General Debate 29 March 2021

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Happychappy

Opinion : Renters have been thrown under the bus by the Labour Government says Bryce Edward’s and many other commentators and economists.
So when Bryce Edward’s kicks you and embarrasses you in the media because of your policy you can guarantee there is something wrong and the stories and facts are about to get a lot worse because he is tribal left in Politics and what he says because he normally write fluff articles on how great Labour and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern are for the Guardian and other Left leaning media outlets around the world.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/03/opinion-renters-have-been-thrown-under-the-bus-by-the-labour-government.html
While Jacinda Ardern and Grant Robertson [nope – mod] many in the media and politics are talking about how ridiculous the policy is and how they have screwed their own through stupidity.
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March 29, 2021 8:02am
- RW Capitalist
  
  What’s money on this being the plan.
  So that they can claim the building state houses is the answer…….until the state owns all the rentals and is the “saviour” of the rental market…..with the rest of us mortgaged via international borrowing forever.
  Isn’t that the very definition of a failed state followed by 3rd world country.
  
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  March 29, 2021 8:23am
  - Stephen Russell
    
    Hanlon’s Razor: Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.
    
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    March 29, 2021 8:53am
    - RW Capitalist
      
      I’m actually going with a bit of both.
      
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      March 29, 2021 9:29am
      - kevn
        
        @RW… Yes, they, labour, have backed NZ into a corner with continual, poorly thought out ‘policies’ and are now bereft of ideas.
        ‘They’ are all lacking in real life/world experience.
        Don’t know what to do next.
        
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        March 29, 2021 12:34pm
    - JibberJabber
      
      Yeah, but this Govt and the members of it, are the epitome of Malignant Stupidity.
      
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      March 29, 2021 11:19am
      - RW Capitalist
        
        Using big words like that, will go right over their heads.
        
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        March 29, 2021 1:25pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Well worth a read….
  especially the last section showing how out-of-touch Megan Woods and Grant Robertson are with the plight of NZ renters.
  
  “Woods said she wasn’t expecting a spike in rent prices because the Government had ‘comprehensive’ housing policies which, for example, only limited rent increases to once a year.”
  
  Finance Minister Grant Robertson has also deflected questions about rents going up by stating that if this happened, tenants can simply “go looking elsewhere”.
  
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  March 29, 2021 8:26am
  - Simon
    
    Yep the shit weight of the state passed onto the working poor in a disproportionate manner.
    
    “plight of NZ renters”
    
    Suck it up you voted for it.
    
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    March 29, 2021 8:46am
  - RW Capitalist
    
    Grant…the only “elsewhere” is motels because the govt. hasn’t built enough state houses.
    This whack a mole.
    They refused to encourage supply by removing the RMA (all in the industry say this is the biggest obstacle to SUPPLY).
    They want to encourage first home buyers so they bring in laws that will push up rents.
    Q: How are the first home buyers meant to save for a house, when their rent has gone up?
    Suggestion
    Go back to the “9 long years of National”, where they largely stayed out of the market, tried to get the Govt. out of the market and tried to remove road blocks to the market (RMA).
    The it will work because
    People will build houses where they want them
    People will build houses they can afford
    People will build houses in the style THEY want
    
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    March 29, 2021 8:52am
    - alloytoo
      
      In retrospect the Fibre to the door project is really going to pay dividends allowing people to build houses where they want them and work from there.
      
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      March 29, 2021 10:25am
    - doublehappy
      
      You have forgotten the biggest obstacle. Land; the gov. needs to purchase land currently forbidden and turn it into building land with all the infrastructure to allow the building of new homes in place. I think it is called town planning and it is the horse before the cart. Sell at low cost, encourage building on it. Only allow migrants that are useful to enter NZ. Care will be needed not to put undesirables into the new districts. Undesirables are another problem and need other ways of curing. Giving them the governance of the country isn’t one of them.
      
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      March 29, 2021 10:42am
  - Bobba Fret
    
    Grant and Megan have no real world experience, they really are clueless. But also arrogant……they have access to advice from treasury but choose to ignore it.
    
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    March 29, 2021 9:51am
  - RoboRob
    
    Woods also said that rental prices had only gone up about 3.5% last year and there was no issue in the rental market. She didn’t expect prices to rise after the policy change.
    
    The reporter, of course, never questioned this statement.
    
    Megan, if there is no problem in the rental market, why are so many more people needing emergancy housing?
    Was it only a 3.5% rise last year due to a covid lockdown perhaps? In the years before this weren’t there large increases, so much that the government was looking at capping increases?
    If you reduce the income from rentals (by increasing costs and removing deductions) why wouldn’t the landlord put the price up, it’s not like there is a shortage of demand.
    
    So many easy questions.
    
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    March 29, 2021 10:27am
- Scooter
  
  Would you be kind as to copy and paste the piece by him, as I am overseas and for awhile now have not been able to access Newshub. It’s blocked in my location, maybe a good thing most times!
  
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  March 29, 2021 8:33am
  - fernglas
    
    Get a VPN
    
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    March 29, 2021 9:07am
  - krazykiwi
    
    Surfshark. Best VPN I’ve found.
    
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    March 29, 2021 10:45am
- WaveyDavey
  
  Yeah but quoting Glenn McConnell – the idiot poster-child?
  
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  March 29, 2021 8:35am
  - Yabster
    
    hes got to one of the most radical/racist journos in nz- woke millennial.
    
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    March 29, 2021 9:00am
- PeeJay
  
  While it’s good that Edwards and others are putting a bit of heat on Labour over this and acknowledging that rents will probably rise, he talks around the issue without ever getting to the core of the problem.
  
  He is still looking at it from a demand side perspective. Now I’m not as sure as all the economists out there that this will cause an impact on demand simply because there are very few other options out there for returns. I dare say some very clever accountants are working on a loophole right now.
  
  Regardless of the policies announced and criticised, nothing, absolutely nothing this government has done, nor will do, has any impact on the supply side of the equation. Supply is still extremely sluggish and will not improve rapidly – the infrastructure pledge is good but it isn’t quick.
  
  Economics 101 – supply v demand. We just don’t have the supply side right and haven’t for 20 to 30 years.
  
  I also wonder if Labour have even considered what happens when the borders finally open up again? Sooner or later the migration tap will be turned back on, (regardless of red or blue government – they always eventually do this), and we’ll see increased demand again.
  
  At best, these policies might see a plateau followed by a rise again. They won’t stop the trend until they start getting smart about the supply side.
  
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  March 29, 2021 9:07am
  - andrew davies
    
    On TV1 last night I thought I heard that investors in new builds will be able to deduct interest and are subject to only 5 years of brightline.
    Did I hear right?
    
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    March 29, 2021 9:21am
    - RW Capitalist
      
      So they will leave it in the same mess it’s in now, if you build a new house.
      BUT……
      
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      March 29, 2021 10:28am
    - RoboRob
      
      I believe so. The idea is to encourage new builds. The problem, of course, is that there are no shortage of people wanting to build new. There is a shortage of builders, material, land and long waits for permits. None of which have been addressed.
      
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      March 29, 2021 10:29am
    - Rich Prick
      
      Good luck finding the timber for a new build. The whole thing is a clusterfuck and Labour has no clues.
      
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      March 29, 2021 1:42pm
  - Phronesis
    
    Use a company structure to own the rentals and shift the borrowing onto the shareholders (the issue then becomes one of security and equity, but that is not insurmountable). As others have noted this sort of rule change (and all the rest) only really hits the small investor who can’t afford the compliance costs or don’t have a lot of equity across diversified portfolios.
    
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    March 29, 2021 9:54am
- Bobba Fret
  
  I think Grant will have to bring in some sort of restrictions on rent increases. Those of you with rental properties, I think should increase the rent ASAP (if you have not already done a annual increase), as I think they will either enforce a rent freeze or limit the amount you can increase rent to CPI or something.
  
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  March 29, 2021 9:55am
- Bloody Dago
  
  Here’s Labours political hopefuls online training videos:
  https://www.bbcnewzealand.com/shows/would-i-lie-to-you/
  It styles a “situation” by the opposing teams and sets out the narrative. Its very clever and eventually becomes comedic in its conclusion. Sound very familiar in the current NZ lefts political verbiage aka garbage?.
  Everything that Labour has attempted to politically “correct” has ended in failure. Seems that Kathy Bradford said those infamous lines:
  “Everything we do doesn’t make any difference to the polls.”
  Now that Labour are in the driving seat, incompetence, arrogance, and a “not fit to govern” are a daily reality. She backed the wrong team.
  
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  March 29, 2021 10:08am
- alloytoo
  
  Lets promote the tagline /hashtag
  
  #LabourWorsethandoingnothing
  
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  March 29, 2021 10:23am
- Maxx
  
  Has the legislation for this been put forward yet?
  
  If multiple companies are involved, which mechanism will determine where the tax liability lies? Or is it just any lending secured by residential property will no longer be able to be used as a tax deduction, then how does this effect small businesses who typically have to use their home as security to get their business loan? What about a small business that also owns a rental property?
  
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  March 29, 2021 10:23am
  - Maxx
    
    I think I answered my own question – I went and watched Robbo’s interview with Jack Tame on Q + A (had my vomit bag next to me).
    
    Grant plainly saying on a number of questions “we need to now work that out”. How on earth can you in good conscience announce out of the blue a substantial policy like this without knowing the details? And if you don’t know the details, how can you not have time to open this to consultation?
    
    Flabbergasted would be a world. Clusterfuck would be the other. Again and again we are seeing policy announced by flatulence, blaming it on National, and then fucking everything up.
    
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    March 29, 2021 1:55pm
- Wired-one
  
  Labour voters can reap what they sow.
  
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  March 29, 2021 12:10pm
- Sir Cullen's Sidekick
  
  Pfffft….Cindy is planning her wedding. What else the sheeple need?
  
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  March 29, 2021 12:17pm
Maggie Pie

CAPTAIN: “Have you ever tried turning a ship in the canal?”

PILOT: “Hold my beer….”

😀 😀
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March 29, 2021 8:02am
- Paulus Gnome
  
  How long before SAM, the ‘lone wolf’, is in the sand dunes at Costa del Suez?
  
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  March 29, 2021 8:07am
- hullkiwi
  
  Good joke,considering the media are full of bad headlines like:
  
  1. How will blocked canal affect NZ; or
  2. Canal may take months to clear.
  
  1. The answer is minimal unless your container is on a ship at the Mediterranean end of the canal; and
  2. Why? That headline is symptomatic of the lazy MSM, and a few shipping companies which would rather make money from an insurance claim.
  
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  March 29, 2021 8:17am
  - RW Capitalist
    
    With the bulk of imports from Australia, China and USA not that much effect yet.
    Much longer it may be the actual shortage of containers and trapped ships to carry them.
    
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    March 29, 2021 8:26am
    - MCos
      
      There’s around 17,000 general cargo ships worldwide, of which approx 320 are hanging around in the Suez jam.
      
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      March 29, 2021 9:10am
      - RW Capitalist
        
        So nearly 2%, I suggest, if it doubles, it will effect international trade.
        
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        March 29, 2021 9:50am
  - Stephen Russell
    
    If something costs one person $10 billion that is a disaster. If it costs a billion people $10 each it is not significant.
    This sounds like Labour Government thinking.
    
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    March 29, 2021 8:57am
    - kowtow
      
      ‘If you owe the bank $100 that’s your problem. If you owe the bank $100 million, that’s the bank’s problem.’
      
      JPGetty quote . And our banks do have a problem.
      
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      March 29, 2021 11:31am
  - RW Capitalist
    
    Q: With Suez canal blocked, why are they suggesting that the Cape of Good Hope is the only way past?
    How about The Panama canal, after all didn’t some prove, a long time ago,that the world is round?
    
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    March 29, 2021 9:15am
    - Jack5
      
      The big container ships, like the Ever Given, is much too big to squeeze through the Panama Canal.
      
      Traffic is heavy on the Panama Canal, and, shipping lines have to book passage two to three weeks in advance. The average waiting time to go into the locks is close to three days.
      
      MCOs says about 320 cargo ships of the 17,000 in the world are “hanging around the Suez canal”.
      
      Almost 18,000 ships passed through the Suez Canal in 2020 (counting each transit as one ship).
      
      Why the Suez Canal is so important to world trade:
      
      https://qz.com/1989788/why-the-suez-canal-is-vital-to-global-trade/#:~:text=The%20120%2Dmile%20canal%20through,circumnavigate%20Africa%20in%20the%20process.
      
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      March 29, 2021 10:03am
      - oldfella
        
        Jack5: Cactus Kate over at Asian Invasion, plays the ‘what if’ game and speculates on how Glorious Leader would handle the Suez crisis. Ouch!
        ++
        We have seen New Zealand’s internationally acclaimed response to Covid, which has resulted in you all still waiting behind third world countries with GDP’s the size of Ruatoria rather than the top of the queue Hippy said you would be.
        So based on this form and that of the last four years, how would our Fearless Leader respond to what’s going on in the Suez Canal?
        https://asianinvasion2019.blogspot.com/2021/03/if-jacinda-ardern-was-in-charge-of-suez.html
        
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        March 29, 2021 12:12pm
      - Paulus
        
        Doesn’t the Chinese via their Government Company manage the Panama Canal ?
        
