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September 16, 2020 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 16 September 2020

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General Debate

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CJames

So California is burning, and as everyone knows, it’s orange man’s fault. Except it isn’t. The fault lies solely with the Californian government, driven by the strident green movement. Saving the spotted owl doomed the forest.
It has been known for a long time that the forests needed regular fires to remove the dead branches and undergrowth. That and logging to create firebreaks. But those are now banned activities.
https://www.propublica.org/article/they-know-how-to-prevent-megafires-why-wont-anybody-listen
The temperatures haven’t got hotter, or the atmosphere drier. Even Michael Shellenberger is on Trump’s side on this issue.
https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2020/09/12/california-has-always-had-fires-environmentalism-makes-them-worse/
The “climate change” excuse is just an excuse used by the Democrats, who make up almost all of the decisionmakers in California this century, to cover up their own ineptitude. But it is easier to attack the opposition rather than make decisions to fix the problem. And as China is the main contributor by far to CO2 levels increasing, what actions are the Democrats going to take against them?
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September 16, 2020 8:00am
- gorse
  
  CJ, the problem also lies with cigarette lighters.
  
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  September 16, 2020 8:17am
  - Loddenthinks
    
    And idiotic “gender reveal” parties. What’s up with that anyway? I thought in California it was practically illegal to not let your child decide their own gender whenever they’re good and ready (in other words, when they’ve been indoctrinated by their mentally-ill mother).
    
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    September 16, 2020 10:08am
    - Happy1
      
      A gender reveal party is where expectant parents open or reveal the results of an ultrasound scan.
      
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      September 16, 2020 4:03pm
      - Loddenthinks
        
        Thank you Captain Obvious.
        
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        September 16, 2020 6:23pm
- MT_Tinman
  
  Yes. Many have forgotten (or never learnt) that fire, whether wild or just mildly displeased, is a natural part of the life of many forests and necessary for regeneration.
  
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  September 16, 2020 8:17am
- Simon
  
  Creepy Joe is quickly pivoting from Coivd19 fear porn to climate change fraud. Around 20% of postal votes in the US will be rejected. – the majority will be Dem votes. The Dems over played Covid19 and promoting postal voting. Trump’s “opposition” to postal voting out smarted the Dems yet again.
  
  Coivd19 fear porn is over for Creepy Joe. Back to climate change fraud. Ardern wont be featuring in US MSM again. Sad!
  
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  September 16, 2020 8:21am
  - Raphael
    
    Indeed. look at this rant of his:
    
    “Donald Trump’s climate denial may not have caused these fires and record floods and record hurricanes, but if he gets a second term, these hellish events will continue to become more common, more devastating and more deadly,” Biden claimed without evidence. “Meanwhile, Donald Trump warns that integration is threatening our suburbs. It’s ridiculous, but you know what is actually threatening our suburbs? Wildfires are burning the suburbs in the West. Floods are wiping out suburban neighborhoods in the Midwest. Hurricanes are imperiling suburban life along our coast.”
    
    “We have four more years of Trump’s climate denial, how many suburbs will be burned in wildfires?” Biden continued. “How many suburban neighborhoods will have been flooded out? How many suburbs will have been blown away in superstorms? If you give a climate arsonist four more years in the White House, why would anyone be surprised if we have more America blaze? If we give a climate denier four more years in the White House, why would anyone be surprised when more of America is underwater?”
    
    https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-voting-for-climate-arsonist-trump-could-cause-suburbs-to-be-blown-away-in-superstorms
    
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    September 16, 2020 10:44am
- RW Capitalist
  
  An argument from “left field”:
  If climate change is a multi decade accumulative problem.
  Trump has only been in for 4 yrs.
  So…if blame is to be attributed
  It is
  Eisenhauer
  Kennedy
  Johnson
  Nixon
  Forde
  Carter
  Regan
  Bush 1
  Clinton
  Bush 2
  Obama
  That need to be blamed….not Trump, we have to wait at least 10yrs for that.
  
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  September 16, 2020 10:03am
- JibberJabber
  
  Climate Change caught on camera,
  
  https://twitter.com/SavingAmerica4U/status/1305734599725723648
  
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  September 16, 2020 10:19am
mikenmildagain

Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Happy International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer!
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September 16, 2020 8:00am
- Simon
  
  Exactly 100 years ago Christian Polish right preserved Europe from the genocidal left.
  
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  September 16, 2020 8:15am
- MT_Tinman
  
  You want to celebrate the only thing that is keeping the China-virus at bay in the South Island?
  
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  September 16, 2020 8:19am
- Nightsky-one
  
  Do you just come here to see how many down votes you can get ?
  
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  September 16, 2020 9:54am
  - mikenmildagain
    
    No, I come to Kiwiblog to be entertained. What other purpose could there be?
    
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    September 16, 2020 11:54am
Sigmund Freud

Enough of this sort of government!
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September 16, 2020 8:00am
cmm

Goff, the numpty that keeps on giving, is saying that CV19 skepticism is a “failing of intellect”.

That’s from a genius who isn’t even covering his nose with his face mask.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12364103
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September 16, 2020 8:03am
- Blackbob
  
  Proving yet again it’s more a form of social control than health benefit. Never forget this man spat on returning Vietnam veterans.
  
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  September 16, 2020 8:05am
  - mikenmildagain
    
    Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
    That is a lie often spread on Kiwiblog.
    
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    September 16, 2020 8:28am
    - Ed Snack
      
      No, obviously truthful, I have four anonymous sources that say that it actually happened.
      
      That’s good enough for you to believe some falsehoods Mikey, so presumably you will believe this one. It is, after all, in character for Goff and the left in general, so it all fits. Must have happened, right ?
      
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      September 16, 2020 9:41am
    - Bob
      
      It is also supported by news reel video.
      Look it up on U-tube
      
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      September 16, 2020 11:01am
    - Inandout
      
      m&m, not a lie, it actually happened.
      
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      September 16, 2020 11:23am
    - bruceavon
      
      Yes. I doubt it’s true. Goff may have protested the Vietnam War but he comes from a military family with a long history of service and sacrifice in both World Wars. His nephew was the last soldier to die in Afghanistan. I doubt coming from that background you would spit on a soldier.
      
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      September 16, 2020 11:25am
  - igm
    
    Don’t forget Clark (She Beast) was with him.
    
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    September 16, 2020 8:34am
    - Wayne Mapp
      
      I doubt she was. Helen Clark took part in the big generalised marches against the Vietnam War (1971 and 1972) which were around 20,000 people. I don’t think she took part in those that were targeted directly against returning soldiers. Even at that stage she was well aware of her political future.
      
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      September 16, 2020 9:10am
      - mikenmildagain
        
        Wayne, this is a rumour (lie) periodically aired on Kiwiblog, with no evidence to support it.
        
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        September 16, 2020 9:17am
      - Benedict Yu
        
        What Goff and Clark did or did not do 50 years ago is impossible to prove. But the Vietnam Vets website has a view:
        
        “[Clark and Goff] were front and centre on [14] May 1971 when 161 Bty RNZA marched down Queen Street after returning from Vietnam. They physically disrupted that parade, by throwing paint over the members of 161 Bty RNZA, throwing themselves in front of moving vehicles, screaming ‘baby killers’ and setting fire to baby prams and wheeling them into the parade. ”
        
        https://www.w3vietnam.org.nz/story_12.htm
        
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        September 16, 2020 9:42am
      - Wayne Mapp
        
        Benedict Yu,
        
        I am certain Helen Clark never threw paint at anyone. Neither would she have done any of the other things. Absolutely not her style. And in fact she has publicly denied that she ever did any of these things.
        
        Was she on the relevant demonstration? Yes, it is possible, but she did not get involved in any extremist behaviour. I knew her at the time, and she was very clear in what she would or would not do. She was always particularly concerned to stay within the the law. This was very important to her. So, march, yes. Throwing paint, setting fire to baby carriages, screaming “baby killer”, no. It simply is not possible that Helen Clark would lose self control like that.
        
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        September 16, 2020 9:57am
      - RW Capitalist
        
        Wasn’t clark part of the organization that sent condolence letters to soldiers families, that weren’t dead?
        
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        September 16, 2020 10:06am
      - igm
        
        Read below, your support is found sadly wanting.
        
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        September 16, 2020 10:36am
      - Benedict Yu
        
        Thanks Wayne for that information.
        
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        September 16, 2020 10:40am
      - RW Capitalist
        
        Of course, helen clark never lied about anything except
        Speeding south canterbury
        GE corn
        Paintings she never painted
        etc etc
        
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        September 16, 2020 10:44am
      - Inandout
        
        WM, yes she was truthful on certain matters when she admitted her marriage to Peter was forced upon her. As for the march in Queen St; if only they had mobile phones back then.
        
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        September 16, 2020 11:27am
      - mikenmildagain
        
        Benedict
        That link provides only an unreferenced assertion, with a link to the (not-much-lamented) Whaleoil blog.
        I have seen this allegation many times – there has never been an supporting evidence of its veracity.
        
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        September 16, 2020 11:49am
      - Harriet
        
        LOL Wayne —- just being there amongst that behaviour is appalling.
        
        Only Helen Clark and Peter Beattie would have such low levels of wisdom to attend such disgraceful displays of ignorance. 😎
        
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        September 16, 2020 5:33pm
      - igm
        
        Tell that Viet vets and see your reception. It is sad to think you were a Minister of Defence in a decent political party . . . definitely you are not missed.
        
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        September 16, 2020 6:32pm
  - Dave Mann
    
    I have downloaded the image and re-captioned it thus:
    
    I can’t spit on people while I’m wearing this, but I can cover them with snot, so watch out, Auckland
    
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    September 16, 2020 8:36am
    - Dave Mann
      
      I’ve changed it to can’t spit on ratepayers….. works better.
      
      Who can I send it to? ?
      
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      September 16, 2020 8:54am
- Gravelroad
  
  Ok, so Mr Goff’s mask has slipped a bit into some semblance of the left’s “honesty”.
  Because no matter how much they spin it that they are so concerned about the welfare of the poor, homeless, children in poverty, ethnic groups, sexual orientation groups, criminals wrongly in prison, druggies, animals needing protection etc, etc, what they really are is based around entrenched intellectual snobbery and elitism.
  In the end they can’t really hide their “we know best, we are in control, you must do as we say” instincts.
  
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  September 16, 2020 8:38am
  - igm
    
    What irks me, is if one looks at the personal achievements of these control freaks, the sheet is bare.
    They are failures, living privileged lives at the expense of misled unionists, ratepayers, and taxpayers.
    To think they are in control of NZ taxpayers’ dollars because of a vile envious little man, he who still has a penchant for baubles.
    
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    September 16, 2020 8:46am
  - The Proper Ghandi
    
    “… the welfare of the poor, homeless, children in poverty, ethnic groups, sexual orientation groups, criminals wrongly in prison, druggies, animals needing protection etc, etc,”
    
    All just means to an end: Power! Horrible people.
    
