Stuff reports:
However, Greens senator Lidia Thorpe, the party’s first Indigenous representative, tweeted in support, writing: “Seems like the colonial system is burning down. Happy New Year everyone. #AlwayswasAlwayswillBeAboriginalLand.”
Activists set the old Parliament House in Canberra on fire, and the Greens Senator celebrates it.
The Daily Mail report:
The United States has hit a record of nearly 500,000 daily coronavirus cases – the most any country has ever reported – and risks grinding to a halt as experts say that the latest surge of infections will only get worse in the next month.
On Wednesday, 489,267 positive Covid cases were reported. According to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), anywhere from 40 to 70 percent of new cases in America are of the Omicron variant, which was first discovered last month by South African health officials. The U.S. is now averaging 300,387 new Covid cases per day, a pandemic record and the first time the 300,000 mark has been reached in America.
Fewer people may be dying than in 2020, but the economy is shuddering as having so many Americans sick at the same time is playing havoc with transport and other industries.
I’ve done a simple word search of the NY Honours list to see what areas of service were most commonly cited for recepients. The count is:
The Herald reports:
Austria’s most notorious criminal, Josef Fritzl, who imprisoned his daughter in a basement for 24 years and fathered several children with her, will soon undergo psychological tests to determine whether he is eligible for early release from jail.
Fritzl, 86, was jailed for life in 2008 for keeping his daughter in a soundproof dungeon underneath their family home in Amstetten and raping her thousands of times in a case that shocked the world.
His daughter and victim, Elisabeth, gave birth to seven of his children over the more than two decades in which she was held captive.
Fritzl’s crimes were only discovered when one of the children, Kerstin, slipped into a coma and was taken to hospital.
Medical staff found Fritzl’s story suspicious and alerted the police, who subsequently reopened the case file of Elisabeth, who had previously been reported missing.
Despite the life sentence, Fritzl could soon be eligible to apply for early release in 2024 if a psychological assessment deems that he is no longer a danger.
The thought that he could only serve 16 years in prison for 24 years of kidnapping and rape is repugnant. He should never be released.
I forgot to do these for 2021, but my annual predictions (emulating Stuff) are back. Here’s my 20 predictions for this year, which I’ll score at the end of the year.
Stuff reports:
Australian politicians have criticised protesters who set fire to the front doors of Old Parliament House in Canberra on Thursday leading to a stand-off with police that lasted nearly two hours.
Former Nationals leader Michael McCormack said there should be “swift and severe” repercussions for those responsible.
Why was there a two hour stand off? Those responsible should have been arrested immediately.
To be Dames Companion of the said Order:
Ms Lisa Marie Carrington, MNZM, of Auckland. For services to canoe racing.
Ms Sophie Frances Pascoe, MNZM, of Christchurch. For services to swimming.
Ms Janet Marie Shroff, CNZM, CVO, of Wellington. For services to the State and the community.
To be Knights Companion of the said Order:
Mr Christopher Patrick Thomas Farrelly, of Whangarei. For services to health and the community.
Mr Robert Nairn Gillies, of Rotorua. For services to Māori and war commemoration.
Professor Joel Ivor Mann, CNZM, of Dunedin. For services to health.
Very pleased to see Lisa Carrington and Sophie Pascoe receive titular honours. They are both amazing athletes and role models who have remained world beaters over multiple Olympics. Carrington won gold in 2012, 2016 and 2020 while Pascoe won gold in 2008, 2012 and 2016.
Also pleased to see Marie Shroff honoured, as one of the most trustworthy public servants of her generation. I actually thought she was already a Dame!
Stuff reports:`
DJ Dimension – New Zealand’s first Omicron community case – is on his third border exemption to New Zealand since the start of the Covid pandemic, the government has confirmed.
There’s Kiwis who are locked out of NZ who have spent months trying to get home to visit dying loved ones, yet a DJ can waltz in and out of NZ three times.
Do we not have any local DJs?
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) spokeswoman Nicola Hogg said Etheridge was granted exemptions under the “other critical worker border exception” criteria three times since the borders were closed in March 2020, to perform at festivals.
So DJs are critical workers!
Stuff reported:
A senior general manager at the Christchurch City Council, whose job includes overseeing human resources, is unvaccinated against Covid-19.
A council spokeswoman confirmed on Friday Miles McConway, general manager of resources at the country’s second-largest council, was not vaccinated.