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        March 29, 2021 1:49pm
    - kowtow
      
      Surely with an ice free Arctic that we were all promised they can take the NE and NW passages …….oh wait .
      
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      March 29, 2021 11:34am
    - Ehlana
      
      RW Capitalist – further investigation shows the concept of a round earth was first recorded among (probably white male) Greek philosophers, then practically confirmed by white Christian men, possible heterosexual, who were in the favour of European monarchies of their time. It is therefore to be denounced and discarded as racist, classist and probably anti-LGBTQI.
      
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      March 29, 2021 11:54am
      - Nickc2
        
        Spot on! Will what you wrote appear in our history books into the future? Definitely not! Reality and truth have been canceled.
        
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        March 29, 2021 12:36pm
      - rockape
        
        More an oblate spheroid than round.
        
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        March 29, 2021 1:36pm
  - Ed Snack
    
    A lot of our exports (and presumably our imports) to/from Europe go via the Panama Canal, though some do go via Suez, particularly if they are being consolidated at places like Singapore. Europe is the place most affected, the exchange of goods with China goes almost exclusively via Suez, and the oil trade that isn’t pipeline carried is via Suez.
    
    It does look like the navigable channel at that point in the canal is entirely on the left (as the ship was heading, or port if you want to be “nautical”) so it isn’t just the bow that is grounded but about 40% of the ship from the bow back. Which must be complicating matters. That said, the actual quantity of material that needs to be removed to reflate it would be no more than a couple of days work for a large dredge, however not sure how quickly one could be moved to the eastern end of the canal to work on that side of the ship. There’s one on the western side already.
    
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    March 29, 2021 10:24am
  - Sir Cullen's Sidekick
    
    What about a ship jam tax on rich pricks of NZ to help clear the backlog? I am sure Maramaramarama Davidson can issue a press release asking for this tax.
    
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    March 29, 2021 12:19pm
- andrew davies
  
  https://twitter.com/fruys/status/1376087274719485952
  An interesting graphic
  
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  March 29, 2021 9:24am
  - Frank Thomas
    
    Amazing how shallow the canal actually is compared to the draft of those fully laden container ships.
    
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    March 29, 2021 10:03am
    - G152
      
      Hey simple idea. Widen the canal
      
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      March 29, 2021 11:57am
  - Ed Snack
    
    That graphic is actually incorrect as regards the specific section of the canal. The left side of the canal is match more steeply contoured to the full depth and the right has a large shallow section – as noted above the stern is effectively floating but nearly half the ship is aground from the bow back.
    
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    March 29, 2021 10:27am
MCos

Who’d have thought!

Covid 19 coronavirus: Fake foreign virus test results highlight pre-departure testing flaws, say experts
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12431719
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March 29, 2021 8:06am
- kowtow
  
  The Usual Suspects.
  
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  March 29, 2021 8:39am
  - Odakyu-sen
    
    “People holding New Zealander passports are reportedly being offered fake negative Covid-19 test result certificates in a bid to comply with the Government’s pre-departure testing regime.
    
    There. Fixed it.
    Would a “real Kiwi” buy a fake negative Covid-19 test result certificate? (I don’t think that this is the New Zealand way.)
    
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    March 29, 2021 9:16am
    - MCos
      
      Most certainly would.
      
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      March 29, 2021 9:35am
- SGA
  
  I always had doubts about the “it will all be ok if they have a predeparture test beforehand” approach. It is too easy to buy such documentation in some places (or to get someone to do the test for you – e.g., someone who has already had the virus or been vaccinated). I have reservations about vaccination passports for similar reasons.
  
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  March 29, 2021 9:35am
Benedict Yu

Something does not add up. So far New Zealand has 0.3 percent of people vaccinated. We are by far the worst performer in the developed world. Countries like Bulgaria and Peru are doing better.

The “we will be at the front of the queue” claim is nonsense. We are last in the queue.

I bet that Jacinda is considering mandating vaccines for people who want to use a trans tasman bubble. Of course that would cause a surge in demand for vaccinations which could otherwise be months away. Also the vaccine takes 21 days to take effect.
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March 29, 2021 8:07am
- hullkiwi
  
  Benedict, your comment is made all the more funny when you consider what is going on in Europe vis a vie the AZ vaccine. Despite claims of vaccine blackmail and shipments being exported. Italy has vaccinated a greater percentage of its population than NZ!
  
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  March 29, 2021 8:42am
- RW Capitalist
  
  So far we have only heard of 2 x 20000 batches delivered.
  Have they been used?
  and
  when are the next one’s due?
  Missed yet another target huh Jacinda? Bullshitted everyone by implying “secured” means “delivered”.
  Show me the proforma invoice.
  Show me the Bill of lading
  Show me the remittance to the supplier.
  The customs landed documents
  The MPI clearance.
  
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  March 29, 2021 8:42am
  - herb1
    
    She referred to signing a “pre” delivery contract . I assume we are still awaiting the signing of a delivery contract?
    
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    March 29, 2021 10:22am
  - Benedict Yu
    
    You would think that with her ‘star power’ jacinda could get on the phone to world leaders and get some vaccines here.
    
    Maybe she can get on the phone to Scomo and beg for some of the vaccines being manufactured under licence in Melbourne. I know what he would say “Maaaate you’re dreaming!”
    
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    March 29, 2021 10:26am
    - RW Capitalist
      
      I know what he would say “Maaaate you’re dreaming!”
      or
      First in First served….so after Papua New Guinea.
      
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      March 29, 2021 1:30pm
      - Nickc2
        
        ………but, but, who’s paying for PNG’s stuff? Oh, shit, that’s right, we are! Bugger!
        
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        March 29, 2021 1:58pm
  - RoboRob
    
    The lack of information is the most telling. Unlike other countries that have daily vaccine updates available on public sites, we get Bloomfield giving vague updates very periodically.
    
    Remember Saint Ashley is the one in charge of the rollout. He is the one to blame for the slow rollout, lack of information and IT systems not ready even though we knew last year we were getting the vaccine in March.
    
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    March 29, 2021 10:40am
    - RW Capitalist
      
      Saint Ashley is the one in charge of the rollout.
      Saint Ashley is the scapegoat for any rollout, failure.
      Fixed it for ya
      I am continually staggered by people who will allow themselves to trade dignity and honesty for 15 minutes of fame. not seeing that they are being used.
      
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      March 29, 2021 1:33pm
      - theoldbloke
        
        He is not the scapegoat. Its his effing job!
        To organise responses to public health.
        He has not got a good record of achievement.
        Except becoming a media perdonality
        
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        March 29, 2021 3:47pm
- Frank the tank
  
  You hit the nail on the head here. Something doesn’t add up nor does it add up that we are only relying on the most expensive, most difficult to transport vaccine. Alas we have a feckless media therefore don’t expect any hard questions to be asked.
  
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  March 29, 2021 8:48am
  - kevn
    
    @Frank… add to that ‘special’ freezers need to maintain is it -60c?
    Supplied by the (not a) vaccine makers. Double killing.
    
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    March 29, 2021 9:10am
  - RoboRob
    
    Agree, they are hiding something. However re Pfizer vaccine. it’s not the most expensive, it is harder to transport but not really all that hard (it comes in dry ice boxes). It is also one of the most effective, with the least side effects. It is also the one that has been on the market the longest (so there is more data) and has the highest production (so better availability).
    
    I, for one, are happy to be having the pfizer one rather than Astra Zenica. I suspect many are using the AZ one as it is the cheapest but it has much lower effacacy. In the end, something is better than nothing though.
    
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    March 29, 2021 10:35am
- Simon
  
  “I bet that Jacinda is considering mandating vaccines”
  
  Jacinda doesnt know what the fuck is going on.
  
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  March 29, 2021 8:49am
  - kevn
    
    @Simon… cindy hasn’t had her jab yet. Not recommended for pregnant persons.
    
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    March 29, 2021 9:11am
    - RW Capitalist
      
      Uptick for a cunning implication.
      
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      March 29, 2021 9:17am
    - RW Capitalist
      
      Stuff has a story, many on here predicted.
      Implication she will marry.
      
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      March 29, 2021 11:18am
  - lemuzz
    
    No the pfizer vaccine is not for women of child bearing age
    
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    March 29, 2021 10:38am
- sabre
  
  Jacinda will do all in her power to delay and keep kiwis trapped here in her socialist paradise, can’t have freedom for the masses
  
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  March 29, 2021 8:56am
  - Paulus
    
    And ensure that any money either used or spent on overseas travel stays here.
    
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    March 29, 2021 10:28am
- Maxx
  
  The problem is that National won’t get any traction if they harp on about this. The people that already see through Labour’s lies already vote for National/Act – the ones that were Nat voters who went to Labour still and will always believe Cindy saved us all.
  
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  March 29, 2021 10:50am
MCos

‘The troops apprehended the injured man and put him on top of a stack of burning tyres. The tyres had been set up by the neighbourhood’s residents as a makeshift barricade to slow down… the military’s forces.

“He was shouting, ‘help me, Mother.”’
https://www.myanmar-now.org/en/news/help-me-mother-mandalay-resident-shot-and-burnt-alive-by-juntas-troops
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March 29, 2021 8:09am
- MCos
  
  https://twitter.com/tatachiotakio/status/1376075241563156484?s=21
  
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  March 29, 2021 8:12am
- hullkiwi
  
  MCos, and there was the BBC reporting on Saturday the words of the Junta Military leader as saying:
  
  “The coup was necessary to safeguard democracy and the population”.
  
  Do these people realise just how ridiculous they make themselves look when their troops kill a 7 year child in the arms of a father at home?
  
  Today for such people no matter how hard they try to ban news sources the rest of the world is watching. Shamefully though,most governments turn a blind eye to such atrocities because of economic considerations.
  
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  March 29, 2021 8:24am
  - Stephen Russell
    
    Perhaps you could explain what you think Governments should be doing. Invading Burma perhaps? I think that is the only thing that would stop this. Sanctions and isolation (which many Government’s are doing) are not going to work – Burma has endured this for half a century and the military there is completely indifferent to it.
    
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    March 29, 2021 9:02am
    - Nickc2
      
      This is probably the reason for the Military Coup in Myanmar. Make of it what you will.
      https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-politics-china-metals-explain-idUSKBN2AA12U
      
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      March 29, 2021 9:50am
      - Nickc2
        
        If reading the article above, suggest you pay particular attention to the section on Rare Earth Metals. These are in short supply and China has cornered the market. Myanmar has plenty of them.
        
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        March 29, 2021 10:26am
      - Ed Snack
        
        Nickc2, they’re not “rare”, and China is currently by far the largest refiner of those metals because the process is potentially quite “dirty” (lot of chemical reactions required to sort the various elements out from one another which is the big challenge). The US has significant ore resources and used to process those as well, but as environmental regulations made it more expensive the business was outsourced to a place where such regulations essentially don’t exist (for practical purposes anyway).
        
        So the US and other places could reasonably quickly start to produce their own supplies, but at a cost. The Chinese have tried this sort of thing before and quickly discovered that although they may have an economic advantage thanks to low standards, that isn’t easy to translate to dominance if others can and will enter the market.
        
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        March 29, 2021 2:41pm
    - Alan Wilkinson
      
      Send in a drone to take out their leaders a la Trump.
      
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      March 29, 2021 11:23am
    - hullkiwi
      
      The problem is China. The Myanmar regime is propped up by China, as is North Korea. Until we deal to China, expect nothing to get better.
      
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      March 29, 2021 3:49pm
  - Paulus
    
    Remember that China is behind whatever in Myanmar as they have oil, gas and a huge percentage of precious metals used in industry, and any loosing of the regime is not in China’s favour.
    They will not let it happen despite many killings and probably more to come.
    
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    March 29, 2021 10:31am
- Simon
  
  Do you automatically believed this happened?
  
  Who is Myanmar-now?
  
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  March 29, 2021 8:53am
  - MCos
    
    That’s up to you.
    
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    March 29, 2021 9:51am
Maggy Wassilieff

We’re stuffed folks..
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/439358/some-frontline-police-refusing-high-risk-callouts-prompts-more-training
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March 29, 2021 8:14am
- hullkiwi
  
  ….no Maggy, didn’t you hear? The Asst Commissioner denied hearing such reports. But is then reported as saying, “there will be an extra weeks training for front line staff in such situations”.
  
  You can’t make this stuff up!
  
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  March 29, 2021 8:28am
- Bill Felt
  
  It’s OK the gangs will look after us. After all they have already done roadblocks, next ….
  