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    September 16, 2020 10:07am
- Honorary Kiwi
  
  This is a nobody man making a point locally about an issue which is much more nuanced in a Global Context. Several things spring to mind locally :-
  
  1) The ‘science’ is now showing everyone can sit together on aircraft because they are wearing a Mask which breaks SD rules and takes no account of High Contact Surfaces. The science has remarkably altered in just three weeks.
  
  2) Every pharmacist in New Zealand has been issued with a Face Shield because they provide all important protection for the eyes area. A Mask is not considered appropriate protection.
  
  3) Every person carrying out tests is wearing a mask, a shield and gloves.
  
  Those not in favour of Masks Globally believe they lead to a false sense of security and people drop their guard in other important ways. I saw this in action in Wave 1. It also encourages people who are mild symptomatic to go out and to go to work cf Victoria.
  
  We all know if someone is on a cramped bus and someone is shedding load sneezing over everyone that if they wear a mask its much better. But your much likely to touch a guide rail on the bus after a symptomatic case has handled it or an exit pad.
  
  I have face shields ready for flying but I have great sympathy for New Zealanders who spent two months going food shopping during Lockdown with no masks on which produced not one single case, cluster, mini cluster, sub cluster micro cluster. No Supermarket was ever closed because it was the source of transmission. Only subsequently have they gone through a cleaning process because a Case has visited it.
  
  It’s more deflection from the little book of Moral Indignation. Far more harmful are the cock ups at the border and the eratic collection of data at the border where we have no idea of the genome sequencing of 40% of positive case returnees. Thats what the press should be hammering away at day after day.
  
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  September 16, 2020 10:04am
  - cmm
    
    A mask and a face shield do very different things and there are times when each may be appropriate (or not).
    
    A face shield protects against large droplets and splatter eg. someone coughing/spitting/sneezing right in your face. Those droplets more in a (straight-ish) line. It does not stop small droplets and aerosols which drift on the air currents.
    
    A mask protects more against breathing in droplets and is less appropriate for large drops (which are going to attack via eyes etc too).
    
    I struggle to see how wearing a face shield without a mask makes sense. If someone is coughing and spluttering enough to make large droplets that a face shield protects you then they will also be generating lots of aerosols too, so a mask is a good idea too.
    
    If someone does sneeze on you then you would want to wash the face shield & mask immediately. A normal mask just slows stuff down – it doesn’t really stop viruses.
    
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    September 16, 2020 2:00pm
    - Honorary Kiwi
      
      Thanks for your thoughts.
      
      One of the obvious advantages is they avoid people touching there faces which itself can be a transmission function.
      
      There is also evidence that face masks only provide some protection against virus sized aerosol particles.
      
      I have just put my mask on and it extends all the way to the bottom of my neck and round my face for aerosol particles to pass such a wide area of protection seems unlikely. Particularly when there is evidence that they lose 95% of their potency in direct sunlight.
      
      Essentially if someone breaths on me I am fully protected.
      
      As to the sneezing I am sure you would agree the number of time you are in a situation when a complete stranger sneezes on you is very very low.
      
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      September 16, 2020 9:10pm
- theoldbloke
  
  Some non political info on facemasks and impact on Covid 19 severity.
  Skip to minute 23 if you are short on time
  https://www.facebook.com/ZDoggMD/videos/2627826200866251
  
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  September 16, 2020 12:50pm
MT_Tinman

There is a headline on some news sites this morning crowing that a group of innocent Indonesians were forced into slave labour by thought police; in this case digging graves.

Of course the slime don’t phrase it that way but I notice the same scum who jump up and down when one of their brown-skinned mates is asked to work for his living, are completely silent on this.

I suspect they actually support the authorities because those victims think the wrong way – and they wonder why thinking people despise them!
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September 16, 2020 8:04am
Sigmund Freud

Chilling remarks from Auckland’s mayor. Why the hell do the public vote in such scum?

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12364103
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September 16, 2020 8:06am
- kowtow
  
  Because his supporters suffer from a “failing of intellect”.
  
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  September 16, 2020 8:13am
- wimpston peeeders
  
  Always cracks me up the numptys that push for wearing masks get photos wearing them wrong.
  
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  September 16, 2020 8:16am
- Swifty
  
  New Zealanders are deplorable! says Goff.
  
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  September 16, 2020 8:25am
- Ruawai
  
  It used to be called ‘free speech’ now anyone who questions the Government is accused of scepticism, conspiracy theorists and now of low intellect.
  
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  September 16, 2020 8:43am
  - mark15
    
    I’ll wear that hat with pride.
    
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    September 16, 2020 12:12pm
- Monique Watson
  
  Nobody cared what he said in a Parliament. Nobody cares now.
  
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  September 16, 2020 8:47am
  - Classic Liberal
    
    Monique, we paid for it then, we pay for it now. In taxes, rates, fines and now, say the wrong thing, maybe with prosecution.
    
    What’s interesting is that few people here would be interested in covid theories that didn’t come from doctors or scientists, even if they that an alternative view point from the government’s ‘view of the day’.
    
    That is how new discoveries and changes in treatments and approaches are made.
    
    And why is Goff attempting to wear a mask at all when a few months ago that was not an approved method of protection?
    
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    September 16, 2020 9:57am
    - fernglas
      
      “And why is Goff attempting to wear a mask at all when a few months ago that was not an approved method of protection?” you ask.
      
      “new discoveries and changes in treatments and approaches are made.” you answer.
      
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      September 16, 2020 10:49am
      - Classic Liberal
        
        My point precisely. So whom is he going to prosecute? How will he know who is wrong?
        
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        September 16, 2020 1:56pm
  - sooty
    
    Yes, but he wanted it to be legal to shag 12yr olds.
    
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    September 16, 2020 10:38am
- Flossie
  
  Not being an Aucklander I’m not really sure how come this was the preferred choice for mayor, but I do believe the alternative was worse. Wasn’t it Tamahere? ‘So long as I get my nose in a trough doesn’t matter which trough’ Tamahere. I’m sure there were others but I didn’t see any other candidates on TV.
  
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  September 16, 2020 2:03pm
surfing

I hate it that labour get a get out of jail free card because of covid.
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September 16, 2020 8:07am
- cmm
  
  Funny old world. If it had been National running the show, then CV19 would have been their fault.
  
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  September 16, 2020 8:26am
Tony Stuart

Stuff has another story about the questionable arrangement between the Professional Firefighters Union and Hutt South Labour. And guess who is front and centre?

It’s no surprise that Labour had a close relationship with the union. Unions are integral to the party’s history and its constitution, with affiliated labour unions still having a strong say who leads the party.

But the relationship between the NZPFU and the party runs closer than most.

During the late 1990s, reforms of the Fire Service were a hot button political issue. The then-National Government (and later National-NZ First Coalition) proposed cutting the number of professional firefighters and changing the way the Fire Service was funded.

In 1995, the imbroglio led to New Zealand’s first citizens-initiated referendum after hundreds of thousands of signatures were collected by people frustrated at proposed cuts to the number of professional firefighters.

The referendum asked, “[s]hould the number of professional firefighters employed full time in the New Zealand Fire Service be reduced below the number employed on 1 January 1995?”

The firefighters won with 88 per cent of the vote, but the government ignored the result and firefighter numbers were reduced nonetheless.

Labour’s then-internal affairs spokesperson, Trevor Mallard, who is currently Speaker of the House, pressed the government to abandon its unpopular reforms. In the aftermath of the referendum, the ongoing industrial action and disputes over staffing meant that firefighters got a lot of attention from Mallard during the 1996-1999 term.

That same Parliamentary term, Mallard became the MP for Hutt South, the electorate where the local Labour Party and the NZPFU have been running an unusual rental arrangement that the party admits goes back in some form to 1993.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300106236/speaker-trevor-mallard-embroiled-in-labour-hutt-south-donations-controversy

This is a very awkward conflict of interest for Mallard, given his role as Speaker until the Parliament was dissolved on Sunday. As Speaker, he had responsibility for the Parliamentary Service, which has previously declared this arrangement as legal, although they may not have had all the information that is now in the public domain.

And Labour is not yet off the hook:

As recently as last year, Labour paid the NZPFU just $1500 in rent, while the amount it billed Andersen was $6000.

As an MP, Andersen is allowed to use taxpayer funding from Parliamentary Service to pay her office rent. Parliamentary Service pays Labour $6000, which pockets $4,500 and pays the rest to the NZPFU.

The arrangement, though apparently unusual, is legal from the perspective of Parliament, although it is currently being looked at by the Electoral Commission after a complaint was laid by the Taxpayers’ Union.

Andersen said the rent deal harks back to the 1990s when Labour sold the building to the NZPFU.

Oh dear. It will be interesting to see if the Electoral Commission treats this as an undeclared donation, in which case both the union and Labour Party will be highly embarrassed, especially given Mallard’s long tenure as MP for Hutt South.
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September 16, 2020 8:07am
- peterwn
  
  And Ginny Andersen is Labour’s self proclaimed anti-corruption expert (put presumably only when there is a National government).
  
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  September 16, 2020 8:11am
  - Mike22240
    
    Nobody can spot corruption better than the corrupt.
    
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    September 16, 2020 8:52am
- Jan
  
  I just added up how much the Labour have pocketed out of this deal – $1,300,000.00 that’s a lot of taxpayers money they need to pay back
  
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  September 16, 2020 8:48am
- Loddenthinks
  
  Lies from Ginny Andersen that the building sale price was lower than market value to reflect the ongoing cheap rent deal to the Labour Party.
  
  In fact the building was sold to the NZPFU for it’s rateable value of $80,000. Now that’s not to say that market value is the same as rateable value, but it’s a reasonable guide.
  
  The cheap rent benefited Trevor Mallard at the time, who also asked numerous questions on behalf of the firefighters. “Cash for questions” has brought down many an MP, but usually only in the UK, which still adheres to some semblance of morality.
  
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  September 16, 2020 10:28am
Yvette

Ardern has fiercely defended claims by National Party leader Judith Collins that the COVID-19 outbreak in Auckland was caused by a “border mishap” – Newshub

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has admitted the COVID-19 outbreak “obviously hasn’t come from within New Zealand” after the Director-General of Health said it must have come through the border.
But the Prime Minister said there is still no evidence to suggest the latest outbreak came from the Government’s managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) facilities or that it was passed on through border workers. – Newshub

And while a lot of time is wasted arguing this issue, Kiwibuild, Auckland light rail and the tree planting scam (count what Forestry replants, but not what they chop down) is forgotten.
Povidy fades because of time but not any solution, likewise homelessness seems to diminish although Labour said a 4,054 house need in 2017 was a scandal, but now June 20 at 16,651 it is a 400% increase in those deemed in urgent need. But covid is urgenter – and likely easier.

So we seem to be forgetting the very issues that do point to the fact that – since the same Government has failed to deliver any of the other above and has not changed the way it thinks or acts, is actually in charge of the border .