The council did not provide any explanation for McConway’s vaccination status and he could not be reached for comment on Friday.
So what?
The real question should be the are the media doing a modern version of McCarthyism, and naming and trying to shame someone over their vaccination status?
McConway is not a frontline worker. He is not a teacher. He is not breaking any law.
Most of the city council’s facilities – including pools and libraries – have vaccine passes in place. Staff working in public council facilities have to be fully vaccinated.
He doesn’t work in a public facing role.
Unvaccinated council staff are still able to work from the council’s civic offices in the central city, but they are not allowed in public areas of the building, which require vaccine passes.
So he is not in breach of any rule of his employer, or any law. But Stuff thinks it must name and shame him.
A guest release by Greg Sayers:
Mayor Goff is proposing a 5.9% overall average rates increase for next year. The increase will be comprised of a 3.5% average general rates increase along with the introduction of a new targeted climate action targeted rate for mitigating the effects of climate changing emissions adding an additional 2.4% average rates increase onto Aucklanders rates bill.
Public feedback on both rate increases are part of a Mayoral Proposal which was ratified by the Finance and Performance Committee on 8 November and which will go out for public feedback between 28 February and 28 March 2023.
Councillor Sayers challenged the proposal contending that initiatives to reduce carbon emissions were important but should be part of Council’s business as usual processes, and therefore funded from the general rates.
Sayers said this is not the time to be reaching forever deeper into ratepayer’s pockets. Due to the impact of the Auckland lockdown on the economy, and household budgets, he said it was exactly the wrong timing, in fact the worst timing for a Council to be increasing taxes.
“The new climate action tax will mean next year’s overall rate hike will be $5.9%, even higher than last year’s promised ‘one-off’ 5% increase. This proposed 5.9% tax hike is a broken promise from the Mayor,” he said.
“Aucklanders also pay an additional Regional Fuel tax to help deliver these types of projects, so Council needs to stop double dipping.”
Sayers argued that the proposed climate action target rate would be paying for business-as-usual projects such as buses, cycleways, new electric ferries and tree planting.
“This is all business as usual stuff. They are projects which should be being funded from within the existing budgets and the general rates take,” he said.
Sayers attacked the Mayoral Proposal further claiming the targeted rate was unnecessary and was a way of increasing Council’s revenue without the Mayor having to admit he was breaking his promise of keeping next year’s rate increase to 3.5 per cent.
“Let’s call this new tax what it really is. It’s a disguised rates hike. It is a disguised rates hike disguised to fill Auckland Council’s financial hole left over from Covid,” said Sayers.
“It is time for the Council to tighten its belt and cut operational spending and reprioritize its spending priorities, within existing budgets.”
Sayers explained funding new initiatives to mitigate the effects of climate change from the general rates would mean avoidance of the proposed 2.4% targeted rate increase, but would require the reprioritization of the Council’s 10 years capital spending priorities along with cutting operational costs across Auckland Council.
He said the rural communities of Rodney would be forced to pay more rates without receiving any of the benefits as the spending from the collected targeted rates were not rural focused.
Cr Sayers wanted a question added to the Mayoral Proposal to seek public opinion if the projects tagged to the climate action targeted rate should be general rates funded or targeted rate funded. He was defeated 5 votes to 18.
The Climate Action Targeted Rate would deliver:
—————————————————————
Link to the Agenda and Minutes: https://infocouncil.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/ See Item 10, Finance and Performable Committee, 8 November
Video link to Cr Sayers’ debate: https://councillive.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/video/081221-item-10-annual-budget-20222023-mayoral-proposal-items-consultation-part-2
Amendment wording was as follows:
A guest post by Bill Foster of the Northern Action Group:
The Government’s 3 Waters proposal is an ideological proposal to centralise control of
water infrastructure; share governance with unelected (appointed) representatives and Iwi;
and permit extensive nationwide cross-subsidy of water services provision.
To promote and sell a proposal that has no benefits for ratepayers and water users (other
than for those who might benefit from having others pay for their costs), the Government
has offered bribes to local councils, and put forward (at least) three lies to scare and coerce
the public!
The Three Lies
1) There is a water crisis
2) The proposal will result in lower water infrastructure costs and charges to users.
3) Those controlling assets and water services will represent users and payers – who
will have a say.
1 – There is a water crisis
This is just apocalyptic language chosen to scare people into supporting the proposed
actions, by focusing on isolated and outlier examples of areas where there have been
problems.
