piss out of Kiwis again. Things are pretty grim at the moment so when they wanted comic relief at their cabinet meeting, they called on the village idiot from across the ditch to bobble and serve fish and chips at the soiree.
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May 5, 2020 8:22am
- krazykiwi
  
  I cringe with embarrassment every time Ardern sees fit to lecture the Australian government on things that are absolutely none of her business.
  
  I hope she is treated with the contempt she deserves behind close doors, knowing of course, that she’ll emerge claiming some kind of Trans Tasman Perestroika victory.
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:28am
krazykiwi

Covid-19 banner ad at the top of the page. Depicts a bloke and his dog sitting on a couch, the the dog saying “Stay!” to its owner. The by line is “If a dog can stay home, so can you”

Being addressed like children by Ardern and Bloomfield, and treated like animals by Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Unbelievable.
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May 5, 2020 8:25am
- Rich Prick
  
  This whole episode has been tag-lined by infantile BS. Barking orders about bubbles and being kind is enough to drive the sanest insane.
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:09am
Maggie Pie

My partner arrived back from the farm yesterday and said it was the most amazing Opening Weekend ever. He hadn’t seen his mother for a while, so first thing he did was pop over to give her a couple of ducks. He was saying all she did was give him jif about getting his hair cut. LOL!!
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May 5, 2020 8:27am
- Gravelroad
  
  What’s he going to do with the jif?
  New hair cleanser? Won’t need a hair cut after that,
  Job done – Mum happy.
  
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  May 5, 2020 8:37am
  - Tony Stuart
    
    Has his Mum been listening to Donald Trump?
    
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    May 5, 2020 9:16am
    - Maggie Pie
      
      Not sure, but he may have been 😛
      
      https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EXJWx-NUcAEFOow?format=jpg&name=900×900
      
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      May 5, 2020 9:35am
      - The Proper Ghandi
        
        Nice ass, even if it is a cartoon ?
        
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        May 5, 2020 10:06am
Fitz

Another fawning headline on Ardern from the New York times. Ok, she has done pretty well, but can we please put off deification for a bit longer? Jeez.
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May 5, 2020 8:30am
- kowtow
  
  “Ok, she has done pretty well,”
  
  No she hasn’t.
  Borders should have been closed earlier and contact tracing was not up to speed , that’s why the so called lock down was implemented in a panic and was too severe.She’s also allowed the police to allow illegal roadblocks , trashing the constitution,while the rest of us stay home
  That’s just for starters.
  
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  May 5, 2020 8:50am
  - cmm
    
    Kowtow: It depends what you think the goal is.
    
    If you consider her goal being to get a huge international profile boost for #CinD4UN! then she has done better than well.
    
    She has done exceptionally well.
    
    Do the right thing for NZ was never the goal.
    
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    May 5, 2020 9:18am
    - kowtow
      
      Yes , given that she’s an avowedly international socialist there’s got to be something in that.
      
      And being a “perfectionist” is further proof of the deluded utopian that these folk are .
      
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      May 5, 2020 10:58am
  - Nickc2
    
    We don’t have a constitution. However, I agree with the rest of what you say.
    
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    May 5, 2020 9:34am
    - The Proper Ghandi
      
      That’s not correct. We do in fact have a constitution, but it is not centralised, in a single document like the US, for instance.
      
      The NZ constitution is comprised of:
      
      – Judicature Act 1908
      – Royal Titles Act 1974
      – Ombudsmen Act 1975
      – ToW Act 1975
      – OIA 1982
      – Constitution Act 1986
      – State Sector Act 1988
      – NZ BoRA 1990
      – Electoral Act 1993
      – Human Rights Act 1993
      – Habeas Corpus Act 2001
      – Supreme Court Act 2003
      
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      May 5, 2020 9:59am
      - Nickc2
        
        Not quite Ghandi, here is the Google response:
        
        ‘Unlike many other nations, New Zealand has no single constitutional document. … New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy. This system is based on the “Westminster system”, although that term is increasingly inapt given constitutional developments particular to New Zealand’.
        
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        May 5, 2020 11:20am
      - kowtow
        
        International treaties and a lot more besides.
        
        https://gg.govt.nz/office-governor-general/roles-and-functions-governor-general/constitutional-role/constitution
        
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        May 5, 2020 11:59am
      - mikenmildagain
        
        Actually more than that, if you include the largely unwritten conventions.
        
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        May 5, 2020 11:59am
      - The Proper Ghandi
        
        Nick2
        False. I’ll see your google search, and I’ll raise you my law degree. We have a constitution. Your own quote says “New Zealand has no SINGLE constitutional document. … New Zealand is a CONSTITUTIONAL monarchy with a parliamentary democracy.”
        
        That is totally consistent with my proposition. Our constitution not in the form of a single document. That is a fact. Trust me on this.
        
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        May 5, 2020 4:06pm
- kwkiwigirl
  
  Cindy’s team sending out a lot of paid editorial to the left wing overseas news sites at the moment.
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:33am
Justitia

So the lockdown is potentially unlawful? Even so the Police continue to support race-based vigilante “checkpoints” when they are aware they themselves may be acting unlawfully? Meanwhile a tiny clique of officials and Ardern continue to rule by edict without checks or balances : https://youtu.be/SgI4Izda0Dc . The patronising tone in Ardern’s voice is clearly audible. This mess needs to go before the courts as soon as possible. How is that to be achieved?
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May 5, 2020 8:35am
- Tony Stuart
  
  Former Attorney-General Christopher Finlayson QC certainly thinks so:
  
  https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2020/05/coronavirus-troubling-arrests-during-lockdown-undermine-rule-of-law-in-new-zealand-former-attorney-general.html
  
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  May 5, 2020 10:39am
  - Brian McDonald
    
    I think he’s more than likely right Tony, but on the other hand, I had no problem that alleged gang-related parties in ChCh last weekend resulted in police moving in.
    
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    May 5, 2020 11:42am
  - Nickc2
    
    This is another point that MUST be hammered home in the lead up to the next election. “Labour uses illegal means to achieve it’s socialist aims during the COVID-19 fiasco”.
    – Immigration Department circumvention,
    – Resource Management Act circumvention,
    – Illegal Road Block aiding and abetting,
    – Illegal Lockdown implementation,
    – Illegal Arrests and Detainment implementation,
    – Illegal business close downs,
    Feel free to add to this list.
    
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    May 5, 2020 11:43am
tedbear

I made a new acquaintance yesterday with whom I chatted about the lockdown and businesses affected.
He sent me the following and gave permission for me to repost it here.

“I personally think the failure was not to discuss this in Parliament first – Again a captains call which quite easily can turn bad.
Secondly the emergency powers responsibility and actually the plans how to handle the whole situation has obviously never been established.

Neither the pandemic guidelines from 2017 nor the Civil Defence and Emergency Management Act guidelines have been followed.

Another very clear indicator to me was the set of emails after I applied for being a essential business . It took 2 weeks and MBIE and MPI asked each other to make the decision – hilarious if not serious but finally I got in writing what I knew from the beginning. I had an MPI inspector here who had absolutely no idea why he was at my place and what he should look for. The whole thing was and still is chaotic and decisions are being made on the run.

To me it is sad that the tourism industry or other industries have not the balls to go against this government as they would have quite a few points to start.

My business is pretty safe, I’m a grower and contractor to farmers now but I do know others who are still in the tourism industry and have no idea how their tomorrow will look like. I know I can live on F-all the bare minimum, but how to do this with a family, and worse banks lurking around the corner waiting like vultures for a feast.”

Scary stuff that we have such incompetent dickheads deciding who can and can’t operate.
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May 5, 2020 8:38am
- Tony Stuart
  
  Thanks for sharing your new acquaintance’s experiences tedbear. Sadly, this experience is being repeated over and over every day, and not everyone or every business will survive it.
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:45am
- Brian McDonald
  
  Very interesting, we got approved online in 2 days with the paperwork arriving a few days later. I know some have had delays, depending on the type of business. I sent the details of how to apply to a friend who does specialist auto repairs. That was after police had checked his premises while he was working on the vehicle of an essential services worker whose warrant required repairs. My friend had copies of both the reject sheet and details of the essential worker which satisfied the police. I haven’t rung him again to see if he applied or not.
  So I guess if you know what you are doing and persevere you’ll get through.
  At the moment I’m battling over some weight permits I need for a particular job. If I don’t get them in time I’m going to ring the police and explain the situation, give the details of the compliance engineer and see if they’ll agree for us to cart the heavier weights. Failing that I’ll just comply.
  On that point, compliance issues in the transport industry are difficult at any time, hard to get info and most times requiring a certifier who are like hen’s teeth. There are 60 pages of gibberish that a few drawings and notes would tell one everyone they need to know including MOT staff.
  