We should revel in the obvious streak of good luck that apparently some how so far saves lives – literally – because their usual modus operandi (just “keeping moving”) should turn the border to fucking virus riddled custard.

All Labour has is Jacinda Ardern.
And when her tenacious compulsion to be seen to be right finally leads her to be wrong, as displayed above regarding what she would prefer to be an immaculate infection – the virus DID penetrate the border somewhere.

Now that Winston is dismantling Cabinet processes, and Shaw is turning into Metiria Turei, how long can Ardern operate by herself?
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September 16, 2020 8:08am
- Nigel Kearney
  
  She seems to be saying it didn’t come from within NZ and it also didn’t come through the border. That really leaves just one possibility:
  
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Came_from_Outer_Space
  
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  September 16, 2020 8:38am
  - sooty
    
    Uranus?
    
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    September 16, 2020 8:51am
  - JackRabbit
    
    Meanwhile a continued rational viewpoint on Covid-19:
    
    https://www.justfacts.com/news_covid-19_crucial_facts
    
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    September 16, 2020 11:18am
- Flossie
  
  Didn’t Ashley say it must have been the border? Dearie me! Dissention in the ranks?
  
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  September 16, 2020 9:13am
Maggy Wassilieff

How’s the Billion Trees scheme going?

https://interactives.stuff.co.nz/2020/08/election-2020-the-whole-truth/#/1193075258/two-key-caveats-on-govt-s-tree-planting-initiative

I’ve read this article that purports to tell us that it is on track… but it appears to be a pen-paper exercise only.

Are there trees in the ground yet, or just a nod that they can be planted?

And I’d never count a planted native seedling as a “tree” until it had a few years in the ground.

I’ve seen too many unattended native plantings that have been overwhelmed by fast-growing weeds or have succumbed to drought / wind / sunburn /rabbits, hares, goats,etc.
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September 16, 2020 8:08am
- mark15
  
  That you can’t shoot efficiently any more.
  
  9 1
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  September 16, 2020 8:44am
- Yvette
  
  Maggy Wassilieff
  
  According to the One Billion Trees Progress Chart
  https://www.teururakau.govt.nz/funding-and-programmes/forestry/one-billion-trees-programme/about-the-one-billion-trees-programme/
  
  The Number of Trees Planted is 258,475,000
  The One Billion Trees Fund has directly funded 36,822,000
  _______
  
  It is known this chart covers a period starting January 2018 to September 7, 2020
  These figures mean commercial Forestry has planted 221.65 million of the 258.47 million.
  
  A Cabinet Paper, linked below the chart, mentions
  35.
  The rate of commercial replanting over the next decade will have a significant impact on the one billion trees total.For example, if the recent 95% replanting rate was maintained over the next decade this would equate to 770 million trees.
  https://www.teururakau.govt.nz/funding-and-programmes/forestry/one-billion-trees-programme/about-the-one-billion-trees-programme/
  
  That means for the 221.65 million trees commercial Forestry has re-planted, the same agencies will have felled 233.315 mature trees elsewhere in their forests.
  
  If that 233.315 million is subtracted from the 258.475 total the Chart quotes, it reduces Shane Jones One Billion Trees Fund directly funded total from 36.82 million to 25.16million trees.
  
  These people are in charge of the border
  
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  September 16, 2020 8:55am
- kiwibird
  
  Yep Maggie, Trees are in the ground. I was out assisting my son with pest control ( possums ) yesterday maintaining his enviroMate units on a recently planted 100ha block of eucalypt and manuka. His mission is to prevent pest ( goats and possums ) damage to this block for the next year. Mine was counting how many possums he had caught using enviroMate100TMs over the last 35 days. We averaged 10.14 possums per unit – with only 2 trips to site. EnviroMate100TM is an automated baitstation that can be used with poisons – or lures and traps but no way would anyone have thought to set 22 traps in one place – the highest number of possums we found on one enviroMate site !
  
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  September 16, 2020 5:51pm
Simon

Coivd19 fear porn must continue to cover up the horrible stupid mistakes made in March.

On social media there was the National Party Auckland Central candidate and her colleagues campaigning in the streets wearing muzzles. Utter submissive clowns.
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September 16, 2020 8:08am
- Tall Man
  
  Maybe they should be wearing MAGA hats and “I Hate cindy” T shirts.
  
  I mean why try to appeal to everyone when you’re campaigning for votes?
  
  How about take a few spray cans so they can deface labour party electoral signs as well………
  
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  September 16, 2020 8:25am
- wimpston peeeders
  
  exactly!!
  They need to learn from master Trump and ditch the masks and ignore the gathering restrictions.
  sure theyll lose a few outraged sheeple voters but at least theyd earn some respect.
  
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  September 16, 2020 8:26am
MT_Tinman

Added because an utter nutter posted about this a couple of weeks ago without, as is usual for some, any knowledge whatsoever:

https://www.spiked-online.com/2020/09/15/in-defence-of-cuties/
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September 16, 2020 8:13am
- oldfella
  
  Here’s another take on ‘Cuties’ that doesn’t buy into the Spiked opinion.
  https://www.city-journal.org/cuties
  
  4 2
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  September 16, 2020 8:49am
  - MT_Tinman
    
    I just read that oldfella.
    
    It says basically the same thing, from a slightly different angle.
    
    I haven’t seen the ad’s, nor will I watch the movie, but it seems it is better that it was made than the issue ignored.
    
    Having had a pre-teen daughter many, many moons ago it seems the actions of that group have not changed at all over the years, they still copy the foibles of damned near everything they see.
    
    I, also, detest cancel culture whether by the loony left or the raving, conservative wrong.
    
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    September 16, 2020 9:11am
    - oldfella
      
      Never had a daughter, MTT, but have several young granddaughters and worry about the world in which they’re growing up.
      The ‘Cuties’ controversy will rage on for a while yet, and the only side I’m on is the one that best protects our kids.
      FWIW, I wonder if Cindy has an opinion on this as the mother of a young girl?
      
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      September 16, 2020 9:31am
      - MT_Tinman
        
        oldfella, you haven’t missed a thing.
        
        The only time my house was ever invaded was when my daughter was between 11 and 15. Every similar-aged girl in South Canterbury was there at some stage or other.
        
        Every one of them wearing clothes that fit them when they were eight and following the latest fashions – read in magazines in those days – of behaviour, without understanding it.
        
        “Protecting” kids has been responsible for more misfortune for them than any other action, guiding them is the only way that works for them.
        
        In that, this movie seems a move in the correct direction.
        
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        September 16, 2020 9:52am
gorse

Is my memory that bad? We are only a few weeks out from the election. Where is the polling? Last election, weren’t we getting at least weekly poll results this close to the election? Plus we were getting bombarded with TV news about people living in cars and garages too. Something smells.
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September 16, 2020 8:15am
- wimpston peeeders
  
  Maybe the polls went rogue in a way the msm didnt want?
  
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  September 16, 2020 8:32am
  - Captain Mainwaring
    
    This is a question definitely worthy of investigation.
    Particularly as some on here were saying that Reid were in the field 3 weeks ago.
    
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    September 16, 2020 8:59am
    - wimpston peeeders
      
      pity dpf never gives any insight.
      
      6 2
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      September 16, 2020 9:15am
- Wayne Mapp
  
  I think it is strange there are no polls. I can’t recall when this has happened before.
  I was expecting three polls, one at the beginning of September, one at the beginning of October, and a final poll about a week out.
  Maybe there will be polls tomorrow or Sunday.
  
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  September 16, 2020 9:17am
  - RW Capitalist
    
    I hope they ring me.
    
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    September 16, 2020 10:25am
  - Bob
    
    Expect a Poll result about 4.30 pm Friday Wayne.
    Bad news is always held until the end of the week.
    
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    September 16, 2020 11:10am
- RW Capitalist
  
  True
  I remember it because winnie was whining about having polls this close to an election.
  
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  September 16, 2020 10:54am
- WaynelSexton
  
  The media hates us. Why would they release polls showing us closing the gap/winning if they don’t have to?
  
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  September 16, 2020 11:20am
- 70andstilllearning
  
  Gorse – this is what smells:
  
  https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/tvnzs-your-vote-2020-coverage-debates-polls-and-election-specials
  This being the updated version of 25 August ( can’t find link to original article schedule)
  which at one point states:
  Graeme Muir, TVNZ’s Acting Head of News and Current Affairs, says: “In a year of global uncertainty and change, viewers want to make informed choices when casting their vote. 1 NEWS remains committed to delivering thorough, unbiased coverage across the political spectrum.”
  and further down the article:
  POLLS
  Several 1 NEWS Colmar Brunton polls will be released during this period, giving viewers insight into which way voters are leaning.
  Then:
  VOTE COMPASS
  
  The interactive survey tool Vote Compass is returning in the lead up to the General Election. In the 2017 Election more than 400,000 people used it to discover which party’s policies they most aligned with.
  Being the cynic I am, I suspect the answer has something to do with this:
  https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/424399/media-funding-proposal-never-made-it-to-cabinet-minister-faafoi
  Media funding proposal never made it to Cabinet – Minister Faafoi
  Instead what I’ve noticed over the last couple of weeks is that this TVNZ have released some selected pieces based on Vote Compass data ( currently around 188K responses ) that appear to suit their general narrative and align with their last commissioned poll. Combine falling ratings with lack of a second tranche from the honey pot and I think you have your answer.
  Given several polls were going to be released over the schedule “period” I would suggest that a more correct update disclosure would have noted “new period”!
  On a final point I see Hosking has been censored for being a bit sloppy with his stats.
  
  The BSA said the decision highlighted the importance of data literacy, particularly in a news and current affairs context.
  “We urge broadcasters to take care when interpreting statistics and drawing conclusions from scientific or other studies, given that audiences rely heavily on mainstream media to provide authoritative, reliable information on matters of public importance.”
  and
  Although Hosking was found to be in breach of the Radio Code of Broadcasting Practice, the BSA did not make an order, instead saying its decision “was sufficient to censure the broadcaster and to provide guidance to broadcasters generally”.
  https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv-radio/300108163/mike-hoskings-comments-about-italys-coronavirus-deaths-misleading-bsa
  So are we going to see similar decisions about all the leftie commentators use of sloppy stats?
  Yeah right!!!
  
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  September 16, 2020 11:25am
artemisia

Dental funding for children based on the social investment approach.

Instill good dental habits to children and even if only a few more % get to adulthood without a rotting mouthful it will be worth it long term for them at least but also for their children. And the health system.

I have a middle aged relative who has recently been to the dentist for the first time in over 20 years. Scared mostly plus cost. Only option now is full dentures. Bad teeth is like bad feet – both get in the way of normal activities many times every single day.

National do seem to be releasing policy based on social investment. They need to blow that trumpet more.
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September 16, 2020 8:21am
- cmm
  
  Bad teeth can cause heart disease.
  
  20 2
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  September 16, 2020 8:30am
  - Tall Man
    
    And anorexia.
    