The “crisis” tag is manufactured by Government to support its proposal and detract
attention from alternative ways current problems could be addressed. No evidence has
been provided to support the claims that there is any crisis or that there is anything
generally unstable or immediately dangerous threatening the average New Zealand water
user.
Yes, there are some problems with current water infrastructure and service provision in
some areas, (Havelock North [poor water quality] and Kaipara [expensive sewage system]
come to mind) but these have come about mostly a result of central Government failure to
properly structure Local Authorities (LAs) and their financing, governance and management
to do the job.
Most LAs provide good (and some excellent) water services within highly constrained limits
(set by Government) and have already expressed willingness to cooperate and share scarce
skill resources across LAs.
Government has not shown why these problems cannot be addressed by the simple
mechanism of:
providing national water quality standards (We already have a Water Services Act
and Taumata Arowhai for that);
• targeted funding for water infrastructure investment (and LA Council Controlled
Organisations (CCOs)) made available at the Government’s cost of funds (thus
freeing up water funding from other constraints on LA funding);
• shared resources across LAs (as suggested by some and already provided for in
recent amendments to the Local Government Act 2002 (LGA)); and
• central Government financial support (in addition to low borrowing costs) for areas
that clearly cannot afford needed infrastructure.
2 – The proposal will result in lower water infrastructure costs and
charges to users.
This is a multifaceted lie, carefully constructed as a misleading artifice of facts, invalid
assumptions and false conclusions:
First we have the reliance on scale as offering “opportunities”. Since physical pipes, pumps
and their installation do not have any cost savings from scale, the assumption is that
overheads of planning, design and standardization will allow the same infrastructures to be
provided at lower costs (contradicting the promise of no job losses). Councils could
cooperate (e.g. through shared use of water CCOs) to achieve the same economies (but this
idea has not been evaluated). Also, any potential cost savings from avoiding duplication may
well be offset by the higher cost of using fewer experts and the increased administration
costs of having vertical bureaucracies. Over-use of standardization will see costs being
higher than needed from overprovision of capacity in some areas, without allowing a “fit for
purpose” approach to minimize cost.
Government has not released the models and their assumptions. They claim to have
evaluated lots of alternatives, but these are just “straw men”. They have not evaluated any
options that might be preferred to their own. Lack of full disclosure is the hallmark of those
who seek to mislead by concealment.
Second we have reliance on leverage as lowering the cost of borrowing to finance
infrastructure investment. While it is true that bigger entities controlling more assets and
payers present lower repayment risks to lenders (and hence can get lower interest rates and
borrow more), the proposal assumes that the current financing restrictions on Councils still
apply.
These restrictions limit LAs borrowing in relation to rating revenues and denies them access
to a wider range of revenue through fees and charges for services.
Limits on rate increases thus constrain LA investment and service provision. These limits are
all set and controlled by central government through legislation, and the lie here is that the
Government could not provide LAs with targeted finance for water infrastructure
investment at its own (lowest) borrowing costs, and that it needs the proposed structure to
achieve that. This is not true.
Third the Government intends to create 9,240 new jobs and promises that no jobs will be
lost in LAs from the transfer of responsibility and activity to the new entities. Well…
9,260 new jobs will cost around $520m a year at current average salary rates (and
Wellington bureaucrats and scarce water experts will get more than that). So, if there are no
cost savings and more costs for new jobs, promising lower charges for water users (in
average) is a lie. [2 + 2 does not = -4]
Fourth the Government says that water structure investment needs $185B over the next 30
years. We must take that as an established fact. Either it does or it doesn’t.
That is around $3,000 p.a. per household, even if borrowing to build them was FREE, and
before the ongoing operating costs of managing the assets and providing the water services
are included. So promising costs of water charges of $1,600 or less p.a. is a lie. No-one can
credibly believe that this scheme can halve the cost of pumps, pipes, systems and drains…
and still employ more people.
3 – Those controlling assets and water services will represent users
and payers, who will have a say.
The idea that users and ratepayers will have any meaningful say or influence over the water
entities decisions is a is illusory. Its promise is a lie.
The proposed governance structure is not chosen for efficiency or effectiveness, or even
equality of representation, but to support an ideological construct of partnership with Maori
and a strategy of nationalization and control of infrastructure assets.