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  May 5, 2020 10:52am
Peter Lane

The front page of the Herald has the PM with her frowny face on with a huge circle round it like some bloody saint.

Almost lost my breakfast.
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May 5, 2020 8:43am
- burt
  
  If you gave them $50m of other peoples money they would put you on the front page too comrade.
  
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  May 5, 2020 8:56am
  - Nickc2
    
    Get used to it, there’s more to come (money and pictures that is).
    
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    May 5, 2020 9:41am
MrTips

As predicted and no surprise to anyone, here comes the morphing of COVID19 into COVID1984 climate change style, free from RIA as for usual major govt determinations……
https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/121395065/budget-2020-spending-on-climate-could-improve-public-health-resilience-experts-say
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May 5, 2020 8:44am
Vallager

Every time Cindy gets into difficulties with awkward questions, she says the same thing: “I believe the majority of New Zealanders want…..”

Wouldn’t it be great if just one interviewer asks her on what basis she believes this?
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May 5, 2020 8:50am
- Nickc2
  
  There is $50m plus reasons why they wont.
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:44am
- Brian McDonald
  
  The polls, that is the ones made public and more than likely the ones that Simon is hiding.
  
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  May 5, 2020 10:54am
RW Capitalist

Was reminded today, to file my business reports with the companies register.
They now charge for that apparently.
NO NEW TAXES? just levies and fees.
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May 5, 2020 8:51am
Maggie Pie

When this popped up on twitter yesterday, the first thing i thort, it would make a great script if Bollywood wanted to make a sequel to ‘Slumdog Millionaires’ 😀 😀

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/121359471/coronavirus-wealthy-liqour-store-barons-claim-550k-covid19-wage-subsidy
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May 5, 2020 8:51am
- Tony Stuart
  
  Even worse is the Police Association being awarded $373,000 in wage subsidies for its 54 staff, despite the fact it had a financial surplus of in excess of $3 million last year, and that it has $7 million in cash and cash equivalents, and $60 million in investments.
  
  https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/121375961/coronavirus-police-association-granted-370k-from-covid19-wage-subsidy
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:23am
  - Swifty
    
    But meanwhile that filthy capitalist running dog Bob Jones “wouldn’t dream of taking the wage subsidy as we can afford not to….”
    
    https://nopunchespulled.com/2020/05/03/commercial-rent-subsidies/
    
    Good on yer Bob.
    
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    May 5, 2020 9:47am
woodburner

Shovel ready projects. According the David Parker: “Investment in infrastructure is central to the government’s economic plan to keep New Zealanders in jobs”

I didnt realise the construction sector was struggling to keep NZer in Jobs… if anything I thought we had a shortage of workers. Transmission Gulley is pushed out at least a year in part due to 100+ Aussie workers going home.

I cant see a bunch of tourism, hotel and hospitality people suddenly becoming heavy machinery operators. Plus, if you cant actually easily bring in overseas labou, which has been the case, then how are all these roads, rail lines, bridges and cycelways going to get built!?
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May 5, 2020 8:52am
RW Capitalist

Last night on the news, an item about mobile surgical units.
A guy got a hernia operation.
BUT
He had been waiting 6 MONTHS.
ie since Oct/Nov last year, for a 20 minute operation.
Without any self awareness what so ever, they blamed covid 19.
Q:
What happened during the first 4 months?
Waiting lists were getting longer before covid19.
(back to the clark govt.s results)
Now they are using this disease and their incompetent reaction to it, to blame all their previous cock ups on.
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May 5, 2020 8:56am
- krazykiwi
  
  No, no … he can’t have been waiting for treatment because there are no KPIs to measure that. The numbers don’t lie, so when there are no numbers, there are no lies.
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:09am
- Bobba Fret
  
  Covid 19 is the new excuse for everything…its like a get out of jail free card.
  Kiwibuild for example….that was going great and was right on target until covid 19 came along!
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:59am
mikenmildagain

Happy International Midwives’ Day!
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May 5, 2020 8:57am
- krazykiwi
  
  At least they deliver. Unlike your government’s ‘year of delivery’ which should be more explained as ‘the year of creeping (and creepy) totalitarianism’
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:07am
  - mikenmildagain
    
    ‘your government’
    It’s your government too.
    
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    May 5, 2020 10:16am
    - Dougal10
      
      No its not.
      
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      May 5, 2020 8:52pm
- Lee C
  
  Be quiet milky!
  
  Someone will want to renege on funding promises they made to them before the last election…
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:11am
bruceavon

Simon Bridges needs to hound the government about contact tracing everyday. I have got annoyed over time by Bridges barking at every passing car thing. Well now we have a real issue and I am not hearing enough. With testing rates and capacity right up there all that is preventing us from opening our economy is contact tracing. Wheres the app? Do we have software to run a database? Do we still only have a pathetic 200 people making the calls? This is the most important part of this now. If we don’t have it. We can’t move to level 2 or level 1. And yet silence. Simon nows the time to play the attack dog. Without pressure they will kick it down the road and extend level 3, and get away with it. If you don’t think it is the most important thing. Wait till the aussie meeting today with Arden. It will be the first thing they ask her after the niceties. Because they won’t connect with us if we havent sorted it.
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May 5, 2020 9:01am
- krazykiwi
  
  You want a government tracking your movements?
  
  Not I. They’ll pry a tracking app into my cold, dead hands.
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:40am
  - bruceavon
    
    What I think is weird is when I was young, a very long time ago now, young people were the ones who didn’t trust police or authorities. And my parents and older people trusted them. Now it’s the other way around. people on here, who are almost all older I would say, don’t trust them at all. I would say young people take up the app no problem. I personally understand how it works and have no problem either. your phone collects massive amounts of data about your movements anyway. unless you have disabled it androids track where you have been. And iPhones have had a locations function you can look at in your system preferences that’s been there for ages too. as far as I can tell the app simply helps users to tap into these functions to warn contacts. It won’t be able to send data directly to the authorities. The app won’t be much help unless you have massive uptake. If you had 90% it would virtually do much if the work, but I can’t see that. I can help jog memories of movement though. But you can probably do that already.
    
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    May 5, 2020 10:23am
    - Brian McDonald
      
      I agree with you bruceavon about the change of attitudes to police have inter swapped between the young old. Must mean I’m young at heart or maybe that I just want to get on with it.
      I read that there was some kind of subtle threat in Aussie if more people didn’t take the app certain restrictions wouldn’t be lifted. I think it was around 70% and needed to go higher.
      
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      May 5, 2020 11:11am
      - bruceavon
        
        Yes. I am not exactly young, in my late 50’s, but possibly younger on here. But I could care less about an app. What are they going to do with information about where I shop? and if everyone had this app it would be game over for the lock downs. we could go back to normal. and it would be preferable to me to pass on app data than to have to do lengthy MOH interviews.
        
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        May 5, 2020 11:54am
- Tony Stuart
  
  Get in touch with him bruceavon. I emailed him yesterday afternoon, and got a reply last night. I’d suggest you also get in touch with Michael Woodhouse and Dr Shane Reti, National’s two senior Health spokesmen. Their emails are easy to find.
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:48am
  - bruceavon
    
    Ok tony. Good idea. They need to nail them on this. Because I don’t see any urgency. No progress report. We get to Monday and they put the move out to the following week(which they will probably do anyway) just because they have been useless.
    
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    May 5, 2020 9:53am
  - Brian McDonald
    
    I went straight to Simon at least 4 weeks ago but no reply, none from Roberston either but there was a change on regos, cof and wofs so the message got through somehow. I know the Road Transport Assoc attended in person so perhaps they also raised it as an issue.
    The problem now is that Simon is now doing the people “I’ve heard from,” crap, but still won’t release the internal polling.
    
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    May 5, 2020 11:17am
    - Mark Craig
      
      Precisely the point I was trying to make .You would think they would try and make a fight of it leadership wise but they are just rolling over and getting their tummies tickled.Pathetic pussies
      
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      May 5, 2020 2:21pm
- Blackface Twin Reverb
  
  Well, yes, but you should never interrupt an enemy in the process of making a mistake.
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:53am
  - bruceavon
    
    True! But they will stuff it up, delay the opening up of our country, and then get away with it. I can see it now. Then be praised in the press. Bloody annoying.
    