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  March 29, 2021 8:33am
  - 3-coil
    
    Yes Bill, the gangs are apparently very experienced and keen to provide “protection” to the innocent citizens of our country.
    
    In central Wellington recently I parked outside a shop I wanted to purchase from. A patched gang thug approached me and offered (for a cash fee) to keep an eye on my car to prevent it being vandalised. I changed my mind, forfeited the parking fee I’d paid, and made my purchase in another town later in the day.
    
    Only one small incident, but the tip of the iceberg. No matter how much the racist hypocritical councillors of WCC and their local MP Grunter Robertson deny it, the police are unable to protect the public – they have a big problem in “the coolest little capital in the world”.
    
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    March 29, 2021 9:59am
  - kowtow
    
    Don’t forget they feed the kiddies in schools.
    Such nice folk.
    
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    March 29, 2021 11:54am
- KevO'Brien
  
  The Police pay from the outset recognises their increased risk.
  
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  March 29, 2021 8:53am
- Philview
  
  When the Labour Government and Race Relations Comissioner regularly denigrate the police as a racist institution I can understand why police officers aren’t that keen to put their lives on the line.
  
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  March 29, 2021 8:54am
  - SB2
    
    “the Labour Government …??
    
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    March 29, 2021 11:05am
- JimBobJoe
  
  Well if you lower the standard for recruiting so you end up with a lot of physically less intimidating constables then situations will become more dangerous… Potential offenders look differently at Murray Pierce sized constables (6’5″) than they do at 5’9″ sized constables….
  
  The Wellington team policing unit that used to attend trouble spots in Wellington in the 1980s was scary big…. Anyone taking them on was suicidal
  
  Police need a fear factor to be effective.
  
  Thugs respect firce… Nothing else. New age Police tactics when dealing with gangsters and their associates dont work… Size and numbers coupled with a no nonesense attitude works…
  
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  March 29, 2021 9:06am
  - Nickc2
    
    ……so long as it is supported by the judiciary.
    
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    March 29, 2021 9:57am
    - JimBobJoe
      
      True Nick.
      
      Police need backing by Judges when dealing with gangster thugs
      
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      March 29, 2021 12:40pm
  - david
    
    But you must realise that it can no longer be called the Police Force. It is of course the Police Service and is not the biggest gang in the land.
    They do “policing” whatever that means and they do it with permission from the public.
    Whatever was wrong with being able to say “ we catch bad guys”
    
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    March 29, 2021 1:07pm
- Simon
  
  Its the NZ death penalty. The political class and all the woke useless clowns in parliament say the death penalty is undesirable. Instead they leave the death penalty to be carried out by random police in stressful hostile circumstances where police lives and the public lives are in danger.
  
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  March 29, 2021 9:07am
- Paulus
  
  No, not No Go Ghettos surely ?
  
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  March 29, 2021 10:32am
- RightFirstTime
  
  The “frontline skills enhancement course”. I’m surprised the police hierarchy didn’t give it a Te Reo name…oh, hang on, this is not such a “good news” initiative.
  
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  March 29, 2021 11:39am
Nukuleka

Good on Heretaunga College for cancelling the term ‘mufti dress’ and replacing it with ‘be yourself’ dress. Hopefully it will begin a trend in New Zealand of sifting through the rich lexicon of the English language, discovering the etymology of all nouns and verbs and rooting out all such culturally offensive words. My, there is still a lot of work do be done in this area but it is wonderful to see Heretaunga College leading the way.

And plaudits also to the College for the decision it made to replace the word ‘excellence’ in its motto with the far more aspirational and appropriate word ’empathy’. ‘Excellence’ is another word that is clearly a term associated with white supremacists. Ban it from all educational documents, I say. What on earth has ‘excellence’ go to do with New Zealand education!
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March 29, 2021 8:14am
- Paulus Gnome
  
  ‘ discovering the etymology of all nouns and verbs and rooting out all such culturally offensive words’
  
  Lets start with pakeha then.
  
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  March 29, 2021 8:24am
  - Phronesis
    
    If you actually believed in the concepts of colonialism and cultural appropriation then the use of maori words in english would surely be verboten.
    
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    March 29, 2021 8:35am
- KevO'Brien
  
  Regression to dullity and nullity.
  This is how we got the present Ardern fiasco: aspirational inability has been substituted for excellence.
  
  Sometimes the old values have purpose. When 85% is re-rated as 100% only the numbers changes the deficiency still remains.
  
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  March 29, 2021 9:01am
  - RW Capitalist
    
    Her mentor?
    “It would not be impossible to prove with sufficient repetition and a psychological understanding of the people concerned that a square is in fact a circle. They are mere words, and words can be molded until they clothe ideas and disguise.”
    ― Joseph Goebbels
    
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    March 29, 2021 9:55am
- lifesgood
  
  I’m pretty sure your comment is dripping with sarcasm, at least I hope so, Nukuleka, but you don’t make that clear.
  
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  March 29, 2021 9:03am
  - Rich Prick
    
    It’s as though the woke left are proud of their mental illnesses.
    
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    March 29, 2021 9:36am
    - RW Capitalist
      
      Catch 22?
      
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      March 29, 2021 9:56am
    - Tall Man
      
      Excellent comment …
      
      Oops, apologies for the overt white supremacy 😉
      
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      March 29, 2021 10:15am
  - Nukuleka
    
    I think that my final sentence clearly drips with sarcasm and makes my attitude very clear indeed. But I guess that I make too many assumptions about the perceptive skills of Kiwibloggers and will need to add sarc or lol in future.
    
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    March 29, 2021 9:37am
    - oldfella
      
      Nuku, you really need to add it when dear old Bats is moderating. /s
      
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      March 29, 2021 4:13pm
- tf78
  
  Nukuleka – I think I can beat that one :
  Oxford University are contemplating scrapping sheet music because of it’s ‘complicity in white supremacy’.
  
  God give me strength as I am running out of it.
  
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  March 29, 2021 9:07am
  - Tall Man
    
    That’s easy ….. Use black paper and black ink ….. Job done …
    
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    March 29, 2021 9:51am
  - oldfella
    
    tf78, so ‘white sheet’ music could be scrapped. Hmm. What kind will the Democrats use now at their KKK rallies?
    
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    March 29, 2021 11:09am
  - graham
    
    I’m sorry to say, I thought you were being sarcastic, so I did a quick Google.
    
    I’m even sorrier to say, I found out you weren’t being sarcastic.
    
    Speechless.
    
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    March 29, 2021 12:42pm
- Tall Man
  
  Be careful you don’t sneeze wit that tongue in your cheek 😉
  
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  March 29, 2021 9:14am
- Odakyu-sen
  
  “Excellence’ is another word that is clearly a term associated with white supremacists….
  
  Japan and South Korea have joined the chat.
  
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  March 29, 2021 9:24am
  - SB2
    
    As the late Hideki Tojo would know.
    
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    March 29, 2021 10:07am
  - tf78
    
    Odakyu-sen, I guess it’s out of their grasp as mediocrity has surpassed ‘excellence’.
    
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    March 29, 2021 11:58am
- lilman
  
  I think we should cancel all Muftis.
  
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  March 29, 2021 9:54am
- EssenX
  
  I really don’t understand these people. Wouldn’t it be better to leave the term as mufti, but use that opportunity to discuss with the children the origins of the word, the history, then ask them what they think, would they do the same as the British soldiers, how do they think that locals would have received it? Some things in history may be right or wrong, that doesn’t mean we should cancel it altogether and pretend it doesn’t exist or didn’t happen. We are basically discouraging critical thinking in education, which will have disastrous effects on our educational outcomes and long term productivity (and well being!).
  
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  March 29, 2021 10:36am
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    Wouldn’t it be better to leave the term as mufti, but use that opportunity to discuss with the children the origins of the word, the history,
    
    Ah yes,
    A teachable moment…
    
    I don’t think that concept exists now under a prescribed curriculum.
    
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    March 29, 2021 4:38pm
artemisia

“… liberty, property and security …”. Not a bad set of principles against which National and ACT could measure each and every response or policy.

Like – ‘does it make the boat go faster’ – one of the great lines of our time.

From Newshub weekend opinion piece by Peter Dunne.
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March 29, 2021 8:16am
Maggie Pie

I know this might be yesterdays News….but the ‘Replies’ are still a hoot 😀

https://twitter.com/1NewsNZ/status/1376008802080710657
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March 29, 2021 8:28am
- Tall Man
  
  Actually Maggie, that fact that guy is still here is sickening.
  
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  March 29, 2021 9:15am
  - kowtow
    
    Taking out the trash. ( Hopefully)
    
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    March 29, 2021 11:50am
- Inandout
  
  Maggie, he is the man who knows too much.
  
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  March 29, 2021 10:17am
I remember when

‘Premature’ easing of covid curbs boosts US cases, Fauci says:
Once again, it’s never the failure of the lockdown, always people just not trying hard enough.
So since his inauguration Joe Biden has overseen 139,044 (24.7%) of the total US covid deaths.
However I note, ‘the US has now made an aggressive push to roll out vaccines.’
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March 29, 2021 8:45am
- KevO'Brien
  
  Poor diddums his profit share from the sales of vaccines will be down.
  
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  March 29, 2021 9:03am
- Ed Snack
  
  And, as usual, Fauci is lying. Texas ended its mask mandates a couple of weeks ago, to much gnashing of the teeth from Democrats. Even old Creepy Joe weighed in calling it “Neanderthal Thinking”.
  
  Since then, the cases have continued to drop rapidly ever since.
  
  One can only hope that someone, anyone, in authority eventually asks Fauci why he sent millions of dollars to China to support gain of function research on BCV’s at a lab with known safety and security issues. Because that is highly likely to be the actual root cause of this whole fiasco – GoF research added the furin cleavage site and adapted the virus for human transmission; and then lax procedures at the lab led to that already adapted virus escaping to the wild. No sign of any intermediate animal host has emerged (originally Pangolins were suggested but, no, it wasn’t them, and no other has arisen); there were no bats known to be at the market (as best can be established), and the original virus source is likely to be 1,000 km away in Hunan province.
  
  Fauci is complicit, and he’s trying hard to cover it up.
  
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  March 29, 2021 2:50pm
Yvette

Pike River – where did “350 cubic tonnes of concrete” go?
Along with a featured article, “Going further into Pike River ‘feasible and safe’ “, in a Related News headline Newshub offered ” ‘Obliterating’: Tonnes of concrete poured into ‘critical’ Pike River Mine area – expert”.

Following that link [1] gives you –
Electrical expert Richard Healey, who spent two years helping the families investigate, appeared on Newshub Nation [21/11/2020, Pike disaster anniversary, last November] claiming 350 cubic tonnes of concrete was poured into the mine.
“We have the invoices for the material, 105 tonnes shipped from Australia in seven shipping containers. We have eyewitness testimony from people who put material down the shaft, the process took three days. We know that the contract which was signed to do that specified that 350 cubic metres of material would be used.” … He said it occurred in 2011, less than a year after the first explosion.
Healey [said] that there is “a lot of evidence” some of the miners survived the first explosion on November 19, 2010 and they likely would have gathered at the fresh air base. If they had, their bodies may now be entombed in concrete. [1]

Spaghetti Junction was the meeting point of the drift and pit bottom, with two surface-to-mine shafts nearby – the main ventilation shaft, and the slimline shaft, at the bottom of which was a so-called fresh air base . [2]
It would seem that, if the “350 cubic tonnes of concrete was poured into the mine”, it went down the slimline shaft.

Now, Investigator Richard Healey says new information has come to light about the major barrier to entry.
“The thing that’s been referred to as the rock fall – is actually smaller than we thought … Our experts say this is a simple task to get beyond that roof fall,” he told Newshub Nation. …
It’s thought the fan may have sparked the explosion.
The roof fall is all that stands in the way.
“The families of these miners have not had answers for 10 years, and they deserve answers. Those answers are now a mere 12 to 15m away through well crushed coal,” says Healey. [3]

But, since last November 21, Richard Healey seems to have forgotten about the concrete (invoices, eye-witnesses, three day operation) and should explain more accurately what shaft it was poured down. It seems, if it indeed happened, the concrete is now on the workings side (west) of the roof falls, supposedly filling the fresh air base and the presumed location of miners remains.

For what purpose does Healey believe the concrete was poured into the mine?
And if Healey happens to have it wrong in some way, what other evidence, advice or recommendations of his should be re-evaluated?
Before we invest more money, soul-destroying time, and false hope on Pike River Mine?

[1] https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2020/11/tonnes-of-concrete-poured-into-critically-important-pike-river-mine-air-feed-where-miners-could-have-gathered-engineer.html
[2] https://pikeriver.royalcommission.govt.nz/Volume-One—What-Happened-at-Pike-River
[3] https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/shows/2021/03/going-further-into-pike-river-reasonable-and-safe-former-nz-chief-mine-s-inspector.html
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March 29, 2021 8:46am
- RW Capitalist
  
  First he needs to get his measures right and make up his mind.
  100cum weighs about 250 tonnes
  so 350cum weighs about 875 tonnes
  
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  March 29, 2021 9:09am
  - kevn
    
    105 tonnes of cement in containers from Aussie?Maybe (special brew?) concrete in bags to be mixed here? Maybe.
    All sounds odd.
    