    7 2
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    September 16, 2020 8:31am
  - DeepBlue
    
    And limits confidence and employment opportunities.
    
    My sister used to hide behind her hand every time she smiled or spoke – eventually her front teeth were fixed through ACC and personal funding. Overnight she just bloomed.
    
    7 1
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    September 16, 2020 12:22pm
- Tony Stuart
  
  Agree wholeheartedly; it’s an investment of resources in children’s early lives (especially those assessed as being at high risk), to try and prevent problems in later life. I recall the dentist at the local hospital commenting a few years ago at his shock at how many children he treated with significant dental decay. Surely, if some of that can be prevented, it’s a good thing.
  
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  September 16, 2020 8:34am
  - kowtow
    
    Not only later in life . Biggest single factor in children’s admission to hospitals in NZ is dental issues. Entirely preventable.
    
    Instead of all this bollocks about place name pronunciation and maybe a refocused priority on simply brushing your teeth twice a day and not serving sugar pop for breakfast lunch and dinner ….
    
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    September 16, 2020 8:53am
  - artemisia
    
    Target resource and support. Lock up the fire hose.
    
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    September 16, 2020 8:57am
  - artemisia
    
    The term ‘social investment’ won’t resonate with voters. Need a couple of slogans to rinse and repeat with each announcement.
    
    (Not a goer I know but I always liked ‘straighten up and fly right’.)
    
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    September 16, 2020 12:26pm
- Ian Boag
  
  Do we remember Bertie Germ from the 50’s?
  
  18 2
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  September 16, 2020 8:41am
  - Flossie
    
    Absolutely Ian! A deeply entrenched lesson from kindy!
    
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    September 16, 2020 9:16am
  - MCos
    
    Didn’t help much.
    I also remember plenty of relatively young people getting false teeth.
    
    Everyone knows the main problem nowadays is vast amounts of sugar in just about everything since processed food was invented.
    Cereal 30%, baked beans, tomato sauce 30%, all those flavoured drinks.
    What’s wrong with water?
    I’d be in favour of taxing the hell out of sugar and lowering it somewhere else, like petrol.
    
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    September 16, 2020 9:47am
    - artemisia
      
      Sugar laden food and drink is a problem for teeth. But getting kids to brush their teeth a couple times a day is a big step forward. Rather than trying to boil the ocean .
      
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      September 16, 2020 10:30am
- Northland Wahine
  
  Investment approach is only part of the solution. Kids are more likely to drink a sugary drink before milk or water for breakfast.
  
  Even amongst the kids that are active in sports, their go to refreshment are sport drinks. Rarely will you see bottles of water.
  
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  September 16, 2020 8:50am
  - artemisia
    
    Too true. But teach the kids and some will teach their parents. Maybe only a few, but has to be better than the trend going the other way.
    
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    September 16, 2020 9:05am
    - Centrist
      
      Need to teach the parents. You see parents giving bottles of juice to their toddlers or fizzy drinks/juice when getting takeaways. Also need to flouridate all the water in NZ. I wouldn’t accept a job in a town with unflouridated water – I care too much about my children’s teeth.
      
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      September 16, 2020 10:18am
      - Sacha
        
        True Story: I was at a sports day at a small central NI town. I heard a baby cry and turned around in time to see it being handed a bottle of Coca Cola with a teat attached.
        Mum had a bottle of beer, so I suppose I shouldn’t be too critical.
        
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        September 16, 2020 7:32pm
  - Ed Snack
    
    Always used sports drinks myself after competing, best way to rehydrate effectively as a little salt and sugar seems to help the absorption. For me anyway, beer was a big no-no though I competed with some people who could tolerate it well.
    
    I don’t think use in and after sport is that big an issue, but drinking excessively sugary drinks all the time is bad. And acidic, the worst thing for young teeth is a sweet and acidic drink as the it is the acid that literally eats away at the teeth. The sugar just encourages bacterial growth and if the teeth are in good condition, probably isn’t harmful except in the longer term.
    
    Just FWIW.
    
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    September 16, 2020 9:51am
  - cmm
    
    Only because this is what they are taught.
    
    It is shocking to see toddlers drinking fizzies. That’s not through personal choice – it is through what people are giving them.
    
    My kids (adult now) were never given fizzies. They never developed a taste for the stuff.
    
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    September 16, 2020 2:09pm
JibberJabber

Confused whether to stand or kneel at the playing of a National Anthem?

https://twitter.com/SJPFISH/status/1305869947806113794
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September 16, 2020 8:22am
- Jimmy White
  
  Make her praises heard afar
  te Cindy defend Aotearoa
  
  8 4
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  September 16, 2020 8:39am
  - Jimmy White
    
    Sarcasm pure and simple.
    
    7 1
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    September 16, 2020 9:29am
    - RW Capitalist
      
      and taxable, if left to Labour.
      
      1 1
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      September 16, 2020 10:56am
  - mark15
    
    Where?
    
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    September 16, 2020 12:24pm
I remember when

Timaru’s Theatre Royal to get multimillion dollar upgrade:
“Our preference would have been to make sure some of those announcements were done before the dissolution of Parliament and you’ll see that that’s predominately…..what we have done.”
And that’s when her pants caught on fire!
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September 16, 2020 8:22am
- Ruawai
  
  How hard would it have been to list these announcements on the last week of parliament, especially when they got bonus time for an extended parliament.
  
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  September 16, 2020 9:02am
- Sacha
  
  “And that’s when her pants caught on fire!”
  
  Cartoon time!
  
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  September 16, 2020 7:34pm
Maggy Wassilieff

Newshub delivers a master lesson in showing us how the Prime Minister is right, even when she is wrong.

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/09/jacinda-ardern-admits-covid-19-outbreak-obviously-hasn-t-come-from-within-new-zealand.html
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September 16, 2020 8:23am
- Tall Man
  
  We just have to make sure we personally campaign on the facts to all we meet.
  
  With the media refusing to do their jobs we have to be the mouthpiece of the sane.
  
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  September 16, 2020 8:30am
  - Sacha
    
    I have been trying to do just that, but everyone seems to agree with me!
    
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    September 16, 2020 7:35pm
surfing

This is a rort…

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12364973

So, a person owning a dodgy building can have a false engineering report fabricated and sells the building based on that false report.

Then, when the new owner sues the engineering company that wrote the report, they can’t because the report small print says the report only applies to the person who paid for the report.

Can’t sue the previous owner because they say they relied on professional advice at the time.

People screwing other people over.
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September 16, 2020 8:28am
- MT_Tinman
  
  I can’t read the link.
  
  Which part of India did the vendor come from?
  
  5 3
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  September 16, 2020 9:18am
- MCos
  
  You’re accusing Smales Farm Management of directing MSC Consulting to produce a fraudulent engineering report?
  I doubt it. Incompetence more likely.
  
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  September 16, 2020 10:07am
  - surfing
    
    Either way, the new owner should be compensated but cannot. It is injust.
    
    Anyone who wants to purchase a building must ensure that engineering report’s do not become legal toilet paper after the sale.
    
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    September 16, 2020 11:58am
    - cmm
      
      No, sue your lawyer.
      
      The lawyer was supposed to be directing you along the correct legal path.
      
      If you are buying a building then you commission your OWN report or make sure that you can depend on/use the other reports by checking for small print etc.
      
      This is something many people do not understand which is why most involve a lawyer in the purchase. This is basic Lawyer 101 stuff and any lawyer that failed to pick this up was grossly incompetent.
      
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      September 16, 2020 2:15pm
      - surfing
        
        I agree.
        
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        September 16, 2020 7:25pm
Critical Thinker

A truly historical moment for peace in the middle east ?

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

Five or Six More Countries Ready for Peace with Israel

“We have many nations ready to follow.
At least five or six countries coming along very quickly.
You’re going to see a lot of great activity. There’s going to be peace in the Middle East.” – Double Nobel Peace Prize nominee, President Donald Trump.

He added that even the Palestinians would “absolutely” make peace with Israel or else will be “left out in the cold.”

https://www.breitbart.com/middle-east/2020/09/15/trump-five-or-six-more-countries-ready-for-peace-with-israel/
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September 16, 2020 8:30am
- Ed Snack
  
  Nah, can’t be good, it’s Trump !
  
  And I see that CNN had a headline that basically said “Large gathering at the Whitehouse with no masks in sight”- with no mention of the reason for the gathering. They can’t help but beclown themselves.
  
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  September 16, 2020 9:53am
kowtow

Maori Lingo Wiki.

The Media pardy have become active agents in promoting it.

Article from stuffed pointing out an incident on radio show showing how ignorant the caller was.

‘A talkback interview between Newstalk ZB’s Marcus Lush and two southern callers went viral last year after they refused to accept they were pronouncing their towns incorrectly – Ōpopo (Oh-poe-poe is wrong, Or-poh-poh is correct) and Taieri (Tie-ree is wrong, Tie-ear-ree is correct).’

Only it wasn’t Opopo , it was Opoho , a suburb in Dunedin.

And Lush was a cock lecturing his caller too .

Red Guards ,the lot of them.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/te-reo-maori/122760486/help-revitalise-te-reo-mori-by-saying-place-names-correctly

Help revitalise journalism by getting your facts right.
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September 16, 2020 8:31am
- alloytoo
  
  I feel threatened by Maori Language week, can I have a safe space please?
  
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  September 16, 2020 9:22am
I remember when

Robertson shakes his head in disapproval as Act’s Deputy blasts Ardern over border promises:
So it was Robertson but not Brooke Van Veldon.
“Shakes his head in disapproval.” So if Robertson knew she was wrong to suggest Labour were “making up rules as they go” Van Velden was obviously incorrect. Robertson “Shook his head in disapproval.”
The Brooke Van Velden’s of the opposition have to be made to appear to be incorrect. Their criticism is more dangerous to Ardern because they are female, young and attractive.
Old and/or male doesn’t have the same appeal to the demographic Ardern appeals to most.
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September 16, 2020 8:33am
[email protected]

So someone is downticking every blog entry this morning. How can this person get pleasure from this irregardless of the topic or poster?
16 7
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September 16, 2020 8:35am
- sooty
  
  Maybe it’s someone that is not allowed to post?
  
  6 2
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  September 16, 2020 8:59am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  I don’t think it is pleasure he is seeking…
  He just wants to be noticed….and unfortunately, you noticed him.
  
  17 4
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  September 16, 2020 9:01am
  - Ed Snack
    
    I think it is correct to say that any post that mentions downticks deserves to get downticks itself. Balance of the Universe and all that…
    
    4 2
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    September 16, 2020 9:55am
- MT_Tinman
  
  Each to their own.
  
  Hey fellow, here’s another for you to bite at 🙂
  
  3 2
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  September 16, 2020 9:55am
- MCos
  
  They can do what they like. It’s a free world.
  We’Il have none of that namby pamby cancel culture round here, thank you!
  