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    May 5, 2020 10:25am
I remember when

Interesting that Sweden has one of the lowest deaths above historical rates in Europe this year to date. Portugal and Austria both look to be tracking close to being in line with usual totals.
The more we find out the less we know. When we get around to scientific research to Covid-19 results it will be revealing.
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May 5, 2020 9:03am
Swifty

What does NZ ‘owe’ foreign citizens here on temporary work visas?

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/121395546/coronavirus-unfair-for-kiwis-to-turn-backs-on-migrant-workers

I say that for those who cannot look after themselves (eg. they’ve lost their income) then let’s give them 3 months of benefits so that no-one starves (especially where kids are involved) but then if no new income has been sourced then it’s off to the airport with flights – at our expense if they can’t pay for themselves.

Much better for these people to be with their family and loved ones at home than here with little support.

We’re going to have to make some very tough decisions in the coming months and years so let this be one of the first. The notion that we add to our burden by paying benefits indefinitely to several hundred thousand non-citizens is economic profligacy and of course will mean less money available to and for our own.

Work visa holders who can support themselves are, of course, welcome to continue to stay subject to adherence to their visa conditions.

Would welcome the thoughts of others.
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May 5, 2020 9:18am
- kwkiwigirl
  
  They could be redeployed to the shovel ready projects in Tokoroa? Can’t have them receiving benefits, even temporary ones, and insisting on being housed in Queenstown.
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:37am
- rockape
  
  Do you think the same with all those Kiwis in the UK and Australia?
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:50am
  - Swifty
    
    Of course.
    
    Kiwis in Oz on a work visa and without income should come home. Either that or we should reimburse the Aussie government for any benefits they receive.
    
    (Thinking about it some more since my original post, perhaps governments could strike some sort of reimbursement deal between themselves.)
    
    It’s tough, but that’s life.
    
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    May 5, 2020 10:16am
    - Max Howler
      
      “Australia’s government is advising New Zealanders living there without means of support to go home…… including 672,000 New Zealanders holding the special category 444 visa.”
      
      fun times….if even 10% take up that not generous offer to f-off
      
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      May 5, 2020 2:19pm
- Nickc2
  
  I think that now our Immigration Department has been side-lined, the Immigration Minister is planning to bring their families here. Problem solved eh Ian?
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:55am
- Ian Boag
  
  Oz people don’t come here on work visas. They can get off the plane and sign up for PR fairly quickly. After that same benefit eligibilty as natives.
  
  NZers in Oz are not on work visas – it’s called a Special Conditions Visa – no eligibility for benefits. Period. (Aside from Medicare).
  
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  May 5, 2020 10:36am
- MCos
  
  ‘Much better for these people to be with their family and loved ones’
  What if their families and loved ones are here?
  
  From my understanding the Transmission Gully Motorway is in trouble because a hundred or so of their workers have left the country, amoung other thing, according to the contractors.
  If there is a mass exodus of foreign workers from Queenstown and the ski season swings into action in a month or so when travel restrictions are relaxed, will there be a Labour shortage? Particularly if Aussies are allowed to travel here.
  
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  May 5, 2020 10:52am
  - Swifty
    
    “What if their families and loved ones are here?”
    
    Our first priority must be to Kiwis.
    
    If people are here on a work visa, and there is no work, then they must face facts and return home.
    
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    May 5, 2020 11:14am
- The Proper Ghandi
  
  We owe them nothing, is the short answer. They should get the fuck out, because New Zealanders are going to need employment.
  
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  May 5, 2020 10:53am
  - Swifty
    
    “…because New Zealanders are going to need employment.”
    
    That’s what I’m thinking. It’ll be what Labour should be thinking too.
    
    Tens or hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals here in work while Kiwis sitting at home can’t find work and have run out of savings.
    
    It’s a recipe for deep resentment.
    
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    May 5, 2020 11:12am
  - MCos
    
    Well, they have been paying the various taxes, same as you.
    
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    May 5, 2020 11:21am
    - Engelbert Humperdink
      
      They haven’t been paying into the NZ fisc that funds all these benefits the way I have since I left school and started PAYE-ing 47 years ago, so sod off with your comparison, Swampy.
      
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      May 5, 2020 1:16pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  If we send all the folk on working visas back home, I think we would find Granny left lying in a bed of piss and poo in inadequately staffed rest homes; fruit and veges would rot in the fields; and the cows wouldn’t get milked.
  
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  May 5, 2020 11:57am
  - Jack5
    
    Depends on how deep the economic wound will be and how long it will take to heal.
    
    People might soon be pleased to get work they previously thought was too poorly paid or too demeaning.
    
    Foreign temporary workers when employment tops 10 per cent and NZ guest workers are pouring home from Australia? That will be a hard sell to voters.
    
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    May 5, 2020 12:57pm
    - Engelbert Humperdink
      
      Some Air NZ Pilots are stacking shelves to have a paid job. Good on them. Until they find something better.
      
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      May 5, 2020 1:17pm
  - The Proper Ghandi
    
    Maggy
    It’s not personal. But they are foreigners, not New Zealanders. Would you prefer your own family member was without work, or your neigbour? You don’t have to hate your neighbour in order to love your family.
    
    The deeper issue is: why are we importing workers with so many (already) unemployed? Seems illogical.
    
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    May 5, 2020 4:26pm
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      I just deal with the situation we have in NZ…
      lots of work to be done and not enough able bodies to do the work.
      
      If there is no capable NZer willing to do a job, then
      I don’t give a stuff if the folks are foreigners or not; if they are willing to do the work that no NZer will do, then they should be treated decently.
      
      But I see no reason why a non-NZer should be given a job when a capable NZer is willing to do it.
      
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      May 5, 2020 5:28pm
      - ISeeRed
        
        But there ARE able bodies. That’s the point. And they’re costing us taxpayers.
        
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        May 6, 2020 10:35am
kowtow

Wow , the ODT editorial team have a very low opinion of the police.

‘It is generally the low-hanging fruit charged by police, people they think most likely they will be able to convict.’

https://www.odt.co.nz/opinion/editorial/ultimate-anti-social-crime
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May 5, 2020 9:23am
- The Proper Ghandi
  
  The editorial team are utterly deluded if they think we are going to “return to level 4” if we misbehave. We’ve had enough.
  
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  May 5, 2020 10:56am
- Grant
  
  They also appear to have a very low opinion of the public as well. Then again, socialists always have.
  
  G
  
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  May 5, 2020 12:33pm
Lee C

I’m hoping that the current silence from Simon Bridges means:
a) he is getting some proper guidance on how to project his message to the people.
b) a cogent strategy for taking this election to the people is being formulated
c) he is working on a plan on how to talk to people and over the heads of the media.

I’d suggest a good old fashioned tour bus and a soap-box. The medias job is to report what is happening, while politicians do it, not to make politicians do things because the media makes it happen.

Really need some visual leadership on this Simon.
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May 5, 2020 9:34am
- kwkiwigirl
  
  I don’t think that would be a great idea at the moment. He would cop a lot of abuse from all the Jacinda fans who have drunk her coolaid, mainly the ones that frequent Facebook and don’t want to hear a word against her.
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:41am
- Tony Stuart
  
  Bridges put this out over the weekend on FB Lee. It’s worth reading:
  
  https://www.facebook.com/simonjbridges/posts/3239611106071036?__tn__=K-R
  
  Interestingly, he has around 1500 comments, most of which are positive. I guess the Labour Party trolls were having the weekend off!
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:51am
  - Tony Stuart
    
    Here’s an example from the comments:
    
    We need to have the same focus on the economy as we did on the health side of this pandemic. It is not a lives versus money debate; it’s a lives versus lives issue. You cannot reasonably defend staying at level three longer than two weeks when lives will be upended and decimated by financial insecurity, joblessness, mental health issues and – God forbid – a rise in the suicide rate.
    
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    May 5, 2020 9:52am
  - Jules99
    
    “1,000 a day go on to jobseeker support, and that number is growing. ”
    
    Wow, I didn’t know that number. Very sad.
    
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    May 5, 2020 12:27pm
- JibberJabber
  
  Simon Bridges and National Party MPs have been deplatformed by what passes for media in this country, a $50million payoff has ensured this will continue `til the election and beyond.
  Ardern, the perfect financial and political genius that she is, thought it was incredibly clever to pay them for what they were already doing for free.
  The media, slow learners that they are, believe they can manipulate the electorate, despite the evidence to the contrary from overseas.
  