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    March 29, 2021 9:21am
    - RW Capitalist
      
      Then that would be cement, not concrete?
      Or in premix, ie no water
      105 tonnes would only make 40cum
      
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      March 29, 2021 9:59am
- rangitoto
  
  “cubic tonnes” is a nonsense term.
  
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  March 29, 2021 10:41am
  - Master Mariner
    
    That it is.
    
    Unless water with SG of 1.
    
    1 M3 = 1 ton.
    
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    March 29, 2021 8:34pm
Tony Stuart

I’ve been called for jury service today. Should I wear my Sensible Sentencing Trust t-shirt, or my MAGA cap?
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March 29, 2021 8:56am
- RW Capitalist
  
  Both, you can get back to work quicker.
  
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  March 29, 2021 9:03am
- Maggie Pie
  
  My partner got a letter from his GP explaining his Tourettes.
  
  Lifetime exemption.
  
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  March 29, 2021 9:33am
  - SGA
    
    Serious question – if a person with hearing issues is on a jury, does the court employ a sign language translator? Just curious.
    
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    March 29, 2021 9:38am
  - SB2
    
    Involuntary obscenities at Mass?
    
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    March 29, 2021 9:51am
  - RW Capitalist
    
    Well FUCK…..can I claim keyboard tourettes?
    
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    March 29, 2021 10:00am
- MCos
  
  Alternatively you can front up in a jacket and tie and do your civic duty as I did.
  Having said that that was thirty years ago and when my wife was called for jury service not so long ago obvious shirking didn’t cut the mustard from my observation.
  
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  March 29, 2021 10:03am
  - Tony Stuart
    
    I did that the last time I got called up. Not only did I get on the jury, but because I was dressed in “business attire”, I was nominated to be Foreman!
    
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    March 29, 2021 12:11pm
    - MCos
      
      When my wife was in the pool waiting to see if she’d be called to sit on the jury the read out the charges for one one guy.
      They were all of a sexual nature and were so gross I’m sure there’s no way Stuff, NZH or Newshub would have printed them. Furthermore it was a list as long as your arm.
      My wife’s name wasn’t called which was just as well. She has no concept of a jury trial & limited English.
      In Thailand trials are judge only and can be very corrupt.
      A year or so ago a judge said he had been instructed to let the defendant off by his boss even though he was guilty. He said he would no longer work in such a system, pulled out a gun & shot himself in the courtroom.
      
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      March 29, 2021 3:09pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Pack a decent book to read… it gets boring waiting around.
  
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  March 29, 2021 10:14am
  - Ed Snack
    
    And often no free wifi !
    
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    March 29, 2021 10:33am
- skyblue
  
  Also borrow the Die Hard placard Bruce Willis wore in Harlem, ”I hate nig6er$”.
  
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  March 29, 2021 10:36am
RW Capitalist

Dr on AMShow
admitting there are people in hallways in Hospitals AGAIN (must be another Labour govt,) and this has been getting worse for the past 3 years…all Labour.
Lack of beds to move them to, in the hospital.
Saw this with my wife, Emergency cleared her for admittance BUT due to no beds, she waited between 1 and 3 hours in emergency. This means nobody else could occupy her emergency bed.
The longest wait turned out to be the last one, she died the next day.
So, her last 24 hrs were painful and hardly respectful.
Please note…this is not a criticism of the staff.
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March 29, 2021 8:59am
- RW Capitalist
  
  The answer
  Like housing
  MORE SUPPLY
  perhaps Auckland needs another hospital
  Perhaps Wellington needs another hospital
  Perhaps all DHB’s hospitals need expanding?
  I would start with using tax incentives for some to go private, to help clear the decks.
  
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  March 29, 2021 9:01am
  - Tall Man
    
    Perhaps people need to go to their GP rather than clog up the emergency wards……
    
    19 2
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    March 29, 2021 9:17am
    - RW Capitalist
      
      With the economy the way it is, can they afford it?
      
      9 1
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      March 29, 2021 10:01am
    - RW Capitalist
      
      It isn’t these people who are the problem…though I see your point. There aren’t enough beds in the hospital to admit those requiring admission.
      Again, people seem to have this “something for nothing” attitude to emergency dept.s.
      
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      March 29, 2021 10:23am
    - Paulus
      
      They don’t go to their because that cost them money which A&E Hospitals do not.
      
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      March 29, 2021 10:35am
    - Sacha
      
      Our local health clinic has 3 full time GPs. Waiting times for getting a routine appointment are over 6 weeks. New health problem? About 3 weeks, if there is a cancellation.
      I have still not had an appointment which was cancelled because of the lockdown – I’ve actually given up, and make-do with my own treatments, in stead of getting a prescription drug which would fix it in a week.
      
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      March 29, 2021 10:56am
    - doublehappy
      
      GP’s are desperately over subscribed. I have not got in on day one for a long time. You need to be a good talker to get in on day two. So emergency clinics are the only place to go if you are prepared to wait many hours. Medical facilities are underfunded and badly managed and have been for decades. Anyone remember the report done by Alan Gibbs in the early 1990s? It was so sensible it was immediately discarded by the government of the day. I believed it suggested that fewer bureaucrats and more doctors and nurses were needed and fewer health boards. A good thinking person.
      
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      March 29, 2021 12:00pm
- fernglas
  
  If the hospitals are this overcrowded, imagine what it will be like if there is even a small outbreak of Covid, or even flu and pneumonia, those winter standbys
  
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  March 29, 2021 9:10am
  - RW Capitalist
    
    or measles, rubella or mumps?
    I see they have FINALLY recognized the importance of this vaccine. AFTER National got immunizations up to 94%, Labour allowed it to slip to 87% followed by an outbreak, exported to Samoa where 80 lives were lost.
    
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    March 29, 2021 9:24am
    - lilman
      
      Ardern still wont acknowledge that NZ policy caused those deaths in Samoa,what a callous incompetent.
      
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      March 29, 2021 10:01am
  - tf78
    
    fernglas – I would like to know why all the hospitals are filling up. What is the matter with the people? Is it delays in treatment due to Covid or some mass illness we’re not being told about. It’s not even winter yet!
    
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    March 29, 2021 9:32am
    - RW Capitalist
      
      Population increase in this time 250000, to 5 mill
      ie 5% increase, have hospital beds increase by 5%.
      https://knoema.com/atlas/New-Zealand/topics/Health/Health-Service-Coverage/Hospital-beds
      The clark govt. destroyed our public hospitals, and it appears that Ardern has made them dip again, National could have done better, but they arrested the fall and leveled it off, with slight rises over their term.
      
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      March 29, 2021 10:11am
    - MCos
      
      A lot of people can’t afford to go the the doctor.
      A lot of people can’t afford the time off work to go to the doctor until it’s too late.
      There are people turning up at A & E with advanced cancer because they didn’t seek timely treatment.
      My first father in law went hospital and died a couple of days later of throat cancer. Nobody knew he had it. He’d been crook for a long time, but refuse treatment. Don’t know why, in his case, but there are people like that who can’t afford to stop work or go to the doctor, particularly in these times if they are the only breadwinner.
      
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      March 29, 2021 10:20am
    - kevn
      
      @tf78…. Speaking as one who was waiting for elective surgery last year, then got trounced by the covid hospital virtual shutdowns.
      Yes, many folk had delayed diagnosis and are now critically ill. Some elderly were too scared to even visit their GP clinics.
      But hey, cindy saved 10s of thousands of us… right? NO
      
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      March 29, 2021 12:19pm
- SB2
  
  One thing is for sure you are not that bad at making stuff up.
  
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  March 29, 2021 9:52am
  - RW Capitalist
    
    Here is where I insert a
    “how dare you, you opinionated insignificant asshole”
    
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    March 29, 2021 1:40pm
    - oldfella
      
      Nah, RW, be kind. SB2 needs all the love he can get. /s
      
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      March 29, 2021 4:19pm
- amospicton
  
  The PM was on One explaining that the problem with ER waiting times was that National had targets. I kid you not…..
  
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  March 29, 2021 9:55am
  - kevn
    
    @amo… Imagine that, targets that were achieved.
    Look at where we are now.
    NZ being politically trashed in all realms.
    
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    March 29, 2021 12:15pm
JibberJabber

Suez Sea Shanty, ?
https://twitter.com/sophiasgaler/status/1375798669711183882
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March 29, 2021 9:03am
rouppe

First Gas is proposing piping Hydrogen instead of Methane (natural gas) through the gas network.

Sounds like a good idea on paper. Except, some extracts:

Its road map would mean more than 60,000 North Island households connected via its 7000 kilometres of gas pipes would need to replace their gas appliances during that period.

Translation: You’re up for $6,000 to $10,000 if you think about a new infinity water heater, new stove top, 1 new basic space heater. Who’s paying? Do these appliances exist?

Gerritsen said the amount of electricity generated in New Zealand would need to nearly triple from 42 terawatt-hours a year to 114TWh/year by 2050 to provide the power to convert water into hydrogen while also meeting the expected increase in electricity demand that will otherwise occur by then.

Really? Tripling? At the rate new generation is being consented that is centuries away.

The vast majority of that expected extra power would come from wind and solar power, First Gas believes.

Translation: Gerritsen needs to change his meds

It is a process that will always consume more power than it produces overall

Translation: gas prices will go up significantly.

Tripling of generation, from solar and wind, for a process that costs more energy than it produces.

Madness…
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March 29, 2021 9:04am
- Tall Man
  
  New jets won’t solve the issue?
  
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  March 29, 2021 9:19am
- kevn
  
  @roupe… Madness. Sums up this clown circus.
  
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  March 29, 2021 9:24am
- Nickc2
  
  Given that hydrogen is self explosive in concentration as low as 3% in atmosphere, I would seriously reconsider its use as a domestic fuel.
  
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  March 29, 2021 10:16am
- RW Capitalist
  
  ?????
  Considering H2 molecule is very much smaller than “Natural gas, their WILL be leaks in the current system, if you move to H2.These leaks will mean losses and a real danger, not just from combustion, but also acidic pollution due to reaction with the surrounding soil.
  Meaning the whole network would need upgrading or replacement….is it worth it now?
  
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  March 29, 2021 10:17am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  How much to replace/modify the pipelines?
  
  Can they carry 100% hydrogen efficiently?
  
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  March 29, 2021 10:37am
  - rangitoto
    
    Nothing can carry hydrogen gas efficiently. Under pressure it will leak through steel. High chromium-molybdenum steels help but are way too expensive for reticulation.
    
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    March 29, 2021 10:52am
  - KevO'Brien
    
    This, I’m sure, will prove to be an irrelevancy. New sources of carbon-free electricity are appearing.
    
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    March 29, 2021 11:16am
- Local Miller
  
  Add to this that the hydrogen atom or even the molecule (H2) form, is much smaller than the molecules of the gas (primarily methane CH4) that normally goes through those pipes. Hydrogen is well known to be susceptible to leakage, so the current pipe system is almost definitely not suitable for hydrogen, and losses will be significant all through the system. This is a really dumb idea for a miniscule reduction in GHG emissions.
  Then of course you have losses using electricity to separate the hydrogen from water. It would probably be better to replace my gas hob with an induction top, and go back to using electricity for hot water.
  
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  March 29, 2021 10:40am
  - rangitoto
    
    Is there enough renewable energy available to produce the required quantity of hydrogen. I guess we can just burn more coal.
    
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    March 29, 2021 11:15am
  - kevn
    
    @LM… Either way NZ is being shafted.
    
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    March 29, 2021 12:12pm
- UrbanNeocolonialist
  
  What about hydrogen embrittlement of the pipes? It’s a common issue with hydrogen in steel, particularly high strength steels (such as what pipelines are frequently made of).
  
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  March 29, 2021 11:14am
- KevO'Brien
  
  Madness indeed. Wait and see what the future really will bring.
  
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  March 29, 2021 11:18am
  - tf78
    
    Kev – coal fired power stations I would suspect.
    
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    March 29, 2021 4:34pm
- doublehappy
  
  From Conserve-energy-future.com
  “Even small amounts of liquid hydrogen can be explosive when combined with air, and only a small amount of energy is required to ignite it. Both its explosiveness and the extremely low temperatures involved make handling it safely a challenge.”
  Sounds like an expensive exercise in futility to me, so I suppose the government will invest billions in it.
  