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  September 16, 2020 10:15am
oldfella

“A large convoy has congregated in Auckland for the tangihanga of a gang member, despite alert level 2 restrictions that prohibit more than 50 people attending.
A raucous send-off for the deceased involving well over 100 people – contrary to current gathering limits – was captured in a video shared on Facebook Live.”
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12365088
Hmm, this story was out there yesterday, but neither TV news bulletin at 6pm mentioned it. Despite FB footage being available. Wonder why…. (not).
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September 16, 2020 8:36am
- sooty
  
  After all it is maori week.
  
  13 2
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  September 16, 2020 9:00am
  - MT_Tinman
    
    When was the last week, as far as taxpayer largess goes, that wasn’t “Maori Week”?
    
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    September 16, 2020 9:59am
- Ehlana
  
  And yet Police were willing to break up a prayer meeting.
  
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  September 16, 2020 9:51am
  - septic skeptic
    
    Gutless cops going hard for the low hanging fruit.
    
    4 1
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    September 16, 2020 10:43am
  - MCos
    
    A prayer meeting the participants of which were from a church whose members were infected with covid-19.
    
    I would also point out that this Tangi would have been much smaller than the crowd that assembled to listen to Blues singer and latter day conspiracy expert Billy Te Kahika and failed MP Jamie Lee Ross on Saturday.
    
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    September 16, 2020 10:50am
    - Ehlana
      
      I’d like to know why there was no response to the conspiracy assembly as well.
      It seems odd that the prayer meeting was reported as broken up, while nothing apparently happened to the protesters and the tangi attendees were offered education.
      
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      September 16, 2020 11:31am
      - MCos
        
        I would suggest that the prayer meeting, as explained, was composed of people at the epicentre of the outbreak.
        On the other hand breaking up the Billy TK spectacle, while justified, would probably have given his campaign a huge boost as he portrayed himself as a victim of state intimidation.
        
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        September 16, 2020 12:58pm
Ruawai

National need to call out the waste of money Labour have spent on ‘Working Groups’ and not taken much if any of the advice given by these groups. What was the point of having working groups if it leads to nothing being implemented?
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September 16, 2020 8:37am
- Ehlana
  
  Ah, well you see, our most open and transparent government ever instituted working groups as part of their philosophy of going hard and early to deliver to the team of five million.
  You cannot deny that they are working – it is there in the name. And they have delivered – or there would be no working groups.
  As for why there has been no implementation – well, that is due to the nine years of neglect (of the duty and opportunity of an opposition party to prepare themselves to govern).
  Now do you understand?
  
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  September 16, 2020 10:04am
Maggy Wassilieff

The Mirror and the Light misses out on a Booker listing.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/sep/15/most-diverse-booker-prize-shortlist-is-also-almost-all-american-hilary-mantel

I haven’t read any of the short-listed books, but they’d have to be pretty amazing novels to surpass Mantel’s books on Thomas Cromwell.
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September 16, 2020 8:38am
- mikenmildagain
  
  Haven’t read The Mirror and the Light yet, but the first two were very good. TV adaptation was excellent, too.
  
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  September 16, 2020 8:46am
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    My Lockdown reading…
    
    You must read it… You might learn something about the danger of serving a vain narcissist.
    
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    September 16, 2020 9:23am
    - mikenmildagain
      
      Are you suggesting that Trump’s white house aides should read it?
      
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      September 16, 2020 9:37am
mikenmildagain

News from Trumpworld.

A campaign own goal:
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/14/trump-ad-asks-people-to-support-the-troops-but-it-uses-a-picture-of-russian-jets-414883

This one is cool:
Senior Trump official thinks the CDC is plotting to assassinate him!
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/michael-caputo-scientists-sedition-cdc-hhs-facebook

But some good news for Trump on the voter suppression front:
A federal appeals court has upheld a Florida law requiring felons to pay all court fees before being reinstated as voters, despite the state being unable to tell said felons how much they owe or what they have paid.
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September 16, 2020 8:43am
- Jimmy White
  
  Mike Can you please translate the following quote from Biden for me:
  “Environmental justice so we turn a faucet on and drink….water. Breathe clean air.
  *long pause followed by blank stare*
  I’m sorry. I’m about to end, but lil…lil ya know…we have to live so…I mean we have to just give people a chance!”
  Just incase the words are to big for you to read:
  https://twitter.com/NewsPolitics/status/1305941678818197504
  
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  September 16, 2020 9:37am
  - Ed Snack
    
    And are you ready for the Harris Administration, with Joe Biden as well of course…
    
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    September 16, 2020 9:57am
  - Jimmy White
    
    While your at it, is it Iran or Iraq???
    “U.S. troops died in Iran and Afghanistan,” Biden announced, reading from his pocket calendar.
    “The Iran parliament— the Iran parliament voted to eject all Americans and coalition forces from the country,” Biden said
    And Just in Case those big words trick you
    https://twitter.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1305940446703738880
    
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    September 16, 2020 10:10am
  - mikenmildagain
    
    Perhaps you should ask someone who thinks Biden is a good candidate.
    
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    September 16, 2020 10:13am
- Billy Collins
  
  So, an ad mishap and a Jamie Lee Ross moment?
  
  By comparison to Biden, whose own VP and others have gone full blown anti-vaxxer over the covid-19 vaccine, Biden thinks Trump causes hurricanes, these are pretty mild.
  
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  September 16, 2020 9:52am
- marcw
  
  Talking about own goals, this one is cool:
  
  http://www.losersonkb.co.nz/mikenmildagain-claims-first-place
  
  Oh dear.
  
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  September 16, 2020 10:15am
- IC5000
  
  https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/canada-touts-u-s-abandoning-of-aluminum-tariffs-drops-plans-to-retaliate-1.5105292
  
  Looks like Trump went down like cheap drunk being gut punched. Must be running scared with potential job losses in battleground states. US officials are talking about a non-existent trade quota system as a fallback.
  
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  September 16, 2020 11:13am
- WaynelSexton
  
  This one is cool, Trump is actively going after how perverted and creepy Biden is.
  Great rhetoric by the God emperor Donald Trump.
  https://www.the-sun.com/news/1476368/trump-retweets-biden-pedophile-misleading-video/
  
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  September 16, 2020 11:37am
Swifty

For those of us working from home:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B51A6bcMeDY

Peak Stones.
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September 16, 2020 8:44am
cmm

There’s another push for everyone to pronounce Maori words properly.

Two major points:
1) What is “properly”? Who gets to define that? I know little about the language, but Maori tutors have told me that the language spoken in different areas varies widely: “Thank goodness we all know English or we wouldn’t be able to talk to eachother”.

2) Once a language adopts words from another language then they become words in the adopting language. For example we say Paris, Munich and beef the way we do, not the way the French and Germans say them. Maori say pirimana or some such instead of the original policeman. Maori words adopted into English are now English words. English speakers get to decide how to pronounce them – not Maori.
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September 16, 2020 8:46am
- Tall Man
  
  “Jepradise”
  
  “Poverdee”
  
  “Pardee”
  
  “Komrade”……
  
  Enough said.
  
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  September 16, 2020 8:48am
  - Ruawai
    
    “Bin” for Been.
    
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    September 16, 2020 9:05am
- mikenmildagain
  
  The language does not vary so widely that Maori cannot communicate across iwi lines, etc. In fact, speakers of Tahitian and other eastern Polynesian languages can communicate easily with Maori.
  Given how widely English pronunciation varies anyway, there is no problem with New Zealand English aligning with accepted Maori pronunciation.
  
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  September 16, 2020 8:51am
  - cmm
    
    Sure, there are huge commonalities between all the Polynesian languages and some communications can take place, but there are enough differences to cause problems. As I said, I am no Maori expert – I was told this by a Maori tutor (himself Maori) who had moved from the NI to Chch and ended up in the same ward as me for a few days.
    
    The same happens in African languages. I could speak and understand the Zulu and Xhosa languages quite well when I lived in South Africa. They are approx 90% the same if you ignore some of the subtleties. Indeed I could even understand some Tanzanians etc speaking because many of the words are similar (the word for goat is the same in most of Africa). But there are still enough differences that people living on different sides of the same river can end up getting into a war over the misunderstanding of a word.
    
    So if you think we should all accept Maori pronunciation do you also think:
    1) We should do away with the English words that have been mangled by Maori? No more pirhimana. No more poti/puihi for pussy cat.
    2) We should stop saying Paris like we do and all talk about “pah-ree” like posers.
    
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    September 16, 2020 9:17am
  - Paulus
    
    I believe that in the Cook Islands the language is known as Cook Island Maori from whence the Maori arrived in New Zealand.
    
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    September 16, 2020 2:09pm
- Swifty
  
  Growing up as a young lad I spent a lot of time in the Wairarapa and with families who farmed the district as far back as the 1870s.
  
  They still smile at modern folk (mostly pakeha) who refer to Te Wharau, with an ‘F’, when for as long as anyone can remember the local Maori have always pronounced it Te Warau, with a ‘W’.
  
  I personally spent months working a block which was part of the old Brancepeth Station and can attest to it, having worked alongside local Maori shearing gangs.
  
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  September 16, 2020 9:04am
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    And I never heard Fonganui when I was growing up in W(h)anganui…
    now, I hear wierd pronunciations from the try-hards on RNZ during the weather forecasts,…..’hong a nui”.. was a recent one.
    
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    September 16, 2020 9:30am
    - mark15
      
      Ah doo di di
      (Napier)
      Doh toh doo ah
      (Rotorua)
      
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      September 16, 2020 1:57pm
- Nigel Kearney
  
  When speaking English it’s best to use the English pronunciation. If you switch to original language pronunciation when referring to Paris, Berlin, or Mexico, you will just sound pretentious. The same applies to Maori place names.
  
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  September 16, 2020 9:07am
  - MCos
    
    The difference being we don’t live in France, Germany or Mexico.
    I found this out when I went to visit my uncle’s wartime grave at a small town between Rheims & Laon, both of which are pronounced entirely differently to what they should be by the locals.
    
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    September 16, 2020 10:59am
    - Nigel Kearney
      
      If two people happen to be in France when they are speaking English, they do not suddenly change how they pronounce Paris. Anyway I don’t live in Whangarei or Taupo either.
      
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      September 16, 2020 11:47am
- Odakyu-sen
  
  Demanding a foreign language to pronounce your words as you would say them (particularly when the foreign language does not have the range of sounds you want) is a demand for submission.
  
  For example, in Japanese there is no “er” sound, so when a Japanese speaker tries to say “bird,” it comes out as “bard.”
  If your surname is “Furgus,” then Japanese will always call you “Fargus”.
  Are you going to get all upset at “Japanese cultural insensitivity”?
  
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  September 16, 2020 9:18am
  - graham
    
    I work with quite a few people from India, who all appear to have difficulty with the silent “H” in graham.
    
    I don’t know why, but it certainly doesn’t offend me as it seems to be a common trait.
    
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    September 16, 2020 9:26am
    - Odakyu-sen
      
      Part of acceptance of diversitity, internationalization, and tolerance is the recognition that non-native speakers of English may never be able to pronounce English words the way you would like them to.
      