Governors in this proposal will, at best, be representatives of representatives. No water
users (or payers) will have any direct representation. Appointments will be ripe for
patrimonialism at the national level and insulated from ratepayer accountability. Iwi
representatives will have 50% voting rights and thus a veto right over major decisions (a
75% (supermajority) required). This will create opportunities for delay and inaction over
disagreements between and amongst Iwi and others.
The proposal is an afront to democracy, disenfranchises water users and ratepayers by
adding another centralized layer of decision making, will invite division and disagreement
and will surface differences that should not be formalized in any country seeking social
cohesion and unity.
Charging for water asset usage has not been clarified and, if left to the entities, does not
rule out licence or royalty payments for use, over which ratepayers and water users will
have no say.
Cross-subsidy between LAs and between rural and urban areas will not have any scrutiny or
right of approval by elected members of each LA.
Under the current system, the effects of poor local governance or management are limited
to local ratepayers; there is no contagion across LAs and their catchment boundaries; and
ratepayers can vote poor performing representatives out.
In centralized bureaucracies staffed by appointed governors and officials, that will not be
possible. The risks are not spread nor decision makers accountable. While good decisions
will benefit many, it is equally true that bad decisions will affect many.
Distributed management authority and responsibility, with accountability to ratepayers and
users at the community level, will best minimse the damage from bad decisions and be
more responsive to local and community needs. The Auckland experience has shown us how
badly regional amalgamation plays out for remote or rural communities.
Central government has failed to honour the subsidiarity principle in its control of LAs, by
denying LAs the authority to properly manage their affairs to the benefit of their resident
and ratepayer constituents (who they represent). As a result, ratepayers have become less
interested than they should be in voting for people who will do that job well and in the
quality of representatives and their officials. Capable people are less interested in standing
for LAs.
Excessive centralization undermines democracy and encourages power seeking and
arrogant and autocratic decision making. This 3 waters proposal is a good example of that
and, sadly, the Government is resorting to these lies as part of its propaganda campaign to
support it.
This graph from the Taxpayers’ Union shows the explosion in numbers. Note to excludes Defence, Police and DHBs.
So under nine years of the 5th Labour Government, there was an increase of around 14,000 public servants over nine years.
Under nine years of the 5th National Government, there was an increase of 2,000 public servants over nine years.
Under four years of the 6th Labour Government, there was an increase of 14,000 public servants.
So if they got a full nine years we’d be at close to 80,000 public servants.
The Daily Telegraph reports:
Cancel culture is personal for Jordan Peterson. His voice rises in emotion as he recalls the indignity of finding out on Twitter about his Cambridge lecture series, subsequently reinstated, being cancelled. “Sorry, it’s a bit of a sore spot,” he says, taking a drink of water.
But it’s also a great deal more than that to him: “This isn’t a battle between two viewpoints, it’s nothing that trivial.”
Peterson, invoking his professional experience in clinical psychology, believes that “if you can’t say what you think, soon you won’t be able to think, because mostly we think in words”.
Herein lies the real danger of cancel culture, particularly at universities, whose primary function is arguably to nurture thoughts and help students learn to think for themselves: “The issue is there is no distinction between free speech and free thought. And there’s no thought without free thought. Thought by its nature is either free or it doesn’t exist.
“This isn’t a battle for some right. This is a battle for the heart of universities. And Cambridge has been a beacon and so has Oxford. You might even say the beacon for the world in such matters.”
This is of course the intent of many of those behind cancel culture. They want to eliminate thoughts they disapprove off. They are modern day puritans.
Stuff reports:
Five youngsters, all aged 10 to 13, had been seriously hurt – four of them critically – in the late-night car crash near their farmhouse, roughly midway between Morrinsville and Matamata, on Monday.
The driver of a Nissan Tiida the youngsters had squeezed into had failed to take a slight bend on the Morrinsville-Walton Rd and flipped the car into a ditch, about 11.55pm.
I hope they all survive. Losing a child is probably the worst thing that can happen to a family.
But you do have to wonder where were the parents? Did they know their 10 to 13 year olds were out at midnight?
Coal Imports under Labour are now four times as high as when National was in Government. I guess actual change is much harder than just making speeches.
On current polling Labour will get 49 MPs, down from 65. So a reader has asked who would be the 16 MPs who would be out of Parliament on the current polling. If we assume (for now) no change in electorate seats, those out would be:
That’s four Ministers they would lose on current polling. Of course their 2023 list will be different, but the only MPs higher on the list than them are Andrew Little, David Parker and Trevor Mallard.