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  May 5, 2020 10:04am
  - kwkiwigirl
    
    Would like to know the comparative stats of how often Ardern’s dial has appeared, in the last 5 weeks, as the lead story on the NZH vs how often Morrison has appeared as lead story in the Sydney morning herald.
    
    Fortunately people that vote right are not going to change who they vote for despite all the media supported left wing propaganda here in NZ.
    
    The one to watch though is Peters and how much air time Cindy is going to allow him from now on in, in their cozy little arrangement.
    
    I have an elderly friend who’s only source of news is the newspaper and radio who was saying how much hope she held in Peters bringing us through. That was after he announced ‘his idea’ of opening up quickly, the trans tasman bubble. My elderly friend wants to visit her son in Queensland when the borders open.
    
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    May 5, 2020 10:21am
    - Faroffsound
      
      Winston won’t be happy to remain in the background much longer. Especially with an election only months away.
      
      Expect to see more of his ideas getting an airing very soon.
      
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      May 5, 2020 11:50am
  - Jules99
    
    Yes, I was talking to someone the other day. I commented that Bridges had criticised the PM and made recommendations. They said, well I haven’t heard about it. I said, that’s why the PM handed over $50m to the media.
    
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    May 5, 2020 12:22pm
  - Mark Craig
    
    Ah Mr Jabber there you are ,how much did the Toerie govt gift to tv3 ,in an effort to prop up the very company that one of its ministers sold to the parent company.And can you provide empirical evidence that there.was not a quid pro quo. Nah thought not,you should learn how to spell hypocrite . Honestly you wing nuts have lost the ability to bring rigorous critical thinking to your arguments .All you do is open up fronts you can be attacked on at will .
    
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    May 5, 2020 2:34pm
Maggie Pie

Anyone else here still watching Paul Henry?

Asking for a friend.
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May 5, 2020 9:40am
- Tony Stuart
  
  Yep; his chat with Sir John Key the other night was outstanding.
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:57am
- kwkiwigirl
  
  Yes watching that and the AM show. Henry clearly using all the business contacts he has in his circle. Wonder if he has returned to NZ permanently from Palm Springs. Great interview with John Key last week.
  
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  May 5, 2020 10:54am
  - Captain Mainwaring
    
    Watched him last night for the first time and he was pretty good.
    Won’t be watching tonight though as he has the ogre H. Clark on.
    Is he doing the show from Palm Springs or is he back here?
    
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    May 5, 2020 12:55pm
    - tui47
      
      Back here and was engaged to Diane Foreman and I think they have since married. I saw them together a few months ago so I think he has been back awhile. He still has his house in Palm Springs and I doubt he will stop going there – I certainly wouldn’t if I was him!
      
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      May 5, 2020 5:21pm
Durden

Questions for our clever reporters to ask today’s “Jaz and Ash @ 1 ” show. They should be focusing on questioning preparedness leading to decision on Level Two – Two be or not Two be.

1. How many people in total have arrived into NZ after mandatory quarantine was declared? What is the weekly rate?

2. How many of these arrivals tested positive during their quarantine. Where did they originate their travel from and via which transits?

3. Is govt in touch with above returnees after they exit quarantine, and how many, if any, have been tested AFTER they exited (due to delayed symptoms appearing) ? Are they recalled for quarantine?

4. Given that the government is changing definitions of the Risk Levels and terms “Elimination” etc, what is the current definition of “Community Transmission”. How many cases are there right now.

5. What is the current definition of “Recovered” and how many of those recovered have presented again with symptoms.

6. Which of the clusters known so far are still expanding. What are the most common causes of expanding?

7. How many of the known and cleared contacts so far (incl those confirmed and recovered) have reported for testing after the 14 day period due to appearance (or reappearance) of symptoms?

8. In terms of contact tracing system readiness assessment, what is the TARGET ELAPSED TIME (TET) between contact occurring and the contact being called and isolated.

9. What will the acceptable TET level be for safe introduction Level 2 and why is that target considered appropriate? What is the volume of cases you can handle at this service level beyond which the system gets swamped. Will you report min, average and max TET for a rolling week on an ongoing basis.

10. Is the mandatory quarantining of incoming travelers going to continue until a vaccine or a treatment is found. If not why not?

11. What are you doing in terms monitoring of arrivals via other modes of travel. Ships, Yachts and associated shore visits/ship ladies etc.

12. Test Test Test. What is the strategy and plan for statistically sound random testing of general population. And health and other front line workers?

13. Sustainable long term mandatory quarantining. Have the government decided on a date from which travelers (returning for good from permanent residences overseas, and outgoing travelers returning) will bear their own cost of quarantining ?

14. Will incoming travellers be subject to mandatory serological antibody testing to establish immunity? If not why not?

15. Why are you not making all raw data publicly available so that analysis, examination and finding of insights, can be crowdsourced to people working at universities and other interested parties.

Thank you.
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May 5, 2020 9:41am
- Maggie Pie
  
  Be good to your partner. Remember, right now they could poison you and it would be counted as a covid death.
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:50am
- kevn
  
  @Durden… What you are missing, is that most ‘reporters’ are given prepared questions to ask JA. Her lightning fast response, without much thought or pondering is the clue. Watch closely.
  Plenty of tilty head, scowl/manic grins though.
  Also, there are very few actual ‘reporters’ attending.
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:57am
  - tui47
    
    So she knows the the question is coming yet she still puts on that fake ‘I am seriously thinking’ look on for the benefit of her audience? They react by posting love hearts in on social media and compliment her on her ‘intelligence’.
    
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    May 5, 2020 5:26pm
- Tony Stuart
  
  You missed out the obligatory question about progress with potty training 😀
  
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  May 5, 2020 9:58am
  - Mark Craig
    
    Mr Stuart again you appear to miss the human touch.Keep it up ,that comment by Jacinda got 10,000 womens votes .You just do not get it .For now ,womenfolk are just gratefull the sainted St Jacinda has kept their family safe.Your side is so pathetic in their understanding I could almost feel sorry for you .Fer Gods sake man try to make it a contest .
    
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    May 5, 2020 2:44pm
    - Mark Craig
      
      Shit only 5 downticks so far ,I am losing my touch.Never mind a quick trip to the socialist collective boot training camp should soon have me up to speed.
      
      [Mod: Thanks for confirming that you’re a troll. Have a week off.]
      
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      May 5, 2020 5:16pm
    - tui47
      
      The reason that more females love Ardern is that females are easily pulled in by superficial words like kindness and compassion. They love their show pony PM. In having a PM like Jacinda we can see why females are less likely to reach the top in business due to an inability to make what are often ruthless decisions. I think Jacinda is actually taking feminism backwards by exposing how easily superficial emotional words seem to remove any common sense and logic from a females ability to think objectively. Men on the other hand are less likely to react emotionally to superficial qualities (apart from when sex is concerned). Men look to the big picture non emotive aspects of a PM. That is demonstrated competence, ability and strength and solid achievement. Watching those show pony stand ups at the podium drive me crazy as does listening to continuous wordy meaningless PR talk.
      
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      May 5, 2020 5:48pm
      - Simon Gotlieb
        
        Not even getting in to the obvious sexist nonsense and generalisation in this post. You would probably do well to remember that women make up half the population – and they vote. Just because you think something is important, or unimportant, doesn’t mean your are right – or wrong. It just means you have an opinion.
        
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        May 5, 2020 10:08pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  The epidemiologists need better data, delivered in a timely fashion, to really understand what is going on with virus here in NZ.
  https://sciblogs.co.nz/public-health-expert/2020/05/03/what-we-would-like-to-see-on-the-ministry-of-healths-website-to-better-inform-progress-on-covid-19-elimination/
  
  (The first commenter – John Parkes – lists the key questions reporters should have asked weeks ago).
  
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  May 5, 2020 11:20am
Swifty

Saturn 5 launch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViNcBQ8cDA0

Turn up speakers to loud.
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May 5, 2020 9:42am
Chuck Bird

I hope some will sign my petition. Link below.

That the House of Representatives urge the Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern to apologise to those cancer patients whose treatment was delayed to allow for a possible influx of people infected by COVID-19.