      If speakers of Te Reo cannot accept that non-native speakers of Te Reo may never be able to pronounce Te Reo words the way they would like them to, then this shows an intolerance of diversitity and an authoritarian attitude towards “compliance.”
      
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      September 16, 2020 9:45am
      - Jack5
        
        Insistence on “correct” Maori pronunciation does appeal to authoritarians.
        
        People, perhaps like Mikenmildagain, accustomed to civil service rules.
        
        How should we pronounced the “again” in Milky’s name? Agayn? Agin? Agen? He will have a “right” way.
        
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        September 16, 2020 9:59am
      - Swifty
        
        If I got all bitter and twisted every time my Japanese flattie mis-pronounced a word it’d be WW3 before the week is out.
        
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        September 16, 2020 10:02am
      - Flossie
        
        Just can’t seem to teach my Aussie partner how to pronounce “chaaarrrnce”!
        
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        September 16, 2020 10:48am
    - Jack5
      
      That’s strange,Graham.
      
      Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi are all Indo-European languages, and Indians don’t seem to have any problem pronouncing the name of their language “Hindi”, or Indian male names such as Hari and Hans (they this one from Sanskrit).
      
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      September 16, 2020 9:55am
      - Jack5
        
        Ouch! Got caught there ~~Graeme~~ Graham.
        
        If we ever meet I’ll buy you a ‘amburger.
        
        I’ve taken in the pronunciation here:
        
        https://www.pronouncekiwi.com/Graham
        
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        September 16, 2020 10:30am
      - Flossie
        
        I think what Graham is trying to say is that the “H” in his name is silent. I’m guessing he often gets called “Gray-ham”
        
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        September 16, 2020 12:01pm
  - MCos
    
    When I go to a bank in Thailand, for example, or immigration, or the NZ Embassy, I have to take my wife with me so that she can tell me when they call out my name.
    
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    September 16, 2020 11:05am
    - Odakyu-sen
      
      I assume the Thai all pronounce your name the same way? Or is there a great variation in the way that they say your name?
      
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      September 16, 2020 2:11pm
      - MCos
        
        It depends on how familiar they are with the English and then the English alphabet.
        Nobody in the whanau can speak more than a couple of words of English with two or three exceptions and some of them don’t even attempt my first name.
        There are about a hundred variations on my surname. It looks simple enough to us, but for Thais is jam packed full of letters like ‘r’ and sequences of letters and so on that Thais can’t cope with.
        It works in reverse of course. Our house is on
        Chaloem Phrakiat Ratchakan Thi 9 Rd Soi 53,
        Khet Prawet,
        Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10250
        The last line is a short version of Bangkok
        Great fun if I have to tell a grumpy taxi driver.
        
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        September 16, 2020 4:46pm
  - cmm
    
    There are two parts to the sounds and mangling:
    1) Does the sound exist in the new language? Many sounds are not used in all languages (r sounds etc and well as the “g” sound in Afrikaans etc. etc etc).
    2) Does the usage of the sound fit in the new language. For example, often the usage of a sound designates a certain tense or whether the word is a noun or verb. For example, why did policeman become phirimani and not piriman? Well if it was just phiriman then it wouldn’t fit into the Maori grammatical construction properly.
    
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    September 16, 2020 11:25am
- Phronesis
  
  Of course this applies to the word Maori itself. Whether it refers to a people or a language. The French, German, Dutch etc certainly don’t refer to themselves as such and those words don’t exist in their languages.
  
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  September 16, 2020 10:05am
Tall Man

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/09/nz-election-2020-judith-collins-expecting-dire-news-at-pre-election-economic-update.html

Expect a truckload of “squirrels” to be released today to combat the bad news and overload the limited senses of ardern sycophants.
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September 16, 2020 8:47am
- Ruahine
  
  This is already happening according to The Herald.
  The Chinese Embassy in NZ reads the local papers and watches the rubbish on TV ‘news’ apparently.
  
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  September 16, 2020 10:33am
Paulus

Look forward to the release of the Statutory PREFU today outlining the State of the Nation financially.
Whilst it has to be done by Law there is nothing to say that it is accurate, although it should be, but it is overseen by the wonderful Minister of Finance.
Remember Cullen told Treasury to “forget” to include the huge ACC deficit using some obscure accounting term to see it was left out.
We do not know what will be “moderated” in today’s release but this is a Labour Led Coalition so am not sure whether we can believe it.
They have not shown any ability to believe what they say, often.
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September 16, 2020 8:47am
- Libertarians are right
  
  Also, last time Treasury included a one off high growth rate which was changed to a long term rate as soon as Labour got in. A cynical person would suggest that Labour’s forecasts were including that rate as long term rather than short term (in fact, Robertson actually said that the hole would be sorted out by increased growth).
  
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  September 16, 2020 9:45am
Swifty

Britain on the eve of war: Photographs from the Summer of 1939:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkmytA-4GkE
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September 16, 2020 8:49am
- greybeard
  
  Thanks. What a different world it was then.
  
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  September 16, 2020 9:28am
  - Inandout
    
    Yes greybeard, if you developed a serious infection you would most likely die. In fact many of my ancestors who died in their 50’s would probably have lived another couple of decades if around today.
    
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    September 16, 2020 12:32pm
- tom hunter
  
  And here’s today’s Google Streetview of one of those spots seen in that YouTube at 1:52-55: Shernborne.
  
  The “roadsign” seems the worse for wear, having lost all its paint.
  
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  September 16, 2020 11:02am
  - Swifty
    
    Brilliant!
    
    Cheers Tom.
    
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    September 16, 2020 11:49am
KevO'Brien

Some government is taking place despite Parliament being dissolved.
Received a creepy letter yesterday from WINZ with incomprehensible headings in Maori. (It’s lack of root words makes it useless for communication.)

Some one has decided that as from the 9 November that if my wife ceases to be part of my joint benefit she will never be able to return. The present situation is almost intolerable as we are limited to earning income outside our NS to no more than $5000 in total between us. Any excess is clawed back at 70% of the gross making the effective clawback 100%+. Such arrangements make it very difficult to transition to the regular workforce.

Where did this new ruling come from? Under what authority was it made? Is this an appropriate time for such changes?
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September 16, 2020 8:51am
- ex-golfer
  
  There was a change of the NZ Superannuation settings this year (supported by NZ First) in regards to the “non-qualified spouse” provision, which is what you are referring to. Essentially they have removed the ability to have it from 9 Nov. However, if you already have that arrangement in place you can keep it as long as you don’t exceed the income limits. If you choose to change circumstances and remove her from your payment, you cannot add her back at a later date. Spouses or partners (who are under 65) can apply for other financial assistance if they are not able to work
  You can read about it here:
  https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/about-work-and-income/news/2020/nz-super-and-veterans-pension-changes.html
  
  Time to remove her from your Super, get your Super back to your full entitlement, and kick her back into the workforce while she is still young old chap!
  
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  September 16, 2020 2:16pm
fightingtemeraire

Last night I had a ph call from a very nice young lady at Curia Research doing a political poll.

She asked me what I thought of Labour on a scale of 1-5.

I said is there a 0 or a minus ranking. No she said well I said there should be,

So I gave Labour, Greens and NZF 1 the lowest I could go. Nat and Act 5
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September 16, 2020 8:55am
- Nigel Kearney
  
  Did you remember to lie about your age? They will attach more weight to your response if you say you are 35 or younger, because they get fewer responses from that age group.
  
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  September 16, 2020 9:10am
- Inandout
  
  A Labour phone person (in a marginal seat) told me that the response from people called was almost all pro Labour. And yes mobiles were included because of a ‘deal’ with the phone company. Personally, no way would I reveal my preferences to a stranger.
  
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  September 16, 2020 11:43am
  - KevO'Brien
    
    Political all have lists of friendlies so expect the callers to get appropriate responses.
    
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    September 16, 2020 1:05pm
lemuzz

I can’t understand why Labour are so intent on light rail to Auckland Airport or for that matter anywhere. In City’s all over the world the trend is for office workers to work from home. In Perth and Brisbane and undoubtedly all other cities in Australia and probably all over the world there are mostly empty offices in the city and there are also “Pop up” offices where temporary offices are available to rent by the 1/2 or full day for group meetings. These are set up with office desks, internet, kitchens, etc With so few working in the city offices there will soon be a glut of office space and will be far less workers commuting to the city by either car bus or train. With the covoid lockdown even more city businesses have found that it is relatively easy to work from home. In fact my son in Perth was told by his American boss that staff are not to work from the office during the covid lockdown unless they have his (the Boss’s ) permission and as this is an essential industry shows that there is no need for city central offices and therefore there will soon be no traffic crisis in cities
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September 16, 2020 9:15am
- Odakyu-sen
  
  My daughter has a back-room function as a designer for a computing company in the Auckland CBD.
  Until March of this year, she would commute into the head office five days a week. All this has changed.
  She now mainly works from home (and is very busy) and only goes into the office once or twice a week when face-to-face communication is essential.
  Covid-19 has provided the push to get companies up and over the fear-and-uncertainty barrier to having more back-room staff working from home. I think this will be a permanent change that will bring efficiencies and cost-savings for the companies.
  In a way, this marks a full circle in the Industrial Revolution. Two hundred years ago, before the mills and factories, the workers worked near or at their homes. Now we are back where we started.
  
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  September 16, 2020 10:18am
  - Inandout
    
    Oda, then all hail the Wuhan Flu and the stuffed CBD food outlets can move to….
    
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    September 16, 2020 11:37am
  - Paulus
    
    She should confirm with her Insurance Company that the house is not to be designated as a Commercial premise but as a Home Office !
    
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    September 16, 2020 2:17pm
- sooty
  
  Maybe commercial buildings was not the best thing to be in.
  Office blocks no one wants to be in one. Industrial buildings empty as production is shipped overseas.
  Maybe plain vanilla rental houses will be the best after all, but maybe not the lower end!
  
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  September 16, 2020 10:49am
Maggie Pie

Whenever i phone the Golden Dragon Takeaways to place our order, I’ve often wondered how they always know it’s me before I even say anything?
It’s a bit of a worry.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12365243
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September 16, 2020 9:19am
- Inandout
  
  Maggie, I would be more worried from where their ingredients come from. Not that everyone gets a tummy ache next day.
  
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  September 16, 2020 11:34am
  - Maggie Pie
    
    Can’t go too far wrong with toasted Cheese Sammies and Chips though.
    
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    September 16, 2020 12:45pm
Tony Stuart

Just spotted this on Twitter, and I’m wishing I’d thought of it first!