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  March 29, 2021 12:09pm
- Master Mariner
  
  They cant even sort out the stormwater drains amongst other things.
  With Hydrogen, How are they going to pipe it?
  Simple chemistry tells you its Porous and will end up losing more going through ” Specialised pipes” , which in turn will require huge replacement and installation.
  Other way is to convert it too Ammonia or Hydrochloric Acid ( Think from memorary) and can immagine the procedures around this,
  They really do not have a clue
  
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  March 29, 2021 9:14pm
KevO'Brien

Science seeking for sense?
Willis Eschenbach nails deceit or tomfoolery with numbers again:
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2021/03/28/the-latest-subsidisaster/

Oil companies being subsidised?
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March 29, 2021 9:10am
- SB2
  
  Willis Eschenbach
  
  Credentials
  
  California Massage Certificate, Aames School of Massage, Oakland, CA. (1974).
  B.A., Psychology, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA. (1975).
  
  Sigh!
  
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  March 29, 2021 9:55am
  - kevn
    
    SB2… Credentials: Downtick king tied with brain.
    
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    March 29, 2021 12:11pm
  - KevO'Brien
    
    And yours?
    Are you recognised for your mathematical fluency and proof of the planet temperature being controlled within narrow limits?
    Wait till you see what Maxwell Chickumbutsu, who left school aged about 11, has brought to the world.
    
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    March 29, 2021 2:29pm
I remember when

A lot of emphasis has been placed on the farming sector in ‘Climate Change’ comment.
This is especially so for the dairy farmers, with few people having seen any actual figures to show what or how big the problem is.
This is partly because measuring is not the simple task many imagine and the results often produce need for ever more research.
However if reducing nitrogen fertiliser application is the answer, we can expect reduced horticultural areas and resulting increasing vegetable prices.
Organic farming practices increase nitrogen in the soil the same as nitrogen fertilisers.
It is still nitrogen whether fixed by fertiliser or plants.
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March 29, 2021 9:11am
- Jimbob
  
  The world is about to endure a massive spike in inflation. It will happen slowly, then all at once. Each country will rise at different rates, New Zealand’s prospects are not encouraging.
  
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  March 29, 2021 11:53am
- doublehappy
  
  Yes; it is very hard to calculate. In Europe where cows spend a lot of time inside buildings the amount of methane can be calculated quite easily. But there is another problem in the calculation. I think most people and therefore cattle, fart more on some foods than others. I know I do, beans anyone?
  
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  March 29, 2021 12:16pm
Happychappy

For all you people waiting for Hydrogen.
Gas appliances would need to be replaced from 2035 under First Gas hydrogen plan.
The Country’s biggest network company, plans to stop piping gas to customer’s between 2035 – 2050and switch to “green” Hydrogen produced by renewable electricity. Its roadmap would mean more than 60,000 North Island households connected via its 7000 kilometer pipes would need to replace their gas appliances during that period, but project manager Angela Ogier said the conversion would secure the future of the gas network.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/124668825/gas-appliances-would-need-to-be-replaced-from-2035-under-first-gas-hydrogen-plan
I wonder whether people will be prepared to keep shelling out the dollars
Just for the Government and Prime Minister to achieve their dream.
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March 29, 2021 9:12am
- Ed Snack
  
  Natural gas/methane can be dangerous, but it is manageable. Hydrogen though is spontaneously inflammable when mixed in certain percentages with air, and nothing can actually prevent H2 from leaking through anything (though pipes made of depleted Uranium reduce it to a minimum).
  
  Though I suppose the production of H2 from water by using “renewable” electricity from intermittent sources is one way to “store” that electricity for later use. It’s not particularly efficient but could be used, with the advantage of offering an option to either use the H2 as a fuel source by burning it or use it to regenerate electricity via a fuel cell. Doable with current technology but significant efficiency losses as well as issues with safety and efficiently storing the H2.
  
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  March 29, 2021 10:44am
  - Master Mariner
    
    Bang on the money Ed.
    Highly porous.
    Huge costs in storage and / or converting to Ammonia.
    both Highly toxic alternatives and if serious about Greenhouse gases then Hydrogen escaping will make up for any gains.
    Huge safety concerns
    
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    March 29, 2021 9:20pm
- KevO'Brien
  
  That’s 14 years away! Haven’t they heard of the exciting developments in other forms of energy which are surely going to power transport, homes and factories. The US Navy now has a patent application too. Off grid will be the new normal. No more recharging cars either. Cooking may still be done by gas but it’s unlikely to be pure hydrogen which is very hazardous.
  
  One developer has now licensed supply in 12 countries of a device producing electricity directly from the the fields surrounding the Earth, possibly those we see sometimes as auroras.
  
  Rigorous investigation has taken place as to its bona fides and the international techs have been satisfied. Harmless (as well as 3-phase AC electricity can be), produced on site as required, carbon free, source material free to all, available presently in 5Kw – 500Kw units. Not a bad substitute for oil etc.
  
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  March 29, 2021 10:48am
  - Local Miller
    
    LOL, you can’t generate electricity from the earths magnetic field, certainly not at a household level. Any research otherwise if a fraud. I have a really nice bridge across the harbor to sell, only partly used.
    The earth’s magnetic field is too homogenous over short distances to be used in electricity generation. You would need either massive units or units moving really fast, or over a very wide area to take advantage of the earth’s magnetic fields to generate electricity. Sorry, this is 3 years at university studying physics talking.
    In simple terms electricity generation occurs when conductive wires move through magnetic fields experiencing a change (very important this) in the magnetic field. Within reason, the higher the gradient of the field the better. But near the surface and in small areas, the earth’s mag field is almost “flat”. Then you have to find some way of driving the conductor through the field: Steam, water, wind are most common, but what’s going to drive the conductors through the earth’s field on the scales needed?
    Don’t hold your breath, “free, cheap” energy from the earth’s fields is a very, very, very long way off.
    
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    March 29, 2021 11:45am
    - Local Miller
      
      As a correction, there is a theoretical device that could produce electricity from the earths magnetic field, but they are talking about “tens of nanowatts at tens of microvolts” with no evidence that it could be scaled up to useful levels. There is also nothing in the research that identifies how the components that need to rotate through the field are driven. For those with less scientific background, a nanowatt is 1 Billionth (0.000000001) of a watt.
      
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      March 29, 2021 1:34pm
      - KevO'Brien
        
        10’s of nanowatts–I agree, that what drove out crystal sets. We could listen to the radio and there were no batteries.
        
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        March 29, 2021 3:05pm
    - KevO'Brien
      
      I didn’t say the energy is coming from the Earth’s magnetic field. That just seems as good an explanation as any other. It’s coming from somewhere as the device has been severely tested by external agencies to prove no known outside power sources, including secret radiation, were producing the electrical output which was measured at 500Kw.
      
      I expect your reaction to be common. I was sceptical for while too but the continuing production and international sales speaks for itself. Investigators came form the USA to check it out. Further proof of reality should be established over the coming months and there is a report of 12 international firm being licensed to manufacture/sell the products.
      Who knows? It may take years yet to explain. Have a look at the LENR physics for a tangled jungle attempting to explain their excess energy which the US Govt have now validated. Have your sub-atomic particle properties dictionary handy.
      
      We live in exciting times. I have been blessed with a proven good sniffer for tech advancements. I was there at the beginning of computing. We don’t always know how thing work. It can be sufficient that they do. They market will sift out the frauds or uneconomic. Imagine how scared people would have been sighting the early aeroplanes.
      
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      March 29, 2021 2:51pm
  - Ed Snack
    
    Kev, you’ve been promoting this for a number of years, and yet nothing has yet turned up. Maybe approach it with a bit of scientific skepticism ?
    
    You can’t buy those units, sorry, because despite all the puffery, they don’t work. TANSTAAFL as they say.
    
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    March 29, 2021 2:56pm
    - KevO'Brien
      
      I have been observing for years but only now are these green energy sources coming out of the labs into the commercial world. Several are at pre-launch phase.
      I caught on because of the wide international academic and business interest in some strange phenomena. There was more argument about it than we get here from diverse commentators about politics.
      
      To the best of my knowledge several different commercial demos are in the pipeline.
      Saithgroup out of Harare have had theirs and international production is underway. They showed a 220v, 150Kw 3-phase 50Hz supply powering a group of homes where no grid exists. A car has also been demonstrated. Items have been for sale and now world-wide production is being arranged and awaited. A factory is planned for Australia.
      
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      March 29, 2021 5:40pm
      - RdM
        
        As I’ve posted before, have a look at
        http://cheniere.org/misc/oulist.htm
        “A Partial List of Successful Documented EM Over-Unity and Negative Resistor Devices and Processes”
        
        Although your mentioned Saith group isn’t there
        (maybe write in and mention it?)
        the last [50] is from India, 260% over unity.
        http://cheniere.org/misc/Tewari.htm
        
        Also see [15] Kawai and [16] Takahashi motors.
        
        Also John Bedini.
        
        Some inventions have been suppressed, it seems.
        Each has a story, a history.
        
        Nikola Tesla was bankrupt by 1916.
        
        Tom Bearden is old now and self-reportedly in failing health, but his website has been up for years.
        http://cheniere.org
        
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        March 29, 2021 7:23pm
- UrbanNeocolonialist
  
  Hydrogen can work long term, PV power is now so cheap in sunny countries that they can make hydrogen that is only about twice the very cheap wholesale price of natural gas in Europe (well below retail price of natural gas), and it will continue to get cheaper.
  
  Liquid hydrogen can be shipped or piped to higher latitude cold countries to get them through winters. It won’t happen quickly, but the economics aren’t really an impediment – we would still have energy prices lower than many times in recent past if we switched entirely to renewably generated hydrogen.
  
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  March 29, 2021 11:26am
  - rangitoto
    
    Pipe liquid hydrogen! LOL. It has to be stored below −252.87 °C.
    
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    March 29, 2021 12:23pm
    - UrbanNeocolonialist
      
      yeah whoops, mistyped, ship liquid or piped gas.
      
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      March 29, 2021 1:23pm
    - Local Miller
      
      And piped at that temperature! I’d love to see the calculations that cover the electricity required to maintain 7000km of piping at -253 degrees. Never mind the logistics and cost of replacing all that piping with refrigerated piping.
      
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      March 29, 2021 1:40pm
    - Ed Snack
      
      Lower temps if under significant pressure, but that then makes the pipes much more expensive, and increases the leakage !
      
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      March 29, 2021 2:58pm
    - Jack5
      
      If they can get superconductor temperatures higher, it might be better and safer to use the hydrogen centrally to generate electricity and distribute that to consumers.
      
      If there are gains from ultra-cold distribution, superconductivity temperatures are rising (see link below), and there’s no transmission power loss in superconductor cables.
      
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Room-temperature_superconductor
      
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      March 29, 2021 8:20pm
  - Local Miller
    
    While PVs have become about 60% cheaper per watt of power, you are still (optimistically) talking about hydrogen costing twice the methane cost, but there’s no unit of measure, so that is a meaningless measure. Is it twice the cost by volume at 1 atmosphere? Take into account that hydrogen has about a third the energy density of methane (by volume, not mass actually slightly worse), so you need at least 3 times the hydrogen volume (at the same pressure) as you need of methane to heat the same amount of water, or it’ll take 3X as long.
    Yes, by mass hydrogen is almost 3 times more energy dense than methane, but in a piped gas system it’s volume that matters, not mass.
    The 2 main methods of producing hydrogen are from fossil fuels, which produce among other carbon products: CO2, and from water, both these use electricity.
    All up, you’re probably better of burning the fossil fuels straight off rather than going through the hydrogen release process as the net cost ($ and environmental) is probably higher.
    Something our climate alarmists are not doing is looking at the total impact of their recommendations.
    
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    March 29, 2021 2:24pm
Maggie Pie

One of the girls from tennis is really really nice…. although her hubby is a bit of an ‘I-Am’. We all get on okay, but my partner tends to avoid him if we see them out somewhere.

A couple of years ago they bought a sub-penthouse off the plans in the new 52 story ‘Seascape Apartments’. Never stop talking about how fab it’s going to be. Spent nearly 2 mill just on the fit-out apparently.

Anyway, when this popped up on Stuff yesterday, my partner suggested I should txt Candy the link just in case she missed it…

https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/300263500/foundations-for-troubled-auckland-skyscraper-finally-signed-off
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March 29, 2021 9:21am
- JimBobJoe
  
  Chinese structural steel….. Hmmmmm.
  
  Sounds almost as good as living in a 1980s Chase Corporation building…. You dont want to be there when it fails….
  
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  March 29, 2021 10:19am
  - JibberJabber
    
    Shouldn’t be a problem, I think they pull the steel out before the concrete is poured…?
    
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    March 29, 2021 12:30pm
  - peterwn
    
    Local suppliers (eg Steel and Tube) relied on Chinese suppliers meeting internationally accepted quality assurance procedures but were let down. So there now a further round of acceptance testing done in New Zealand to ensure the structural steel meets standards. Hence there would be no current concern with sourcing structural steel from China. For the building in question, the design would have been reviewed using the test characteristics of the steel actually supplied. This may have indicated that some reinforcement work was needed in some places to compensate for weaker than designed steel. 1980’s Chase buildings were unlikely to have used China manufactured steel.
    