Unless they lose some electorate seats, their List only MPs are facing quite a wipeout.
The Herald reports:
Controversial Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki is under investigation after he allegedly threatened to have future mobile vaccination clinics blown up to prevent children getting their Covid-19 jab at schools.
The Herald has learned that Tamaki made the alleged threat during a sermon he gave to a Destiny Church congregation yesterday.
That sermon was later posted on the Destiny Church website.
In the sermon, Tamaki referenced the upcoming vaccination rollout for 5-to-11-year-olds, set to begin in January, saying, “they want to touch our children, they’re coming after our kids”.
Later, Tamaki said he would “go to the school” and “fight for them”.
“I’ll stand down there and I’ll take that school apart. If you go in there with your wagon, I’ll tow your wagon away and I’ll get the boys to blow it up and all your syringes, we’ll run you out of town.”
It’s very deranged, but it isn’t really a threat.
It’s up to parents, not Brian Tamaki, if they get their kids vaccinated. Who the fuck is he to try and decide for us. My eldest has just turned five and I’ll be getting him vaccinated in January.
A guest post by Owen Jennings:
On the morning of my birthday I received the fateful call. “Your test was positive”. On reflection I wasn’t surprised. I had been coughing so often and so violently my stomach muscles were tender, hurting and each spasm meant I was blacking out in pain. I had Covid.
I was double jabbed. A son-in-law is a respiratory specialist so it wasn’t an option. He was clear. “The vaccine won’t stop you getting the lurgi but it will keep you out of my hospital. If you re having second thoughts come and see some of the unvaccinated patients in here struggling to get a breath. It’s not pretty”. He also passed on that being overweight multiplied the problems a hundredfold. Being over 60 another hundredfold. Having asthma another hundredfold. Smoker? Don’t even ask.
Between coughs I spent a couple of hours going through where I had been, who I met, how close was I, how long was I there. Right down to minutes. The interviewer was professional and focused. “Phone in every time you remember some additional item, no matter how minor”. Similarly, the instructions about what I could and could not do were clear and helpful.
We never tracked down where I caught it. On family instructions we were living hermit-like, wearing masks, avoiding people, washing hands, doing only essential stuff. I am sure if my mother were still alive she would have said I got it off a toilet seat. She blamed them for lots of things.
Symptoms? Besides the uncontrollable coughing my nose ran like a runaway tap for several days. I lost all sense of taste and smell. My wife’s fantastic passionfruit slice and her perfectly cooked lamb chops tasted like cardboard. It is a strange sensation and I am only now, 4 weeks later, regaining my enjoyment of different flavours.
My voice became thick and hard to listen to. Its hard to talk and cough anyway.
One of the worst features was the lethargy. I simply lost all my energy. I am a keen gardener with a large vege patch and I help my wife with an extensive flower garden. I mow our lawns. I also walk for an hour most evenings. Just crossing the room became an effort. My will to do anything even sit at the keyboard and punch out some emails just faded out. It was a horrible experience. It messes with your will power.
Within 48 hours a parcel was delivered with an oximeter, face masks, hand sanitizer, wipes, and PPE gowns(what on earth I was supposed to do with them I never found out). Every day and sometimes a couple of times a day I received a healthline call. They had a series of questions, always the same. Some of the callers were smart, helpful and knew their stuff. Some could only follow the script and fell apart if you asked any question outside of the tickbox sheet.
My wife who is obviously in close contact did not get Covid. They demanded she get tested every few days and were adamant she isolate because she “must catch it”. They demanded separate towels, separate washing loads, 2 meters apart and a different bed. That was never going to happen.
Then started fun and games to get her clearance. I was cleared 14 days after the initial test, no problem. But they couldn’t make up their mind when my wife would be set free. They changed their mind four times, contradicted each other, sometimes several times in one day. The capable healthline people are excellent – the rest not so good; actually useless.
So many people have said, “you are the first person I know with Covid. What is it like?” So now you know. One experience, anyway. I am not recommending it.
d
Looking very likely Boris will go early in 2022. Voters will forgive many things, but not hypocrisy. The photos of Boris and his staff enjoying various social functions while families were unable to attend funerals of loved ones will sink him.
So who is in the running to be the next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland? The odds (converted to percentages) are:
If Truss or Patel are elected, they will be the third female leader of the Conservative Party.