Isn’t it incredible that a government that ruins and attacks farming so badly can milk a virus so well?
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September 16, 2020 9:24am
Okahu

Reports are that two enormous glaciers on Antarctica on the verge of an unstoppable collapse into the sea. Here on Kiwiblog that will be just fine. Something to do with solar cycles or hockey sticks or something. OK. Let’s have a new law saying any property purchases that are transacted as of the beginning of next year that are within 10m (vertical) of the mean high tide are to be privately insured against any inundation. Zero public funds to defend or compensate losses for those by the sea.
If there is no problem. No worries, no risk. If there is, you went in with your eyes open. You bought the wet lemon.
Taxpayer Union should love this. Zero public money to compensate private lifestyle decisions.
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September 16, 2020 9:39am
- cmm
  
  If a glacier melts it does not raise the sea level.
  
  This has been well understood since before Eurika-man Archimedes had a bath.
  
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  September 16, 2020 9:48am
  - Ed Snack
    
    Does depend on how much of the glacier is already floating and how much from the land falls into the sea. In these Antarctic cases it should have almost no measurable impact on sea levels.
    
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    September 16, 2020 10:04am
  - Melbury
    
    That’s true of an iceberg; less so a glacier.
    
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    September 16, 2020 10:10am
  - Aunty
    
    More of your scientific genius on display, huh cmm?
    
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    September 16, 2020 12:10pm
    - Okahu
      
      It’s rather terrifying he/she gets 4/1 upticks for that. And Mr Ed doesn’t help much. I suspect it is wishful thinking rather than science behind the assertion
      “In these Antarctic cases it should have almost no measurable impact on sea levels”
      Who you gonna listen too? Mr Ed or the folks below?
      
      https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2020/09/14/glaciers-breaking-antarctica-pine-island-thwaites/?hpid=hp_no-name_301pm-antarcticice:homepage/story-ans#comments-wrapper
      
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      September 16, 2020 2:44pm
  - cmm
    
    The part of the glacier being talked about here is the end of the glacier that is floating on the water like an ice sheet. It is being held up by its own buoyancy like an iceberg is. To do this they must displace their own weight in water. Thus, when their ice melts they end up taking up the same volume.
    
    Of course if a glacier up a long river bed melts it will be a different matter, but that’s not what we’re talking about here.
    
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    September 16, 2020 4:48pm
- burt
  
  You really need to look at this;
  
  http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/
  
  And click on the “Antarctic daily images” button. I know it’s not what the MSM are telling you – but you are going to need to decide if you believe the hype or the data.
  
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  September 16, 2020 11:12am
  - fernglas
    
    What should we be looking at? It seems that the commentary says that this is the 3rd lowest recorded amount of ice in August. Is that the relevant bit?
    
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    September 16, 2020 1:05pm
    - burt
      
      Really tricky instructions – And click on the “Antarctic daily images” button.
      
      3rd lowest is in itself alarming for the north, but it’s not record low and CO2 is record high. The south is above average.
      
      So much for basic settled science eh.
      
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      September 16, 2020 2:51pm
Maggie Pie

Just txtd Peter Williams @ 10.29am….

‘Peter. no one gives a flying fk hearing about people cleaning their teeth. Doesnt make for great listening. It will cost u thousands of listeners!’

Be interesting to see if he reads it out.
11 2
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September 16, 2020 10:49am
Southtop2

So Winston wants to use the Air Force to transport Pacific Island Laborers to farms and orchards to harvest crops.
I have no problem with the planes being used to pick up urban unemployed and deposit them in regions requiring labour.
I also have no problem with the tertiary education holiday dates being tweaked so students can save some money. Without tourists the summer jobs will be missing.
November 1 start until end of Feb/early March with a short summer break 23rd Dec – 2nd Jan) for a semester then picking apples and kiwifruit March April and some of May.
Good for the economy and future of NZ but we will have to pay more in Pacific Aid
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September 16, 2020 11:06am
- burt
  
  With the number of NZ people unemployed what possible justification is there for bringing in seasonal workers.
  
  (Other than keeping the locals happy on welfare so they continue to vote for the government that has given up on them)
  
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  September 16, 2020 11:48am
fernglas

In Te Reo, it seems the word(s) for Coronavirus is Mate Korona. I thing that means Corona Death, does it not? Does that mean that the disease is invariably fatal to Maori, or just that the idiots who govern us are still trying to scare us?
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September 16, 2020 11:07am
- graham
  
  There has also been a suggestion (on Stuff, no surprise) that the Prime Minister should declare a rahui across the whole of New Zealand – I’m sorry, across the whole of Aotearoa.
  
  Give me strength …
  
  9 3
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  September 16, 2020 12:02pm
  - mark15
    
    Where?
    
    0 0
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    September 16, 2020 3:12pm
  - Jack5
    
    As long as she doesn’t get a moko tattoo on her chin.
    
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    September 16, 2020 3:51pm
- Aunty
  
  Any language that is unable to freely incorporate foreign words into its lexicon is a dying language, if it’s not already dead. Maori really need to understand this and to also reflect on what it says about them and their attitude towards their culture and the wider world within which they live and must navigate.
  
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  September 16, 2020 12:07pm
- KevO'Brien
  
  Maori has far too few root words to even form useful compound ones.
  
  8 2
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  September 16, 2020 1:00pm
  - burt
    
    I guess that’s what happens when there is no written language.
    
    Imagine if we had no written language in NZ, we’d all be arguing about how to say “community” – we’d be arguing over do we say it like we currently read it ( Community ) or do we say it the right way ( Communidy ).
    
    Shall we talk about place names and their pronunciation now ?
    
    6 1
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    September 16, 2020 2:54pm
    - Jack5
      
      Exacdly, ~~Burd~~ Burt. ?
      
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      September 16, 2020 3:47pm
  - Inandout
    
    Kev, I was on the Consumer site yesterday looking at heat pumps and my wife asked what brand ‘kiritaki’ was at the top of the page. I had to explain that it wasn’t a brand but the Consumer name in MLW. Quite amusing.
    
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    September 16, 2020 5:01pm
Aunty

VOTE WOKE: GO BROKE!
11 3
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September 16, 2020 11:59am
- wimpston peeeders
  
  Our retarded flock of sheeple are going to vote woke a 2nd time next month, we’re already broke so whats after that?
  
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  September 16, 2020 2:30pm
curry4me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7rpHf642gQ

Some Lockdowns Illegal?

Dem governors are taking heat over lockdowns. Plenty of loopholes
in lockdown rules. Sensible precautions are a good idea. Lockdowns
Can be a problem if the governor is a power hungry Dem.
In Michigan, there is a ballot to repeal emergency legislation.
The Republican legislature could repeal the law before the next election.
Many feel the lockdowns were an overreaction. Pennsylvanias lockdown
was declared unconstitutional by a Federal Judge. Some states
have not instituted lockdowns.
4 2
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September 16, 2020 12:18pm
- krazykiwi
  
  The judge’s ruling makes good reading. This is the best part:
  
  Even in an emergency, the authority of the government is not unfettered. The liberties protected by the Constitution are not fair-weather freedoms – in place when times are good but able to be cast aside in times of trouble.
  
  There is no question that this Country has faced, and will face, emergencies of every sort. But the solution to a national crisis can never be permitted to supersede the commitment to individual liberty that stands as the foundation of the American experiment.
  
  The Constitution cannot accept the concept of a “new normal” where the basic liberties of the people can be subordinated to open-ended emergency mitigation measures. Rather, the Constitution sets certain lines that may not be crossed, even in an emergency.
  
  Emphasis mine.
  
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  September 16, 2020 1:30pm
  - curry4me
    
    krzykiwi: That was a good ruling. It was well written.
    
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    September 16, 2020 11:02pm
curry4me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1hwmpqIAyk

Japans New PM

PM Suga won’t be the presitators poodle either. Abe certainly wasn’t.
He was Abes right hand man. Abe had just made a logistics agreement with
Indis. Abe was also seeking a ‘pre-emptive strike’ capacity. Suga is a
China hawk too. He wants to rein in China. He wants to reduce Japans
reliance on Chinese imports for essentials. So, Japanese companies will
still be incentivised to leave China. He’ll be talking about human rights
concerns too. Especially in Hong Kong. So, the Abe agenda will continue.
4 2
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September 16, 2020 12:19pm
surfing

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/300108594/trial-date-set-for-prominent-businessman-on-indecent-assault-perverting-course-of-justice-charges

I found out the identity of this guy fairly easily. I hadn’t heard of him before… but , we have very different interest’s.

Suppression orders are a joke.
5 1
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September 16, 2020 12:24pm
- cmm
  
  Stupid bugger is guilty of perverting justice without being a Labour head-honcho.
  
  The worst offending in Fingergate were not that of some pissed yoof getting grabby but:
  1) Labour adults (whom I believe include currently serving MPs) supplying booze to minors without any supervision – setting up the environoment in which offending was likely to occur.
  2) Labour trying to treat this as an internal matter and subverting justice.
  
  11 3
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  September 16, 2020 1:00pm
  - sooty
    
    Another entertainer, wonder if he’s a comedian?
    
    0 2
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    September 16, 2020 4:26pm
Prince

Just heard Shane Reti on RNZ explaining National’s latest Health announcement.
Very impressive guy, knows his portfolio, not easily rattled.
20 1
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September 16, 2020 12:26pm
- Tony Stuart
  
  Dr Reti is going to be an outstanding Health Minister, and the sooner he is, the better! He knows his stuff, he does the research, and he explains complicated things in an uncomplicated way. He’s also a thoroughly decent human, first and foremost.
  
  19 3
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  September 16, 2020 12:34pm
  - cmm
    
    A real doctor too.
    
    It makes you wonder why Labour didn’t put a real doctor in as Min Health.
    
    In fact there is absolutely nothing stopping Labour form putting in any MP as a minister. If they really cared they’d put in the best person they could find. Unfortunately for them it would not be a Labour minister.
    
    10 3
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    September 16, 2020 12:39pm
    - Tony Stuart
      
      They only had one doctor in their caucus (well, medical doctor!); Liz Craig from Invercargill, a List MP.
      
      7 1
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      September 16, 2020 1:31pm
      - cmm
        
        Yup, so why didn’t they make Dr Craig Min Health?
        
        3 2
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        September 16, 2020 2:28pm
      - Jack5
        
        Yes it’s puzzling why Labour hasn’t made more use of Liz Craig in health issues, as much of her medical career has been in public health. Craig is a member of the Health Select Committee.
        
        From her biographical notes on the Labour web site:
        
        ….she then moved into public health, training Aboriginal health workers in Brisbane, before returning to New Zealand to enter the Public Health Medicine Training programme.
        
        In 2004, Liz established the NZ Child and Youth Epidemiology Service to monitor the health of NZ’s children and young people.
        
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        September 16, 2020 3:43pm
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        Liz Craig is #41 on the Labour Candidate list….
        (down 10 places from 2017)
        
        Newbies to the list (i.e. 1st time candidates) such as
        Ayesha Verrall, Vanushi Walters, Camilla Belich and Naisi Chen are ranked above her.
        
        4 3
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        September 16, 2020 3:52pm
      - cmm
        
        Yup, she’s useless, but at least she’d have been better than the mountain biker.
        
        If they actually cared they’d have put in Reti as Min Health.
        