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    March 29, 2021 1:08pm
    - Maggie Pie
      
      Would you be comfortable living 46 floors up there, PW?
      
      Asking for a friend.
      
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      March 29, 2021 1:38pm
Graham Sharpe

Chris Trotter suggesting the PM might be about to resign! Something he’s heard and is not writing off. Well. Is the Labour Party’s biggest asset about to become its biggest liability?
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March 29, 2021 9:22am
- Bill Felt
  
  “Labour Party’s biggest liability” – there sure is a lot of competition for that spot!
  
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  March 29, 2021 10:03am
- KevO'Brien
  
  It can’t come soon enough.
  
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  March 29, 2021 10:22am
  - KevO'Brien
    
    P.S. And the rest of the govt too. They are adrift on a sea of economic uncertainty, rudderless and without a working GPS.
    
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    March 29, 2021 10:24am
    - Local Miller
      
      That makes me wonder if there was a liebour team on that ship blocking the Suez Canal
      
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      March 29, 2021 10:43am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Isn’t he the chap that reckoned Jacinda Ardern had lost the 2017 election?
  
  https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/left-wing-commentator-chris-trotter-ardern-has-lost-and-she-knows-it/HA4XJR52KLZVWPL5K4PSS3S6OE/
  
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  March 29, 2021 10:25am
  - mandk
    
    She did lose.
    Mr 7 percent won.
    
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    March 29, 2021 10:56am
- MCos
  
  Probably heard it from Maggie Pie’s partner’s Mum.
  She’s always got her finger on the pulse.
  
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  March 29, 2021 10:33am
- Tricati
  
  Bloody hope so – The woman is as shallow as a car park puddle.
  
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  March 29, 2021 10:34am
- Ruahine
  
  I think it is just a plant story. We are probably all supposed to start wailing and gnashing our teeth in despair and start inundating social media with pitiful pleas of please don’t leave us Cindy. We all promise to to do as we are told. We especially promise not to go to Australia when we get the vaccine but only go to the Cook Islands.
  
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  March 29, 2021 10:42am
- Philview
  
  Chris had got wind that something big was coming but now seems it could have been the Housing Reforms announcement. Chris can write some good articles but I note this week he is praising the Government’s reforms. He is an old school left wing commentator, I would have though he would have been concerned about the detrimental effect these policies will have on renters.
  
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  March 29, 2021 10:57am
- Weinerpoop
  
  I heard it was going to be halfway through this term due to the pressure of the job, which she can’t cope with as well as personal issues.
  
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  March 29, 2021 11:05am
- fightingtemeraire
  
  I think what will happen she will feign a medical emergency ie a breakdown or the like then she leave gracefully with a load of sympathy.
  
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  March 29, 2021 11:36am
- alex Masterley
  
  Where did he say that?
  
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  March 29, 2021 11:48am
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    He wrote it..
    https://www.interest.co.nz/opinion/109610/rumours-prime-ministerial-resignation-may-be-intended-head-something-considerably
    
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    March 29, 2021 11:54am
    - alex Masterley
      
      Thanks Maggy,
      Looks like the big announcement Trotter mentioned was the removal of the deductablity of interest on residential lending, the response to which has been a pretty big raspberry from all sectors.
      
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      March 29, 2021 1:19pm
kevn

@Maggie… She will/won’t be thrilled. Sounds lemon like.
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March 29, 2021 9:27am
- Maggie Pie
  
  My partner hopes so.
  
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  March 29, 2021 9:37am
I remember when

Grant Robertson on Q&A:
‘We believe that the rise in house prices are unsustainable and we believe this package will contribute to stopping these rises.’
So if they believe the rise is unsustainable how will they know if the package is having any effect.
‘Some of the details we have to go away and have a look at.’
Oops!
‘Unpredicted House price rises during covid.’
So interest, less tax, is less than inflation so where will people invest for gain.
‘There was a variety of advice.’
None of which was favourable so we just ignored it.
‘Quartile price of housing’
A desperate hunt to find housing that means a ‘first home buyer’ would be able to be successful.
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March 29, 2021 9:28am
I remember when

Grant Robertson again:
‘In property owner/occupiers do not have the ability to deduct interest from their house.’
And
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March 29, 2021 9:50am
- rockape
  
  I ran a yacht charter company. I could claim all expenses including interest on the yachts. I am now a private yacht owner having retired and cant claim a thing not insurance ,berthing nor maintenance. Was I exploiting a loophole before or just following IRDs rules?
  
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  March 29, 2021 12:13pm
  - KevO'Brien
    
    No loophole. Income is defined net of costs to get it.
    
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    March 29, 2021 3:58pm
Maggie Pie

There’s nothing WORSE than when you arrange for a Tradesman to come and do a small job and he turns up 2 hours early…. before you’ve even had time to put your makeup on.
Then the first thing he asks is “Can I use your toilet”
He’s still in there 🙁
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March 29, 2021 10:40am
- sooty
  
  You had better yell through the door, ” do you need a stick to make it go down “!
  
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  March 29, 2021 11:37am
- Inandout
  
  Maggie, remember when that TV show put hidden cameras in houses and invited tradesmen in? Some tradies opened drawers and smelled the clothes, others did unspeakable things in the toilet.
  
  10 1
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  March 29, 2021 11:40am
  - Swifty
    
    Who could forget The Tug Doctor?
    
    https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2012/05/carpet_cleaner_charged.html/comment-page-1
    
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    March 29, 2021 12:27pm
- Don Beckett
  
  Gee Maggie – something must have really given him the shits. 😆
  
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  March 29, 2021 11:44am
- oldfella
  
  Maggie, maybe the back story is the poor guy’s read some of your stuff on here and did that ‘cop’ thing.
  ‘But I don’t want to go on this call out! Too dangerous?’
  What he’s doing now is just some kind of sit-down protest.
  Needs work, but it’s already got more drama than the average Shortland St storyline. 😉
  
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  March 29, 2021 12:05pm
SB2

Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
“Rumours of a prime-ministerial resignation..”

Are just that. Rumour + Rumour = Rumour.

Big Fail Chris Trotter. Desperately struggling for an audience.
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March 29, 2021 11:15am
- Swifty
  
  As if you have an audience here – 90% of your posts are downticked into oblivion – the other 10% are ignored.
  
  Lol!
  
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  March 29, 2021 12:24pm
  - Nostradamus
    
    Swifty:
    
    I assume that the other 10% includes the one about his “recent” trip to St Lukes that, by all accounts, went viral!
    
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    March 29, 2021 1:23pm
    - Swifty
      
      Forgot about that Nostra.
      
      Chilling.
      
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      March 29, 2021 1:37pm
- Suze Wainwright
  
  Are you Andrew Campbell?
  
  5 1
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  March 29, 2021 12:27pm
- doublehappy
  
  Lets all hope it’s true though. Good things do happen sometimes :o)
  
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  March 29, 2021 12:28pm
- KevO'Brien
  
  It’s coming. Cinders will not last the year out. Robbo (Pooh bah) will be blackballed by the taxpayers union as not up to scratch as a Min Fin.
  
  How can we initiate claims against these people for not being to do what they were paid for?
  
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  March 29, 2021 4:02pm
Jack5

Is the Indian arranged-marriage trade contributing to Covid cases?

Arranged-marriage brides and grooms are exempt from pandemic border closure. Fifty-four culturally arranged marriage visas have been issued since the Covid-19 pandemic began, reports Stuff.

Paul Patel, president of the New Zealand Indian Central Association is reported as being surprised only 54 visas were granted, “but problems continued with applicants in India applying in the wrong category.”

Patel said Immigration NZ had monthly video meetings with organisations like the Indian Central Association, and had adapted its visas to allow for arranged marriages after what the association saw as racist comments by Shane Jones, MP, in 2019.

The Herald, in a report today about alleged false-negative pre-departure tests, says that India has a particularly bad track record with roughly 40 people testing positive for Covid-19 on day 0/1 upon their return to New Zealand since the pre-departure rules came into effect. That number is even higher when day 3 tests are taken into account.
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March 29, 2021 11:21am
- sooty
  
  How come dial a bride works, but kiwis are still waiting at the back of the line!
  
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  March 29, 2021 12:48pm
- alex Masterley
  
  10 0r 11 new arrivals from India have covid according to the Horrid.
  Can we shut that source for at least for a couple of months?
  And what happened to the 5 day testing before departure?
  
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  March 29, 2021 1:21pm
  - rangitoto
    
    A negative test result is cheap to buy over that way.
    
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    March 29, 2021 2:00pm
    - Captain Mainwaring
      
      With all that skullduggery going on why don’t we simply stop people flying here from India?
      
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      March 29, 2021 2:17pm
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  This story gives lie to Helen Clark’s assertion that any source of immigrants is as good as any other.
  
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  March 29, 2021 8:43pm
New Zealander

“I’ve spent more time on housing plans than wedding plans,” she told host Duncan Garner in reference to the housing policy announced last week.

What housing plan?

https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/weddings/124683624/about-time-wedding-plans-made-for-prime-minister-jacinda-ardern-and-fiance-clarke-gayford
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March 29, 2021 11:26am
Suze Wainwright

Wow! The PM’s press office must be feeling like a right bunch of Charleys (and Charlottes, but girls are more intelligent than boys)
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March 29, 2021 11:38am
oldfella

Wow. Great news! Must be a big story ‘cos it’s a headline on Stuffed.
This will give ayoteearower a real shot in the arm!
++
Wedding bells are starting to ring a little louder for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her fiance Clarke Gayford.
Speaking to The AM Show on Monday, Ardern said it’s “about time” they proceeded with their wedding plans.
“We will get there, we will get there.”
https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/weddings/124683624/about-time-wedding-plans-made-for-prime-minister-jacinda-ardern-and-fiance-clarke-gayford
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March 29, 2021 11:43am
- KevO'Brien
  
  Who’s going to throw the fish?
  
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  March 29, 2021 4:04pm
oldfella

I’m really concerned about the shortage of building timber in NZ.
I’m sure the whole country will be relieved when those millions of trees Shane Jones planted are ready to harvest.
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March 29, 2021 11:48am
- sooty
  
  Just as well that Phill Twyford didn’t use them all up!
  
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  March 29, 2021 12:45pm
Maggy Wassilieff

Oh goodie..
a social media campaign….
that’ll show folks we’re taking this rent thingee real serious like, eh.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300264332/jacinda-arderns-office-gets-ready-to-fight-rising-rents-talk-with-social-media-campaign
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March 29, 2021 11:57am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  If Andrew Campbell can’t figure out that rent increases have more than doubled since Labour has had the Treasury benches, then you really have to wonder at the financial acumen of Jacinda’s spin doctors.
  
  Under National, the national median rent went up from $290 a week at the end of 2008 to $400 in September 2017. The national median rent is now $495 a week.
  
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  March 29, 2021 12:04pm
  - Swifty
    
    “Ardern had already fronted media on the issue of rising rents, and suggested that rents didn’t increase as a result of the Government’s healthy homes standards, although Campbell’s email note that her office wanted evidence to prove she was right.”
    
    So her spin doctor admits she spouts assertions without any evidence to back her claims? She says things hoping they are correct, but could actually be quite wrong?
    
    Isn’t that deceitful? Isn’t that lying?
    
    Don’t New Zealanders deserve better than this? Don’t we deserve honesty and straight-forwardness from our politicians?
    
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    March 29, 2021 12:15pm
  - UrbanNeocolonialist
    
    numeracy and skepticism or critical thinking skills are no longer required for journalists, just need an enthusiastic attitude towards parroting whatever your pay-masters on the 9th floor of the beehive tell you.
    
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    March 29, 2021 12:20pm
- mandk
  
  Impressive.
  
  There’s nothing like a social media campaign to combat rent increases.
  
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  March 29, 2021 12:05pm
- New Zealander
  
  So, last week Labour announced a new housing policy against the advice of Treasury, who explained that it would lead to higher rent prices.
  
  And today it has been revealed that Labour are simply planning to launch a propaganda campaign to cover for the expected rent rises.
  The problem is, rents have risen much faster under Labour than the previous government. They have no content to support their own propaganda.
  
  This government has no brains and no guts. They’re leading New Zealand towards a dark economic future.
  
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  March 29, 2021 12:16pm
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    Dark economic future = socialism. Tell it like it is
    
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    March 29, 2021 2:07pm
    - OTGO
      
      Socialism=Communism.
      And the way out of communism ain’t pretty.
      
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      March 29, 2021 2:29pm
- KevO'Brien
  
  Talk is cheap: action is priceless.
  