Petition reason

I read in the NZ Herald on 23 April of a woman with stage two breast cancer and recommended for surgery having to dip into her meagre savings and pay $15,000 to have the surgery done privately. I believe this is not unique and that many cancer patients have had indefinite delays in surgery or scans as a result of the decisions made by a small group of people, including the Prime Minister. Putting the lives of cancer patients lives at risk unnecessarily is unconscionable.

https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/petitions/document/PET_97603/petition-of-chuck-bird-rt-hon-jacinda-ardern-should-apologise
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May 5, 2020 9:50am
Steve Otto(North Shore)

If the Govt can force working people to stay at home and not work, why can’t they force lazy people to get a job?
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May 5, 2020 9:51am
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  3 downticks. That means 3 unemployable dropkicks
  
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  May 5, 2020 11:19am
  - Simon Gotlieb
    
    Hardly. It means 3 (six as at 2209) people didn’t agree with you.
    
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    May 5, 2020 10:10pm
JibberJabber

Funny how Perfection Cindy has a high tolerance for the …er… imperfect performances of the Ministers of her Government that she and she alone is responsible for.
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May 5, 2020 9:55am
Jack5

Wuhan flu news from Taiwan, probably the world leader in holding down Covid-19 while letting business continue as usual.

Two more cases have been reported: one a student in her 30’s who returned from the United States on April 9 and had been in home isolation, and the other another sailor from the goodwill voyage to Micronesia which led to 745 sailors being quarantined on their return, with about 36 testing positive.

Taiwan’s toll now: 438 cases, six deaths (population 23.6 million).

https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2020/05/05/2003735837
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May 5, 2020 9:57am
- kowtow
  
  World leader , not allowed in WHO/UN because we kowtow .
  And the US were very poor to an old ally when they dropped them for the Comrades .
  Look at how well that’s worked out.
  
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  May 5, 2020 10:43am
- Jack5
  
  NZ in video conference with other small, “smart” (on Covid-19) countries – Austria, Israel, Denmark, Greece, Czech Republic and Australia (well, small in population).
  
  But no mention of the small country that is doing best of all – Taiwan. The world kowtows to Beijing.
  
  https://www.thelocal.at/20200426/austria-pushes-coronavirus-co-operation-with-smart-countries
  
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  May 5, 2020 10:50am
cmm

Unintended consequences are a bitch.

South Africa is trying to lock down harder than NZ but is failing due to limited opportunities for social distancing in many areas.

But the lockdown is really biting in other ways that are causing health issues.

The supply, and use, of ARV drugs for HIV containment has dropped off. This makes it very likely that there will be some increase in HIV/AIDS in South Africa in a few months.

Same too with TB, malaria and other problematic diseases.

Social grant payments (which feed approx 40% of people) are getting hard to access due to lockdowns and kilometer-long queues are forming for food handouts. People are getting hungry and some rioting is happening.

The cure is certainly worse than the disease.
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May 5, 2020 9:57am
- alloytoo
  
  25 long years of neglect have left most of SA’s critical infrastructure and services in poor state.
  
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  May 5, 2020 10:34am
  - Sacha
    
    Wait for it!
    NZ’s PM orders all food exports to be delivered to Africa. She says that this will demonstrate NZ’s commitment to kindness to all of the World’s peoples, and to playing its part in the UN programme.
    Meanwhile, in NZ . . . . . . . .
    
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    May 5, 2020 11:29am
    - Mark Craig
      
      WTF Sacha in your dreams .What have you been smoking,that is beyond pathetic.
      
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      May 5, 2020 4:44pm
  - cmm
    
    Especially medical service:
    1967: South Africa does first heart transplant.
    2020: South Africa needs Cuban doctors to help out.
    
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    May 5, 2020 2:07pm
tedbear

Does anyone think some businesses will unite and form a Class Action against the Govt’s lockdown legality?
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May 5, 2020 10:31am
- Inandout
  
  tedbear, you mean the businesses that haven’t closed up? Possibly.
  
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  May 5, 2020 10:41am
  - tedbear
    
    Have or haven’t, both have grounds.
    More so the ones that have closed have probably closed because the Govt actions bankrupted them.
    
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    May 5, 2020 11:48am
Blackface Twin Reverb

So, the Hillary loving Arizona wife who gave her husband fish tank cleaner, because “Trump said to”, is now being investigated by homicide detectives.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7hw2KBv8sk

Question for the Orange Man Bad team: is this still Trumps fault?
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May 5, 2020 10:46am
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Darwin did not do his job.
  
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  May 5, 2020 11:21am
Stu2

The Washington Uni USA IHME model was predicting 71,000 deaths with social distancing and lockdown in place. The US daily numbers are fairly flat so that looked low.

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

They have reworked it now that 30+ states have began relaxing controls, many on the back of flat or increasing case counts. The first federal guideline criteria for relaxation (daily cases on a downward trajectory for 14 days) have been largely ignored.

The revised number is 134,000 by early august.

Not surprising – Italy and Spain have shown how hard it is to pull infection in once it is widely spread in the community

https://covid19.healthdata.org/united-states-of-america
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May 5, 2020 10:50am
- Fletch
  
  And much of that is nursing homes, where New York’s Gov Cuomo sent Covid patients that had been released from hospital, forcing the homes to take them. He is now playing dumb, but we have testimony from a rest home administrator and a copy of the letter Cuomo and his pals sent to homes.
  
  Disgusting.
  
  Rest homes were in no way equipped to handle that.
  
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  May 5, 2020 11:12am
- cmm
  
  And yet USA is still nowhere near the top of the pack in the only number that really matters: deaths per million.
  
  USA 204, UK 419, Italy 477, Spain 540, Belgium 675
  
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  May 5, 2020 2:13pm
  - Steve Todd
    
    Your figures are out-of-date, and incomplete.
    
    USA 211, Belgium 684, Spain 544, Italy 481, UK 423, and France 386.
    
    Additional, pertinent, figures (which you conveniently omitted) are as follows—
    
    New York City 2,272 (Deaths 18,909; population 8,323,338), New York State 1,271, New Jersey 895, Connecticut 714, Massachusetts 599, Louisiana 443, Michigan 415, and the District of Columbia 377.
    
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    May 5, 2020 2:46pm
    - Ed Snack
      
      An MIT report claims that the NY Subway system, essentially uncontrolled (no mandatory anti-virus precautions) maybe the a major factor in the spread in NY itself.
      
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      May 5, 2020 4:43pm
Paulus

Sounds we are controlled by a very few people.
The daily work bubble committee controlled by Cindy are : –
Andrew Campbell – Press Officer
Raj Nahna – Chief of Staff
Le Roy Taylor – Private Secretary
Grant Robertson – [del.] Controller
Holly Donald – Policy Advisor.
All daily statements for Cindy decided then.
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May 5, 2020 10:52am
- krazykiwi
  
  The [Mod] clearly doesn’t like Thomas the Tank Engine references!
  
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  May 5, 2020 11:20am
- Maggie Pie
  
  My partner was saying he knows Raj’s brother, Baa.
  
  LOL!!
  
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  May 5, 2020 11:26am
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    Whooossshhh for some
    
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    May 5, 2020 11:39am
- All_on_Red
  
  I think Raj Nahna resigned last year.
  *walks off whistling*
  
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  May 5, 2020 2:13pm
103PapPap

Anyone noticed how the epidemiology ‘experts’ are disagreeing with each other.
Every epidemiologist has a different perspective on the data, and what needs to be done.
This shows that epidemiology is very much an inexact science. A bit like climate change really.
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May 5, 2020 11:03am
- Random T Person
  
  And economics ;-). They don’t call it ‘the dismal science’ for no reason.
  
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  May 5, 2020 11:28am
- Jules99
  
  That’s because the field is very multi-disciplinary. It’s probably good they don’t agree, and it’s a good reason for not relying on one source for advice. The modern left love it because it looks at disease in groups and is very collectivist. It generally ignores differences between individuals which can effect whether or not they get sick. An epidemiologist is more likely to assume the reason that dark skinned ethnic groups catch it more easily is due to poverty and racism, not vitamin D status of individuals.
  
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  May 5, 2020 12:05pm
- Libertarians are right
  
  Which is why the Government leans so heavily on Susie the Socialist because they know she’ll back them no matter what. And yes, I understand that she’s less qualified than every epidemiologist given that she isn’t one but at least they aren’t using a Physicist to do all of their modelling on the virus. Oh wait, this Government is ridiculous.
  
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  May 5, 2020 1:25pm
Jack5

University of Bonn researchers who studied an early cluster of Covid-19 in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia estimate that only one in 10 coronavirus cases have been diagnosed.