        5 3
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        September 16, 2020 4:55pm
      - mikenmildagain
        
        I don’t think a grand coalition between Labour and National is likely at all, do you?
        The last effort at that only lasted a few weeks.
        
        3 0
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        September 16, 2020 5:33pm
cmm

Spin, spin, spin.

When the Airforce use a Herc to fly Tarrant to Chch for sentencing then that is a $40k cost. Terrible how much it is costing us.

When the Airfoce flies Cindy to the Islands in a 757 at the cost of $80k+ it doesn’t matter coz that was a training flight.
17 3
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September 16, 2020 12:35pm
- sooty
  
  What about the visit to China for afternoon tea by the Cindy!
  
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  September 16, 2020 4:21pm
cmm

Sweden’s top epidemiologist,
Anders Tegnell, is saying that using lockdown for CV19 is like using a hammer to kill a fly.

Wrong analogy.

It is like using a hammer to kill a fly sitting on a crystal glass.

Yes, you might kill the fly, but you smash the economy and the damage you cause to society is huge.
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September 16, 2020 12:53pm
I remember when

Would now be the time for Parties to introduce their intention of making law, if elected, of the most effective policy for the control of future pandemics.
This would be the reduction, control and financing research into unnecessary morbidities.
These are illnesses that people, quite often, have the ability to control themselves.
A lot of improvement in the figures for diabetes, lung diseases, obesity, blood pressure – to mention just a few, should be possible for $60 billion.
4 1
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September 16, 2020 1:11pm
lifesgood

That Curia Poll Average on the right of the blog is extremely depressing and downright astonishing. It is hard to fathom, to be honest.
7 1
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September 16, 2020 1:21pm
- cmm
  
  It is very easy to understand.
  
  Fearful people don’t plug their brains in and become risk avoidant. Change is perceived as risk – even when it isn’t.
  
  4 2
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  September 16, 2020 2:43pm
Tony Stuart

Stuff paints an ugly picture of the economy after the opening of the books (PREFU) today:

Brace yourself for a long, expensive shock is the message from Treasury, as the Government opened its books ahead of the election.

The accounts make for bleak reading, with Treasury suggesting the economy, unemployment, and the Government’s balance sheet will take longer to recover than expected.

That longer shock will come with a cost, with Government debt now expected to climb to 55.3 per cent of GDP by 2024.

That equates to $201.1 billion of borrowing, roughly the same as Treasury’s last set of forecasts, but it looks bigger as a percentage of GDP because GDP is expected to take a bigger hit than initially expected.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300107870/election-2020-rivers-of-red-as-government-warns-to-brace-for-longhaul-economic-shock

But wait; there’s more:

The figures were released as part of the Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update, a set of accounts and forecasts released by the Treasury which show what the government’s own economic agency thinks will happen in coming years.

The theme of the forecasts is that the initial shock of Covid-19 is expected to be far less severe than initially feared. As recently as May, Treasury feared the economy would contract by nearly a quarter in the three months to June 2020.

Now Treasury expects that contraction to be 16 per cent – still the worst result on record, but much less bad than feared.

There’s some good short-term news in the unemployment stats too.

Treasury’s May statistics had pegged unemployment to rise to 9.8 per cent this year, now Treasury thinks the unemployment rate will top out at 7.8 per cent.

But that’s where the good news ends. The rosier short-term forecasts are balanced out by a deeply pessimistic long term outlook.

The economy, as measured by GDP, was slated to rebound relatively quickly back in May, with officials expecting nominal GDP to be $374b by 2024.

Now Treasury is pegging the economy to be worth $10b less, just $364b by 2024.

Unemployment is also expected to stay higher for longer.

Forecasters had initially hoped the unemployment rate would slide back down to 4.8 per cent by 2024. It’s now expected to stay higher for longer. In 2022, it will still be 7.6 per cent, dropping to 6.6 per cent in 2023, and 5.3 per cent by 2024.

Despite Grant Robertson trying to present a positive face today, there’s nowhere for him to hide all the red ink. We’re in for a rough ride, and the importance of the upcoming election just grew exponentially. Whoever wins has a huge job ahead of them.
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September 16, 2020 1:27pm
- Sigmund Freud
  
  Spend!
  Spend!
  Spend!
  Party time…
  
  It IS party time. IF you are a smart provider of a party, or the party venue.
  
  Remember: The massive give-away of money benefits the Profit & Loss Accounts and then through to the healthy Balance Sheets. Values of such business soar, so do property prices.
  
  What isn’t there to love?
  
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  September 16, 2020 3:11pm
Critical Thinker

Dr. Li-Meng Yan Chinese Virologist Whistleblower claims that COVID-19 was intentionally created in Chinese lab and also intentionally released ?

https://youtu.be/qFlqXPl_hZQ?t=313

“The receptor-binding motif of SARS-CoV-2 Spike cannot be born from nature. The purpose of this manipulation could have been to assess any potential enhancement of the infectivity and pathogenicity of the laboratory-made coronavirus.”

https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/rogue-chinese-virologist-joins-twitter-publishes-evidence-covid-19-created-lab

Twitter of course has now banned her account for speaking out ?
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September 16, 2020 1:46pm
- rangitoto
  
  You can read the initial paper here:
  
  https://zenodo.org/record/4028830#.X2GNTYuxXmH
  
  Dr Yan says there is more to come.
  
  3 2
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  September 16, 2020 3:58pm
Aunty

Very sad news today at the passing of Nigel Te Hiko from coronavirus in Waikato hospital. He was the brother of Alan Te Hiko who died some weeks back from the virus, and who passed it on to his brother (Nigel) when he stopped by for a visit on his way to and from Rotorua with other family members.

It just goes to show how cruel this virus can be, that something as innocent and thoroughly mundane and as ordinary as one brother visiting another can lead to transmission of the virus and death. Both men where only in their 50s and I extend my very heartfelt condolences to both families. And I am very mindful that there is a man in his 30s who has been fighting for his life in ICU for some time now in North Shore hospital. I hope he makes it.
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September 16, 2020 1:50pm
- rangitoto
  
  Perhaps they should have administered HCQ + Zinc immediately after the initial diagnosis.
  
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  September 16, 2020 4:00pm
graham

Surprise, surprise. Turns out there’s a lot of ordinary people around who really don’t care whether someone has “controversial” views.

“JK Rowling’s new novel set to be a bestseller despite ‘transphobic’ claims”

https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/books/300108629/jk-rowlings-new-novel-set-to-be-a-bestseller-despite-transphobic-claims

Despite the controversy and criticism about her outspoken views on identity politics, J.K. Rowling’s latest crime novel under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith is likely to be a bestseller in Australia and New Zealand.

Yup. Turns out that the woke brigade can’t control all our lives and stop us from buying books written by someone who – gasp! – has viewpoints they don’t like.

A Hachette (the pulisher) spokeswoman said more than 35,000 copies of Troubled Blood had been sent to local bookshops, making it the biggest Robert Galbraith release for Australia on record. Hachette’s in-house projections suggest it is set to become Rowling’s bestselling crime novel since her second foray into the genre, The Silkworm, in 2014.

Sex, gender and pop culture expert Dr Lauren Rosewarne said … she wouldn’t be surprised if Troubled Blood’s sales spiked in the wake of the renewed controversy. And despite the criticism, Rowling’s views haven’t broken the spell of Harry Potter. Bloomsbury, which publishes all of the Harry Potter series, said in July that the novels had remained bestsellers, proving “very popular with families at home reading to each other” during lockdown.

“I don’t think this is going to make a drop in the ocean in terms of sales,” Dr Rosewarne said. “In fact, it might help. Twitter is not the real world. There’s a lot of people who don’t let politics impact their buying decisions. There will [even] be people feeling that they need to defend her.”

Twitter isn’t the real world? Who knew?
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September 16, 2020 2:01pm
- graham
  
  I might even go out and buy the book myself. Not normally the kind of book I would buy, but if it bolsters the sales figures …
  
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  September 16, 2020 2:56pm
mark15

Sex, gender and pop culture expert
Nope
0 2
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September 16, 2020 3:19pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

Covid origin. I have no reason to doubt her.
https://nypost.com/2020/09/14/chinese-virologist-posts-report-claiming-covid-19-was-made-in-wuhan-lab/?
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September 16, 2020 3:27pm
- fernglas
  
  Not even the previous report referred to in that article which says that the virus was not created in a lab? They can’t both be right, so how do you decide that one expert’s opinion is right and the other’s wrong? Have you assessed her claim to expertise against that of the other report, and if so, how did you decide that her expertise was so much greater that the other report was insufficient to raise any reason to doubt? Perhaps it’s her self-corroboration by saying that she has been told by Chinese doctors that it was made in a lab? Or is it just that it fits your opinion better to believe her rather than the others? It’s tough, isn’t it, trying to have evidence based debate at the moment when peoples emotions are overruling their rational side?
  
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  September 16, 2020 4:04pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Would like to see her and the pink hared one debate. Down in flames Siouxsie Wiles
  
  3 5
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  September 16, 2020 4:15pm
Maggy Wassilieff

Vertical gardens….. unintended consequences…
https://techxplore.com/news/2020-09-jungle-overrun-chinese-apartment-blocks.html
8 0
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September 16, 2020 3:56pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Future of high rise in Auckland c/- Phil Goff. Build up, not out
  
  3 1
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  September 16, 2020 4:16pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

Oh boy, she even has one of them.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/941794279587816/permalink/1032018943898682/
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September 16, 2020 5:09pm
niggly

Heard Winston on the radio saying he wants the price of a packet of cigarettes to be $20 or less.

And for those who smoke cigarettes what a good “policy” – it will save them alot of money!

But wait …..

Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Sounds like another WinstonFirst trick to deceive the gullible into voting for them!

Because one can be sure that what he says … won’t happen!

Because if NZF make it back with Labour in coalition, Labour will kill off that idea for two reasons, firstly they (desperately) need the billions in taxes, and secondly Labour support the 2025 Smoke Free policy. So, no way!

And won’t happen under National because NZF WON’T go into coalition with National!

Lastly NZF won’t make it back, yes sure they may be regaining some of their lost supporters, but that won’t be enough to get them over 5% … too many people remember NZF’s “treachery” from the last election when they put Labour and the mad Greens into power and supported killing off Oil and Gas exploration, oh and that issue with the “UN” etc!
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September 16, 2020 6:03pm
greybeard

I can’t wait for normal, English-language life next week.
What a lot of patronising pointless tokenism we have had thrust down our throats this week.
3 3
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September 16, 2020 7:11pm
- mikenmildagain
  
  Poor, poor you.
  
  2 4
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  September 16, 2020 7:18pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  You’ll have your work cut out ne?xt week:
  It’s NZ Chinese Language week, as well as
  NZ Sign Language week.
  
  好好享受 ?
  
  5 1
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  September 16, 2020 7:25pm
SpencerArnold

h aha ha plugin hybrid cars produce 3 x as much as CO2 as projected.

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54170207
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September 17, 2020 6:47am

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