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  March 29, 2021 4:05pm
kevn

@Maggy… fakebook. Get real. pfft
You got compliant paid for media except those most affected don’t buy or read ‘news’ .
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March 29, 2021 12:03pm
Tony Stuart

TV One news last night. The lead story was about Tongans getting ripped off in predatory pyramid schemes. Following that was a story on the Robertson Q&A interview yesterday where he said he thought and hoped his housing announcement might do some good.

So which pyramid scheme would you be less likely to trust; “Golden Gifts” or “Robbo’s House”?
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March 29, 2021 12:16pm
oldfella

Something the MSM will be unable to resist.
Imagine the media scrum when Donald Trump does what Joe Biden and friends are avoiding doing, and trying to prevent anyone else from doing: He’s going to the border.
And he’s going down there personally, having been invited by Customs and Border Patrol as well as ICE.
https://therightscoop.com/outstanding-donald-trump-to-visit-border-in-next-few-weeks-invited-by-ice-and-cbp/
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March 29, 2021 12:21pm
Maggie Pie

And I’ll tell you something else that REALLY rips my nightie…..

When you phone 0800 PLUMBER for someone to come and fix a small leak in the Bidet….and the guy they send would go about 180! 🙁
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March 29, 2021 12:27pm
- sooty
  
  Kg or your blood pressure?
  If it’s the later, it would right off!
  
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  March 29, 2021 12:41pm
- doublehappy
  
  I hope he’s not the old guy that showed up here to fit a toilet. I could have made a good job myself but that’s not allowed, however well you are qualified. He came and went for about 4 days before he claimed it was fitted. I sacked him and he went away quite happily without pay, knowing he was a failure. When I took the toilet out to make a proper job, I found the sewage pipes were not attached to the wall, they were at very strange angles and the sealing washer was not sealing. It would have caused smells and possible leaks, which in a 2 story building does not bear thinking about. There are some bad tradesmen out there and if you are not able to judge them, you can get some bad jobs at high costs. There are good ones too, thank goodness.
  
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  March 29, 2021 12:43pm
  - mikenmildagain
    
    Are ratings sites like no cowboys helpful?
    
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    March 29, 2021 1:59pm
oldfella

It’s time to cancel the Village People! Seriously!
Discerning cancellation connoisseurs so far have overlooked one of the most problematic boy bands of the 20th century — and it’s time to change that. The American disco group the Village People features a cast of empenised individuals donning costumes that glorify toxically masculine tropes of the time: a police officer, a cowboy, a construction worker, a sailor, a biker and, bizarrely, a Native American (more on that later).
https://spectator.us/topic/time-cancel-village-people/
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March 29, 2021 12:33pm
- emmess
  
  To be fair they should have been cancelled in 1977
  
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  March 29, 2021 1:09pm
- Inandout
  
  old, the writer has a first name Chadwick, and probably realises that VP were the gay go to when they were topical.
  
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  March 29, 2021 1:38pm
MCos

While the coup in Myanmar has been particularly brutual this is not that uncommon since WWII through that part of the world and apart from Thailand the seeds of discontent can be traced back to colonialism.
Vietnam, Laos & Cambodia were colonies of France.
Myanmar/Burma, Malaysia and India were colonies of Britain.
Indonesia was Dutch.
Philippines was a colony of Spain and then de facto the USA
Apart from India these countries are all part of ASEAN along with Thailand, Brunei, Singapore

As usual this organization looks the other way.

That last thing these people want is to upset business deals amongst each other.
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March 29, 2021 1:10pm
- Tall Man
  
  Another bullshit colonisation claim.
  
  These countries have been self governing for decades.
  
  They’re killing their own people which did not happen under colonisation. The pent up animosities against the factions within their own country are their own problems.
  
  How do you apportion blame within Thailand, a country that has never been colonised? Do they have their own issues due to colonisation of their neighbours……….
  
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  March 29, 2021 1:47pm
  - MCos
    
    Vietnam, Cambodia & Laos were all part of French Indochine. As you must surely know that whole area was devastated as a direct result of France’s being there at all.
    
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    March 29, 2021 4:54pm
  - MCos
    
    I’m not denying they’re killing their own people.
    
    Thailand/Siam may or may not have been colonized. Thais certainly make a song & dance about never having been colonized.
    However ‘appeasement’ is their middle name when it came to diplomatically warding off invaders.
    So vast areas of what is now Laos and Cambodia were forfeited to keep the piece. Furthermore during WWII Thailand declared war on the allies to prevent a Japanese takeover.
    
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    March 29, 2021 5:26pm
- kowtow
  
  ‘ apart from Thailand the seeds of discontent can be traced back to colonialism.’
  
  Rubbish.
  
  The seeds of discontent are the same everywhere.
  I have power , I won’t share it .
  
  The colonials left years ago , now it’s up to the locals to make the effort .
  
  If i’m not mistaken they’re all members of the UN , whats they doin’. An surely they subscribe to the UN’s principles to be members ………bwahaha.
  
  No , it’s all whiteys’ fault.
  
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  March 29, 2021 2:32pm
  - MCos
    
    No, it’s not all whitey’s fault.
    The mess in Nth Korea is as a direct result of the colonization of the Korean Peninsula by Japan from 1910 until they were chucked out by the allies in 1945.
    This led directly to the Korean War.
    
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    March 29, 2021 5:06pm
    - Jack5
      
      The industrial, economic, and general success of South Korea isn’t unrelated to Syngman Rhee’s decades living in the United States and it’s then colony of Hawaii.
      
      The mess in North Korea began with the Red Army occupying that portion of the Korean peninsula in 1945. It’s been sustained largely by North Korea being a client state of Beijing since China became communist.
      
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      March 29, 2021 8:07pm
- Inandout
  
  Mcos, look at Africa where almost daily some group is slaughtered. Life must be really cheap.
  
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  March 29, 2021 3:36pm
  - MCos
    
    I’ll leave that to you.
    
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    March 29, 2021 5:05pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

What are the Dems really trying to hide??
https://www.thebeltwayreport.com/2021/03/sick-video-bidens-henchwoman-busted-desperately-trying-to-cover-up-scandal-blows-up-in-her-face-backfires-bigly/?
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March 29, 2021 1:21pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Cruz is a Senator, and it is in his State
  
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  March 29, 2021 1:33pm
  - mikenmildagain
    
    The state he hastily fled when the power went out.
    
    2 15
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    March 29, 2021 2:00pm
    - Steve Otto(North Shore)
      
      So. Full. Of. Shit.
      He was back next day after seeing his Daughters. You are an A Grade wanker Mike, never ever tell the full story
      
      15 2
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      March 29, 2021 2:39pm
      - mikenmildagain
        
        He made up a story about just dropping his daughters off, you mean.
        
        1 4
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        March 29, 2021 3:47pm
      - Steve Otto(North Shore)
        
        Of course he made it up Mike, but wait, Cruz is not a lying Democrat. In your dreams sonny
        
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        March 29, 2021 6:07pm
- Inandout
  
  Steve, also the Dems are terrified that Georgia will introduce sane voting rules and are suing the State. It makes you wonder why the Dems are fighting to keep mail voting, zero ID and portable voting booths and have used the old race card because they think it will work.
  
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  March 29, 2021 1:35pm
  - mikenmildagain
    
    Among their other voter suppression ideas, Georgia will make it illegal to supply food or water to anyone waiting in line at a polling station.
    
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    March 29, 2021 2:02pm
    - Inandout
      
      m&m, that is racist?
      
      6 3
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      March 29, 2021 2:11pm
      - mikenmildagain
        
        Well, the voter suppression laws are intended to be racist, which is why such laws were subject to justice department pre-clearance, before the supreme court decided racism was a thing of the past.
        
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        March 29, 2021 3:47pm
    - Steve Otto(North Shore)
      
      Only the Democrats Mike, tell the full story you dodgy prick
      
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      March 29, 2021 2:40pm
      - Steve Otto(North Shore)
        
        What I meant was ‘only Dems want this’ Maybe someone with a MAGA hat would change the voter’s mind? Especially if they wrote “Trump 2024′ on the water bottle LOL
        
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        March 29, 2021 3:00pm
    - Ed Snack
      
      As does New York and other states Mikey. It’s the old “voter treating” issue. It is illegal to provide voters in the process of voting with treats including food and drink or anything of definable value, and also illegal to push political promotional material on them.
      
      It is legal for the polling authorities to supply water, or for a self service water facility to be provided. The same Bill also has provisions that if voter waits exceed an hour then additional voting resources must be provided to reduce that wait.
      
      If you are so incapable that you cannot go 1 hour without being given water (or be able to obtain some yourself) or being able to plan well enough to bring some with you, then perhaps you should reconsider your lifestyle ?
      
      Trust Mikey to mindlessly repeat the Democrat’s talking points.
      
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      March 29, 2021 3:15pm
      - mikenmildagain
        
        Handing bottled water to people waiting in line for hours is not ‘treating’. It’s a measure to alleviate deliberate suffering – suffering designed to suppress voter turnout.
        
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        March 29, 2021 3:45pm
    - Tall Man
      
      The problem, which you know, is who does the supplying and what else do they “supply” at the same time.
      
      3 0
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      March 29, 2021 4:18pm
    - cmm
      
      People die of starvation while waiting to vote?
      
      Likely the reason for this is that they don’t want voters influenced by handing out food and drink.
      
      5 3
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      March 29, 2021 5:09pm
Inandout

The C19 scam just goes on and on, jab after jab.
https://trends.gab.com/feed/5daf66772fea4d3ba000883b/item/60611a356b25f4bd37e37453
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March 29, 2021 1:30pm
Prince

Lovely little homily from Neale Jones on the politics segment of RNZ Nine to Noon, about how Mallard had done more than any other Speaker to address bullying in the Beehive.
Would that include accusing someone of being a rapist when you know that’s a lie, then threatening to ruin his career when he asks for an apology.

Such a lovely man. Look, here he is holding a baby. Labour’s marketing arm working overtime again.
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March 29, 2021 1:42pm
- sooty
  
  Yep, the duck has bullied more people than any other speaker in NZ’s history!
  
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  March 29, 2021 3:50pm
  - Tony Stuart
    
    Indeed; there have been:
    
    * Interjections of “Tinkerbell” at gay National Minister Chris Finlayson
    * Mallard’s punching of Tau Henare
    * Interjections about Don Brash having an affair
    * Suggesting a Heineken bottle should be inserted up the Chairman of the IRB’s backside
    * Labelling a religious group as “chinless scarf-wearers”
    * Numerous ejections from the House for unparliamentary behaviour
    
    Yes, Mallard is a serial bully, and like leopards, ducks don’t change their spots!
    
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    March 29, 2021 5:12pm
Maggie Pie

I was just thinking to myself, does anyone say “make love” anymore?
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March 29, 2021 1:47pm
Nostradamus

U.N. negotiating with China for unfettered access to Xinjiang: Guterres tells CBC

The United Nations is holding “serious negotiations” with China for unfettered access to the Xinjiang region to verify reports that Muslim Uighurs are being persecuted, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in a CBC interview broadcast on Sunday. The UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said last month that reports of arbitrary detention, ill-treatment, sexual violence and forced labor in Xinjiang necessitated a thorough and independent assessment.

China has assured the world that everything is hunky-dory, so there shouldn’t be any need to protracted negotiations.

I’m reminded of a documentary I saw on YouTube a few months ago where a journalist was given unfettered access to North Korea, and visited “a hospital” that didn’t seem too busy and which had a few “patients” who didn’t seem too sick. But everyone was very keen to tell the journalist how great life in North Korea is.
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March 29, 2021 1:50pm
- Ed Snack
  
  For some reason the author Potemkin comes to mind…
  
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  March 29, 2021 3:17pm
  - mikenmildagain
    
    Were you thinking of Pushkin?
    Potemkin was Catherine the great’s minister. The Potemkin villages were said to have been created by him as temporary structures to impress the Empress.
    
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    March 29, 2021 3:43pm
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    I think you mean Prince/Grand Admiral/Governor-General Potemkin
    
    https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Death_of_G._A._Potemkin.jpg
    
    I’m unaware of any books he authored.
    
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    March 29, 2021 4:28pm
lifesgood

Bloody hell! 11 new covid cases imported into NZ, 10 from India. I wish they’d stop pussy footing around and being woke about this. Just stop people coming in from India, they are obviously lying about their pre flight testing.
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March 29, 2021 1:55pm
- Nickc2
  
  How many of them appear on the Debtors Ledger as not paying for their quarantine?
  
  12 2
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  March 29, 2021 2:04pm
- MCos
  
  There’s a problem isn’t there.
  The preflight test is a can of worms.
  It may well be they are fraudulent. I’ve obtained fraudulent health clearances in the past.
  Pres Trump dictated a fraudulent letter, which his doctor signed.
  On the other hand these people may have picked up the bug en route. It’s not just Indians who have tested positive during MIQ.
  A number of Ukrainian fishers & Pakistani cricketers were infected despite being infected.
  They flew on scheduled flights. Those who flew charter had no problem.
  