Deutsche Welle reports that the scientists analysed the infection rate of the small municipality of Gangelt (on the border of the Netherlands), then surveyed and tested of the local sample.

They were investigating how many cases were either symptom-less or so mild that they went unreported.

Study results showed the number of coronavirus infections was five times higher than registered in Gangelt, and that 15 per cent of the community had been infected following a carnival in February. The study found that 22 per cent of the reported infected coronavirus patients in Gangelt showed no symptoms.

Based on their findings, virologists estimate that, in Germany, as many as 1.8 million might have contracted the virus — 10 times higher than the known number.
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May 5, 2020 11:16am
- cmm
  
  There were similar findings from some studies conducted in USA too.
  
  But nobody wants us to hear this because we might stop feeling frightened.
  
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  May 5, 2020 2:31pm
Benedict Yu

You are going to see this behaviour on steroids in the next few months. Here the French Government is telling Air France to scrap short haul routes because it is better for the environment that folk take the train. The pandemic is described by the Finance Minister as “an opportunity to reinvent our model of economic development”.

We should be very afraid. This attitude will not be confined to France. I can see it happening in a small island nation at the bottom of the world.

EDIT: The other stupid thing about this comment is that, like New Zealand, the negative externalities of domestic air travel are already priced in their Emissions Trading Scheme. Markets, not politicians, should decide whether people travel by plane or train.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52527517

“Coronavirus aid: Air France ‘must cut domestic flights to get state loan'”

“In his radio interview, Mr Le Maire said the coronavirus crisis provided an opportunity to “reinvent our model of economic development to ensure it is more respectful of the environment”.

“When you can travel by train in less than two and a half hours, there is no justification for taking a plane.”
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May 5, 2020 11:24am
- UrbanNeocolonialist
  
  Trains are far less cost efficient than aircraft, as is demonstrated by their much higher operational costs of about $0.8/passenger km vs $0.1 for jet aircraft.
  
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  May 5, 2020 1:22pm
- cmm
  
  At least trains can make some sense in France if you’re going to somewhere on the TGV lines which can get an average speed of 270kph.
  
  Our mob will probably think it makes sense here too.
  
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  May 5, 2020 2:37pm
greenfinger

Ardern confirmed it herself. She is absolutely obsessed being a “perfectionist” over ZERO COVID19 CASE, “a badge of honour”, she says. At first, she said eradication doesn’t mean no cases but now it seems it does again? Make up your mind! How about being obsessed with ZERO UNEMPLOYMENT? Obviously, that you make you redundant because no one would have to rely on your government handouts. We can’t have that…

I would rather have a job than your stinking badge!
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May 5, 2020 11:33am
- cmm
  
  Expect zero covid stickers in your postbox in the next few days…
  
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  May 5, 2020 2:38pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

For the ‘Trump is not a Doctor’ crowd:
Bill Nye is not a scientist.
Greta is not a climate expert.
Hillary Clinton is not a President.
AOC is not an economist.
CNN is not a news network.
Joe Biden is not winning 2020.
… and Jeffrey Epstein didn’t kill himself.
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May 5, 2020 11:33am
- mikenmildagain
  
  Trump does claim to be an expert on very many matters though.
  
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  May 5, 2020 11:55am
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    So do you Mike. Always have an opinion
    
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    May 5, 2020 12:22pm
  - chaos
    
    Really, I’ve never seen him claiming to be an expert on very many things, I have now ever seen him turn to experts and ask them questions just to have twits like you then twist that and claim he said something
    
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    May 5, 2020 4:32pm
    - mikenmildagain
      
      You possibly have not pad very much attention. Here are some quotes providing a (partial) list of Trump’s claimed expertise:
      “I think nobody knows more about campaign finance than I do, because I’m the biggest contributor.”
      “I know more about people who get ratings than anyone.”
      “I know more about ISIS than the generals do.”
      “I understand social media. I understand the power of Twitter. I understand the power of Facebook maybe better than almost anybody, based on my results, right?”
      “I know more about courts than any human being on Earth.”
      “Who knows more about lawsuits than I do? I’m the king.”
      “I understand politicians better than anybody.”
      “Nobody knows more about trade than me.”
      “Nobody knows the system better than I do.”
      “I know more about renewables than any human being on Earth.”
      “I think nobody knows more about taxes than I do, maybe in the history of the world.”
      “I’m the king of debt. I’m great with debt. Nobody knows debt better than me.”
      “I understand money better than anybody.”
      “Look, as a builder, nobody in the history of this country has ever known so much about infrastructure as Donald Trump.”
      “I think I know more about the other side than almost anybody.”
      “Nobody knows more about construction than I do.”
      “Technology — nobody knows more about technology than me.”
      “I know more about drones than anybody. I know about every form of safety that you can have.”
      
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      May 5, 2020 5:42pm
      - chaos
        
        Aww how nice, a list copied from the internet with no context of what is being said.
        
        Although this is a good place to start
        
        https://www.amazon.com/examples-lawbreaking-corruption-cronyism-hypocrisy-ebook/dp/B01E4U36NE
        
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        May 5, 2020 7:04pm
Fletch

After the lock down, Kiwis eat 5 weeks worth of KFC in one week –

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/lifestyle/2020/05/coronavirus-hungry-kiwis-eat-five-weeks-worth-of-takeaways-after-lockdown.html
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May 5, 2020 11:43am
- cmm
  
  Another unintended consequence with more bad outcomes in a few months/years from now.
  
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  May 5, 2020 3:54pm
- chaos
  
  I know our local McDonald’s and kfc were reported to be really busy, unless you looked at the traffic cam outside them and saw one or two cars at a time there. Guess that is why the local rag never published any photos of the lines of traffic supposedly waiting to get into them.
  
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  May 5, 2020 4:31pm
  - mikenmildagain
    
    I live very close to a KFC. Believe me, there was a traffic jam, and there is still a coned-off lane to separate their customers from the rest of the traffic in the street.
    
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    May 5, 2020 6:06pm
    - chaos
      
      How nice for you, but alas, as you can read I was talking about the McDonald’s and kfc in my town, not what ever slum you live in.
      
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      May 5, 2020 6:53pm
      - Simon Gotlieb
        
        That’s really uncalled for chaos. You can discuss something without being a complete arse surely?
        
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        May 5, 2020 10:17pm
greenfinger

Do you think while they are developing a drug or a vaccine for covide19 that they could develop a vaccine to immunise against stupidity, or at least a test for it to see if you have been infected but has remained asymptomatic. Judging by the current leadership in this country, it looks like we need at least a test soon. Zero new COVID19 case vs zero new unemployment case? Come on, there is no contest even for a devout communist!
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May 5, 2020 11:55am
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  99% of the left would test posidive
  
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  May 5, 2020 12:24pm
  - Simon Gotlieb
    
    You remind me of the guy who keeps popping up on my Facebook feed with the sign that says “Get a brian, morans!” If you’re going to claim that another group are stupid, try and spell it correctly so you don’t look unintelligent yourself, eh?
    
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    May 5, 2020 10:19pm
    - All_on_Red
      
      I think that’s the guy you see in the mirror
      
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      May 5, 2020 11:03pm
    - Steve Otto(North Shore)
      
      It was a sledge referring to PTPM’s terrible use of the English language.
      Whooossshhhh for you
      
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      May 6, 2020 7:49am
Happychappy

Coronavirus : Government’s Post- COVID recovery should take a leaf out Germanys book Economist.
German Economist and director of New Zealand Initiative Dr Oliver Hartwich, says NZ could learn a thing or two from Germany’s post war response in regards to economic recovery.
Winston Peters approach is ‘exactly the wrong thing to do’.
Hartwich has flatly denied suggestions made by Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Winston Peters to increase the Governments grip on the economy post -COVID, saying it’s the wrong approach to New Zealand’s recovery, “what we need now is not what Winston Peters talks about….quite the opposite ” he said.

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/05/coronavirus-government-s-post-covid-recovery-should-take-a-leaf-out-of-germany-s-book-economist.html
A very good article on what’s needed and how he thinks pot war Germany is what NZ could follow.
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May 5, 2020 11:59am
- cmm
  
  “NZ could learn a thing or two from Germany’s post war response”
  
  Yup, so long as you choose the right Germany…
  
  West Germans did well, East Germany not so much.
  
  Both Germanies scored out of massive injections of capital from their ruling powers: USA and USSR – both trying to “prove” that their ideologies were superior.
  
  As a result, West Germany were off the ration far earlier than the Uk. East Germans had better food and goods than their counterparts in USSR.
  
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  May 5, 2020 3:50pm
  - Jack5
    
    According to a table this article, the UK received more than twice as West Germany under the Marshall Plan, and France, too, received more than West Germany.
    
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Plan
    
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    May 5, 2020 9:45pm
Martin Williams

Peter Jackson backed, and single-digit winner Mayor Andy Foster and shut the media out of previously public meetings.

Where is the outrage from this very blog on the naked curtailing of transparency and oversight by Mayor Foster?

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/121407339/wellington-mayor-andy-foster-denies-media-access-to-previously-public-city-council-workshop
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May 5, 2020 12:10pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  As the Stuff story was only published at 11:42am, perhaps most of the “outraged” KBers haven’t caught up with the details.
  
  Thank-you for bringing this outrage to our attention.
  
  I no longer live in Wellington, but rest assured my old acquaintance wouldn’t have got my vote.
  
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  May 5, 2020 12:37pm
- kwkiwigirl
  
  Wouldn’t pay too much attention to any Stuff/dompost articles on WCC. Very slanted towards their green party/labour portion of Wellington voters. Anything by Dave Armstrong is a classic. I see Armstrong doesn’t even have the balls to open up his articles for comment anymore.
  
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  May 5, 2020 1:18pm
- cmm
  
  Nothing stopping you start your own blog…
  
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  May 5, 2020 3:53pm
  - chaos
    
    Don’t be silly, who would want to go to a blog and read an article that the media forgot too ask for access to the meeting and had to put in a request an hour or so before the meeting happened. They were approved for the next meeting. But seriously you’d have to be retarded to make this out to be anything other than the media we’re asleep and forgot to do their job and book a place to be included.
    
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    May 5, 2020 4:27pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

Time for Simon Bridges to pick the scab off the COL and expose them for what they are – a festering sore.
Lance the boil
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May 5, 2020 12:31pm
- Mark Craig
  
  I think the only thing about to be lanced is Soiman
  
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  May 5, 2020 4:51pm
Maggie Pie

I’ll tell you what we have been watching, and that’s Sue Perkins abfab travel doco, ‘The Ganges’ (Choice channel).
It’s been an amazing journey, but would confirm to most people why they wouldn’t want to visit India. Last night was the final episode where she ended in Calcutta. Sue joined the annual thong of six million Indian devotees on the banks of the sacred Ganges, revered for its purity that cleanses the sins of the faithful.. What was pleasing to see, was the provision of 120 hastily erected portaloos along the rivers edge 🙁

Yu can watch it here…
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09blcw9
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May 5, 2020 12:41pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Thank goodness the throngs wear thongs…
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wj67pMlamFg
  
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  May 5, 2020 2:13pm
  - Maggie Pie
    
    Holy Shit!! 😀
    
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    May 5, 2020 2:22pm
I remember when

Rod Oram: Nature is Showing Us the Way –
“Nature’s rebound is one of the upsides of the Covid-19 crisis. Atmosphere and Waters cleared, land quietened, and birds, fish and animals returned”.
“Speed is one of the surprises about this virus.”
“If so nature would respond ever faster to the destructive pressure humans put on it, Climate Catastrophe, Species Extinction, Ecosystem Destruction and degradation of air, water and soil would all accelerate with frightening speed.”
* Apart from the ‘atmosphere cleared’ which has been frequently mentioned, and lack of traffic movement would suggest likely, most of the rest is simply lack of human movement. Has anyone noticed the extra bats, seals or sealions our only native animals.
* “Waters cleared” is interesting as Dairying continued, apart from some drought reduction, as normal (have farmers been hard done by). Urban population use of sewerage systems would seem unlikely to have changed either.
* “Speed of the virus” – like at the speed of a jet passenger plane? In line with the flu season?
* “Climate Catastrophe, Species Extinction, Ecosystem Destruction and degradation of air, water and soil.” Boy that virus has some remarkable skills.
* “Would all accelerate with frightening speed” Subliminal message? Subtle? NO!
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May 5, 2020 1:03pm
Tony Stuart

Some interesting, and very pointed, questions to Ministers coming at 2pm including:

Hon TODD McCLAY to the Minister of Tourism: What action, if any, will he take this week to save businesses and jobs in the tourism sector?

Hon LOUISE UPSTON to the Minister for Social Development: What action is she taking, if any, to support the more than 1,000 people who have lost their jobs and gone onto jobseeker support each day since the lockdown?

Dr SHANE RETI to the Associate Minister of Health: Does she agree with Dr Ashley Bloomfield that “all New Zealanders are now able to get a flu jab”?

Hon GERRY BROWNLEE to the Minister of Revenue: Did he know that the Small Business Cashflow (Loan) Scheme was in the COVID-19 Response (Taxation and Other Regulatory Urgent Measures) Bill that was introduced to Parliament on Thursday, 30 April; if so, why didn’t he notify the Opposition that the scheme was not in the bill supplied to them that morning?

Q9, Brownlee to Nash, looks particularly interesting. Was it REALLY an error from the Parliamentary Counsel’s office which saw National MP’s given a different version of the Bill to debate, or is there a more sinister explanation?
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May 5, 2020 1:11pm
- Maggie Pie
  
  And ‘word of the day’ goes to the PM’s response during Q1 😛
  
  “NORMALADY”
  
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  May 5, 2020 2:17pm
  - chaos
    
    Is that a drag queen?
    
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    May 5, 2020 4:13pm
I remember when

Just heard the latest two second report on the coronavirus situation which was being followed by the party political speech.
Does it remind anyone else of those pick-up sports games?
The ones where the person who owns the ball picks the teams and makes up the rules.
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May 5, 2020 1:32pm
kloyd0306

Things I won’t forget between now and Sept 17:
1) Borders were not closed early enough
2) Supermarkets and dairies allowed to remain open but not green grocers and butchers
3) Muslims allowed their own butchers
4) Maori allowed to set up road blocks
5) MoH Clark’s flouting his own laws while denying a dying man to see his son.
Stay tuned – there are sure to be more reasons to vote this incompetent, inept bunch of losers out of power.
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May 5, 2020 2:03pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Elective surgery stopped. Also ‘active surveillance’ No MRI prostate scan for me
  
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  May 5, 2020 2:41pm
  - tui47
    
    No mammograms for females and a big backlog when this is over. How many women and men will end up with a delayed diagnosis?
    
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    May 5, 2020 5:55pm
- chaos
  
  Was told a story yesterday by someone who was involved in the story, a dr. If it got out and I hope it does Clark would be gone so quickly.
  
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  May 5, 2020 4:12pm
- Alex13
  
  Agree with all of the 5 points. Not sure if a different bunch of politicians would have not screwed things up (albeit maybe in a different way).
  
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  May 5, 2020 6:42pm
Maggy Wassilieff

A lesson for politicians when caught with pants down (from an experienced player)…

Make light of the incident.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/local-government/121406391/no-pants-and-a-feather-duster–welcome-to-dunedins-revealing-council-meeting
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May 5, 2020 2:21pm
- Tauhei Notts
  
  Some years ago I saw a politician referred to on this site as “the panty slut boy” and I’m damned if I can remember his name.
  
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  May 5, 2020 2:32pm
  - Tony Stuart
    
    David Benson-Pope, from memory.
    
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    May 5, 2020 2:43pm
    - Maggie Pie
      
      And weren’t there allegations that when he was a school teacher, B-P used to just walk unanounced into the girls showers for a perv?
      This alwayz seems to be such a Labor thang?
      
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      May 5, 2020 3:16pm
      - Tony Stuart
        
        Yep, and he stuck tennis balls in kids’ mouths, then taped them up.
        
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        May 5, 2020 4:25pm
    - david
      
      Once a pervert, always a pervert.
      
      5 0
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      May 5, 2020 5:51pm
    - tui47
      
      If Benson-Pope had been a National MP we would still be seeing his name splashed over social media whenever someone wanted to abuse National.
      
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      May 5, 2020 5:58pm
  - Mark Craig
    
    Is that you menopausal ol biddy
    
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    May 5, 2020 4:53pm
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      If you are trying to insult me by calling me a menopausal old biddy, I’m afraid you are exposing your lack of knowledge about females and their menstrual cycles.
      
      This old biddy stopped being menopausal many years ago (thank goodness!!!!!!!!).
      