  6 6
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  March 29, 2021 2:42pm
  - lifesgood
    
    Just heard Professor Baker who said they were tested on arrival here and tested positive. He said they would not have got it on the flight but would have already had it on boarding. Blooming disgrace. And all this rubbish about paying for their quarantine, it seems most people aren’t paying.
    
    8 1
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    March 29, 2021 4:08pm
    - MCos
      
      What’s the rules regarding who does or doesn’t pay?
      
      0 0
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      March 29, 2021 5:29pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Is this today? I do hope not. Commie Jaspinda would just love to exert some control and lock us down for Easter
  
  8 1
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  March 29, 2021 2:57pm
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    Seems to be in managed isolation – but we know how secure that is
    
    8 2
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    March 29, 2021 3:04pm
    - oldfella
      
      Steve, I think they should change that name to ‘not-so-well managed isolation-lite.’
      
      4 0
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      March 29, 2021 4:41pm
- info@cruzpro.com
  
  Anyone presenting a certificate stating that they tested negative and subsequently test positive should be fined and made to pay what it costs to isolate them.
  
  1 0
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  March 29, 2021 6:22pm
Jack5

Bulletin from the ✊?Culture War ….

Some of the Woke don’t want White translators putting Black writers’ works into new languages.

Centre of the row is the poem Black woman Amanda Gorman wrote for and read at Biden’s inauguration.

A White translator hired to put the poem into Dutch has resigned after being criticised as unsuitable because of her skin colour.

A Black journalist and activist wrote in the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant that the White translator’s appointment was “incomprehensible”, and suggested 10 Dutch Blacks who could do the work.

The publisher of a Catalan version has dropped its White translator as “not suitable” for the project.

Germany is using a team: a Black female journal, an ethnic-Turkish German writer, and a White German professional translator.

A Black Swedish rapper, Timbuktu, is translating Gorman’s poem into Swedish, and Marie-Pierra Kakoma, a Black Belgian rapper, is translating Gorman into French.

Let’s hope the Woke who run our schools don’t inflict Gorman on NZ kids.

A video of Gorman reading her poem at Biden’s inauguration:

https://youtu.be/LZ055ilIiN4
10 1
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March 29, 2021 2:00pm
- Local Miller
  
  I object to her using English for her poem, it is incomprehensible to me that a Black writer should be using a white person’s language to express ideas an write poems. This is the ultimate in cultural misappropriation!
  I want her poem cancelled, she needs to apologize for using our language, and remove all recordings of it from the internet etc.
  Really, this is how absurd this is. Don’t worry about our children studying her works, they won’t be allowed to as that would be incomprehensible that white people could study and try understand a poem by a black person, never going to happen. /s
  
  15 3
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  March 29, 2021 2:32pm
  - Ed Snack
    
    On top of that it is the sort of “poem” that would get graded C- in any year 10 or 11 school writing exercise. Mindless drivel.
    
    10 2
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    March 29, 2021 3:19pm
    - oldfella
      
      I’d recommend Marama Davidson to translate it into Te Reo. She’s got plenty of time on her hands.
      
      10 0
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      March 29, 2021 4:46pm
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        She’s not a fluent speaker of Te Reo.
        
        4 0
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        March 29, 2021 8:29pm
- Cobolt24
  
  So let me get this straight, a white person who knows English and Dutch is not allowed to translate a poem written by a black person in a language created by white people.
  Is this peak wokeism? What does ethnicity have to do with translation?
  These people consider themselves progressives, inclusivity is a core tenet of progressivism. This is exclusive, and for the most foolish reasons.
  
  14 1
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  March 29, 2021 2:37pm
  - Cobolt24
    
    Where does it end with these fools? A question I have for them: Is it not ok for a man to translate something written by a woman in another language?
    
    13 1
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    March 29, 2021 2:50pm
  - kowtow
    
    Exclusion is inclusion .
    
    1 0
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    March 29, 2021 5:08pm
- KevO'Brien
  
  What about a Harry Potter novel being translated into Te Reo?
  
  5 2
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  March 29, 2021 4:11pm
  - mikenmildagain
    
    Done.
    https://www.whitcoulls.co.nz/product/harry-potter-and-the-philosophers-stone-te-reo-maori-edition-6571436
    
    3 0
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    March 29, 2021 4:17pm
- KevO'Brien
  
  That “poem'” was doggerel and celebrated the theft of an election.
  
  The issues about the election are bubbling away sub-surface. A movie is to be released shortly. It is intended that the courts will be made to take notice.
  
  5 2
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  March 29, 2021 4:16pm
curry4me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JR-2o4jBT7U

Dems Dislike Voter IDs.

The Election Integrity Act of 2021 was passed in both chambers of the state’s Republican-controlled legislature, and it has sent shockwaves into the White House. [I hope this act gets used as a template by all the red states. It’ll be harder for the Dems to steal the mid-terms etc.]
8 2
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March 29, 2021 2:22pm
- MCos
  
  Never been required here and everything is ka pai.
  
  1 0
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  March 29, 2021 7:59pm
curry4me

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

Denmark Offers Syrian Refugees Money to Return Home or be Put in a Deportation Centre.

Denmark was the first country to sign the UN Refugee Convention in 1951, but it has now become the first European nation to tell Syrian refugees that they must return home. The Scandinavian country has declared Damascus and its surrounding areas safe, stripping nearly 100 Syrian refugees of their residencies and putting hundreds more in danger of being sent back. Syrian women appear to be being particularly targeted, with many fearing for their lives if forced to return. [ I wonder if it’ll catch on elsewhere in Europe?]
10 2
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March 29, 2021 2:23pm
Maggie Pie

TRENDING…..should we be worried?

US fears the PRC is getting ready to seize control of Taiwan after Chinese warplanes flew into their airspace on Friday. And now more than 200 Chinese militia boats are blockading Whitsun Reef in the South China Sea – a crucial artery for NZ trade.
8 3
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March 29, 2021 2:36pm
- Ed Snack
  
  Don’t worry, the US military’s new head of “Equity and Diversity” will soon have the Chinese army reeling backwards with a barrage of appropriate personal pronouns delivered by pregnant pilots wearing the new maternity flight suits recently announced.
  
  The Chinese won’t know what hit them !
  
  15 2
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  March 29, 2021 3:21pm
  - Maggie Pie
    
    Oh thank God you’re here Ed!
    I thought all we had to rely on was Nanaia 🙁
    
    7 2
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    March 29, 2021 3:44pm
    - Tall Man
      
      I think you mean “Narnia” ………
      
      3 0
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      March 29, 2021 4:00pm
Maggy Wassilieff

The Minister of Housing hasn’t got a clue..

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/03/megan-woods-to-correct-the-record-after-misleading-parliament-over-3-8-billion-housing-acceleration-fund.html
18 0
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March 29, 2021 2:45pm
- Bobba Fret
  
  Unfortunately, none of them have any clues.
  
  14 0
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  March 29, 2021 3:01pm
- Suze Wainwright
  
  Can’t prove it of course, but I have this nagging feeling that Tova O’Brien has – or is closely associated with someone who has – some investment properties…
  
  9 1
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  March 29, 2021 4:16pm
- KevO'Brien
  
  Housing infrastructure takes years and the cooperation of the Councils.
  The Ministers papers have more use in a privy closet.
  
  7 1
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  March 29, 2021 4:20pm
Swifty

Another recent fly-over of Transmission Gully:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQ6bXJpowdc

Thanks National!

Up yours Labour and Greens and thanks for nothing.

https://www.labour.org.nz/media/transmission-gully-ppp-reckless-spend

https://www.greens.org.nz/press-releases/3-billion-duplicate-motorway-waste-public-money

Both links don’t work – but they were links to official press releases from Labour and the Greens opposing it. The releases have been purged as inconvenient or embarrassing as their policy positions have now changed.

Just wait for Labour MPs to fall over themselves in the scramble to get their pictures taken at the opening.

Hypocrites.
20 0
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March 29, 2021 3:07pm
- sooty
  
  That’s alright mate! The greens don’t work either!
  
  3 0
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  March 29, 2021 3:41pm
- Cobolt24
  
  The Labour link is dead and not recoverable by the Wayback Machine, the Greens one is archived:
  https://web.archive.org/web/20140704193042/https://www.greens.org.nz/press-releases/3-billion-duplicate-motorway-waste-public-money
  
  4 0
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  March 29, 2021 4:45pm
  - Swifty
    
    Cool – many thanks
    
    3 0
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    March 29, 2021 5:37pm
mikenmildagain

Has anyone got a list of all the brands being sanctioned by China? I need a new pair of Nike shoes, and I’ll look in at H&M, but are there others that should be supported?
4 1
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March 29, 2021 4:49pm
- JibberJabber
  
  https://www.distractify.com/p/nike-satan-shoes-real-or-fake
  
  In your colour and everything ?
  
  3 0
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  March 29, 2021 4:57pm
  - mikenmildagain
    
    Saw those. Driving some conservonutters even nuttier.
    
    0 0
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    March 29, 2021 9:44pm
- Salacious Crumb
  
  Buy All Birds mikey.
  
  https://www.allbirds.co.nz/
  
  1 1
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  March 29, 2021 5:55pm
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    Their Tree series is made in China
    
    2 0
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    March 29, 2021 8:31pm
- info@cruzpro.com
  
  Wife said that the hush-puppy shoes she normally buys for $120 have gone up to $180. She walked away without buying.
  
  2 0
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  March 29, 2021 6:06pm
Ehlana

Finally a solution to migration leading to infrastructure shortages and house price inflation: mix enough Maori into English to make our local language a creole. Does away with the international education industry, could make New Zealand professional qualifications unacceptable overseas (so avoiding skill shortages on shore) and will discourage English speaking migrants:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/opinion-so-long-to-critics-of-everyday-use-of-te-reo-maori/WE5HQC5DJSXQ7V6ZEVDYMDCVNY/

I’d suggest the current meaningless mixing demeans both languages, but no doubt that would racist and classist.
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March 29, 2021 5:09pm
- Inandout
  
  Ehlana, I wait for the day when it is ‘so long te reo’.
  
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  March 29, 2021 5:26pm
- graham
  
  I went to read that Ehlana, but I see it is “Premium”, so I am unable to. I did a quick Google to see if I could find it elsewhere, but nothing turned up.
  
  So alas, it shall have to remain unread by me.
  
  Which is a shame, because maybe it would answer the question I have. The author, Aroha Awarau, writes that “I can’t wait for the day that te reo Māori can be used in our newspapers and frequently spoken on mainstream television without constant complaints.” Fair enough, but my question is – what’s the point? It’s clearly not achieving what I thought was the idea, which is to “normalise” Maori, so there must be some other reason – I just have no idea what it is.
  
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  March 29, 2021 6:14pm
  - Jack5
    
    There’s nothing stopping Stuff or a Maori tribe or anyone from starting a newspaper in Maori language.
    
    The State subsidises more than 20 tribal radio stations broadcasting in Maori, and Maori TV.
    
    If there were demand from readers and advertisers for Maori language newspapers, Stuff and NZME would leech taxpayer money from Jacindarella and print them.
    
    5 1
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    March 29, 2021 7:56pm
    - graham
      
      Well, I was interested to see that earlier, mikenmildagain drew our attention to the fact that “Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone” has been translated into Maori.
      
      One presumes there is the demand for it.
      
      Wonder what the sales figures are like?
      
      0 0
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      March 29, 2021 9:04pm
kevn

cindy says “no evidence of vaccine certificate fraud”
LOL
Look at all the medical practitioner degree docos forged. India seem to have it perfected.
A vaccine cert would be a doddle.
8 1
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March 29, 2021 5:28pm
Happychappy

With Jacinda Ardern and Labour finally being questioned on some policy and cracks showing in their armour , the National Caucus decide it’s time to question those leading the Party and open new wounds, by winning a vote against Judith Collins and Shane Reti
on fluoride.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/03/national-mps-vote-against-judith-collins-shane-reti-on-fluoride-policy-in-rare-move-for-caucus.html
I’m no fan of Judith Collins but really how is National going to win a Election anytime soon with people that want to rip the party apart for their own selfishness.
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March 29, 2021 7:13pm
- Tall Man
  
  Merely a diversion by the media to deflect away from ardern’s stupidity and lack of direction.
  
  Unfortunately there are some National MPs who need to move on.
  
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  March 29, 2021 9:31pm
Cobolt24

Minimum wage is going up again next year:
https://www.interest.co.nz/business/109736/prime-minister-jacinda-ardern-indicates-minimum-wage-will-be-hiked-again-next-year

Asked at a press conference on Monday afternoon whether people could expect another hike as at April 1 next year, Ardern said: “You won’t find a year where Labour governments haven’t moved the minimum wage. What I’m not committing to is what that rate will be.”
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March 29, 2021 8:46pm
Brian McDonald

The boats afloat in part using the tide, somethings never change – the power of water.
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March 30, 2021 6:12am

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