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      May 5, 2020 6:32pm
    - KevO'Brien
      
      Mark, you’re attacking the wrong person with your antique bile.
      
      5 0
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      May 5, 2020 8:24pm
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        But it demonstrates clearly the misogynist core of so many of these caring folk.
        
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        May 5, 2020 9:01pm
I remember when

The foreign worker here on a “One or Two Year” Work visa is an interesting situation.
These workers have made a considerable impact on our GDP and expansion of many industries. They are doing work that NZers are either not available to do or are unwilling to do.
In many cases they have had to pay large sums of money to agents to have access to their jobs. Much of the first year income for many new two year visa holders is used to repay these fees.
They are separated from their wives and families and are often first class employees.
We have benefited considerably from the presence of these workers and have a duty to treat their positions fairly.
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May 5, 2020 2:32pm
- Engelbert Humperdink
  
  Corrupt overseas visa / job agents’ excessive charges are not our problem.
  
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  May 5, 2020 3:03pm
- cmm
  
  It must be a good deal for them or they would not come.
  
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  May 5, 2020 3:35pm
- Alex13
  
  “…NZers are either not available to do or are unwilling to do”. Hopefully, this will change. There must be something useful coming from this damned pandemic.
  
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  May 5, 2020 6:39pm
Philview

Wow, just read a positive article about Simon Bridges on Stuff. The article liked his and National business proposals released today.
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May 5, 2020 2:46pm
- Tony Stuart
  
  Yes, here it is:
  
  https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/121407995/nationals-simon-bridges-hits-the-right-note-with-policy-plan
  
  The worm seems to be turning, just a little…
  
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  May 5, 2020 4:26pm
  - Martin Williams
    
    Luke Malpass is a right wing Australian journalist.
    
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    May 5, 2020 8:10pm
Bell-47

We have been had..Time for a constitution.

Health Act (COVID-19 Alert Level 3) Order 2020.
3 Background (1) On 24 March 2020, the Prime Minister, with the agreement of the Minister of Health, gave a notice under section 5 of the Epidemic Preparedness Act 2006. The epidemic notice allows the use of special powers by the Medical Officer of Health in accordance with section 70 of the Health Act 1956 for the purpose of preventing the outbreak or spread of COVID-19.

According to the above Health Act (Covid-19 Alert level 3) Order 2020 Background the Prime Minister’s Gazetted Epidemic Notice is the principle legal basis for the “lock down” rules. According to the requirements of the Prime Minister’s Epidemic Notice compliance with the Level 4 “lock down’ “rules can only be voluntary and cannot be enforced. This is because it is stipulated in Sec 12 (3) (c) and Sec 15 (3) (c) of the Epidemic Preparedness Act 2006 specify that the rights enshrined in the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 remain unextinguished under an Epidemic Notice. This includes Sec 16: Freedom of peaceful assembly, Sec 17: Freedom of association and Sec 18 (1) Freedom of movement.

If the Prime Minister’s gazetted Epidemic Notice is the principle legal basis under which the Corona Virus “outbreak ” is being managed and our rights enshrined in the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 remain unextinguished then strategies such as Police check points, where movement is stopped and information on movement destinations are demanded and, in some cases freedom of movement is prevented are a breach of our rights. In accordance with the Prime Minister’s gazetted Epidemic Notice we have all been voluntarily complying with the Level 4 “lock down” rules and have chosen not to avail ourselves of our rights to assemble, to associate and our right of freedom of movement.
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May 5, 2020 2:59pm
cmm

Today I had an interesting chat with a very senior doctor at a major hospital.

His part of the hospital is shut down for the CV19 stuff and has put them back quite a few months, but they are setting things up waiting to open up again. They are triaging their waiting lists and dumping as many patients as they can.

Ok, no news in that.

But them he said something very interesting: he said they’d only just got things ticking along reasonably well after being stuffed around by the government for the previous 12 months.

It sounds like CV19 came as a very convenient rug for the Dave and Cindy show to cover up their mistakes.
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May 5, 2020 3:44pm
- chaos
  
  Not just mistakes and cover ups but the points for ops were increased and a lot of people before this were being denied ops because of that. I know of one surgeon who basically was on a few months holiday from the public hospital because there was no money for the hip and knee replacements.
  
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  May 5, 2020 4:10pm
  - KevO'Brien
    
    It would only take a little mail to provide the necessary vehicle.
    From the peculiar global nature and incidence of the global lockdowns I’m keeping an open mind on who or what triggered this calamity.
    
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    May 5, 2020 8:18pm
- coolas
  
  cmm … a friend who knows a doctor who knows someone high up in MOH told me they have evidence that Sin-dee and her Marxist mates are in league with China and deliberately imported Covid 19 so they could implement their socialist agenda … just saying …
  
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  May 5, 2020 4:20pm
Poppa

Cindy won’t be in a good way today, the numbers are not following her script of keeping people locked up

We should be in Level 2 now & Level 1 next week

But of course, power is a very strong perfume
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May 5, 2020 3:56pm
Critical Thinker

Dr. Erickson and Dr. Massihi held a press conference on April 22nd about the results of testing they conducted at their urgent care facilities in California, showing that the Coronavirus isn’t the doomsday plague it’s being made out to be. The video went viral. After reaching five million views, YouTube took it down on the grounds that it “violated community standards.” ?

Here’s the follow up interview of these 2 doctors released today:

https://youtu.be/3f0VRtY9oTs?t=27
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May 5, 2020 4:04pm
Benedict Yu

“It’s time to make trans-Tasman travel domestic”

https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/kiwi-traveller/121408678/its-time-to-make-transtasman-travel-domestic

Mate. You are dreaming. There is NO way the Australian Government is going to remove passport controls with New Zealand. LOL. The economies, political philosophies, border controls,and immigration policies are diverging. Over time expect to see border controls tightened, not abolished!
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May 5, 2020 4:12pm
- kwkiwigirl
  
  Stuff reporting that steps underway for Trans tasman bubble. Just listened to Heather du Plessis Allan who read the aussie press release, HDP reckoned that Scomo pretty lukewarm on the idea and it’s NZ pushing for it. Scomo said it’s not going to happen in a hurry.
  
  HDP reckoned Scomo basically told her where to go, paying her back for Ardern trying to dictate the refugee situation to him last year and other instances.
  
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  May 5, 2020 5:13pm
  - Martin Williams
    
    Why would we let them in when they still have new cases and we have eliminated ours?
    
    It’s NZ who will be cautious about this. Duplicity-Allen doesn’t have a clue.
    
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    May 5, 2020 8:09pm
Mark Craig

Now I have been very patient but I think time is up.I will go to Radiomagic ,with my point about the polling numbers and the tory mps unable to be trusted with them ,and name names regarding those that enable the secrecy.
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May 5, 2020 4:57pm
- Swifty
  
  Is everything alright?
  
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  May 5, 2020 5:07pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Very wise.
  We’re just an echo-chamber, don’t you know?
  We’re not shakers and movers.
  Remember to keep us up-to-date with your new venture.
  
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  May 5, 2020 5:34pm
Maggie Pie

Just posted a pic to my Instagram of the crispy skin Duck a’la Orange ive just dished up….64 likes already! 😛
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May 5, 2020 5:46pm
BeeJay

How’s this for a real beauty!! From a hardworking farmer posted on FB today!

“So I’ve just had a phone call from MPI apparently on behalf of Worksafe.
The wanted to know what Health and Safety Plan we have in place for Level 3 Covid Restrictions.
MPI “Are you working from home during Level3?”
Me “No”
MPI “Why not?”
Me “I can’t plough a field or plant a crop from the living room.
MPI “Do you have staff”
Me “Yes”
MPI “Have you made arrangements for them to work from home?”
Me “No”
MPI “Why not”
Me “Can’t shift break fences, drench or crutch sheep or load grain from the couch in the living room”
MPI “Are you planning on developing a Response Plan to allow your staff to work from home?”
Me “No”
MPI “Why not?”
Me “As I said, can’t plough a field, plant a crop or cut the shite from the ass of a sheep with your slippers on sitting on the couch.”

Apparently I can now expect a visit from Worksafe.
Far out this makes me angry. We have gone to the enth degree here to protect our staff, their families, our family and our suppliers.
But we see images daily of people standing shoulder to shoulder at Burger King and Maccas, in supermarkets and at the beach, all of which makes undermines anything we do in the workplace and makes me the criminal as a employer.
(Feel free to share)“
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May 6, 2020 12:00pm

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