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April 20, 2021 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 20 April 2021

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General Debate

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Happychappy

Jacinda Ardern and how to play Politics her way, it started with the blame game and her abuse on National the former Government with all they have left us is nine years of neglect and underfunding of our Ministries.
The Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern ha lived on death with tragedy to make her mark to convince the public she’s the best thing the world has produced Jacinda Ardern has used Covid-19 and the lockdowns to scare, imprison and devide our Country even to the extreme of asking other to nark on people that they think are abusing the lockdown.
The Prime Minister has used her position of trust to abuse and lie about those she considers broke her rules and singled them out for ridicule even though the wern’t wrong this being a young Lass from KFC with a Security guard from the front line.
Now after 12 months of anger and disappointment from many Businesses that might never survive all that has happened our Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern wants us to share her proudness of the border and bubble being opened to another Country and first since Covid -19 arrived world wide.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/new-zealanders-should-very-proud-trans-tasman-bubble-opening-pm
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April 20, 2021 8:00am
- Brian McDonald
  
  Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
  Obsessing about the PM much?
  
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  April 20, 2021 8:29am
  - Greg Ettridge
    
    Obsessing with business owners and their employees losing their livelihoods whilst those making decisions get paid.
    As for putting Journalists on an aircraft to fly return to Sydney, just show how bat shit crazy this all is.
    
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    April 20, 2021 8:36am
    - Brian McDonald
      
      Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
      At least many commentators here are consistent Greg, they moan when there is no trans-Tasman bubble and moan when there is.
      
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      April 20, 2021 9:54am
      - Greg Ettridge
        
        I am not bemoaning the Trans Tasman, I am about to use it as a loop hole, I just find it really stupid Journalists where given seats to go 3 hours each way and sit in transit for two hours in Sydney. What is achieved from this process?
        This isn’t as stupid as burning off 66,000 litres of av gas so you can breastfeed, but that would really take some beating as a the worlds bad example of climate killing by someone that expresses climate change Armageddon day in day out.
        
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        April 20, 2021 10:18am
      - Greg Ettridge
        
        The start of my comment yesterday
        “Isn’t it fantastic to see 16 international flights scheduled for out of Auckland.”
        
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        April 20, 2021 10:26am
      - Brian McDonald
        
        I agree with that Greg. (the comment about the journalists)
        
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        April 20, 2021 12:14pm
    - kowtow
      
      ‘Journalists on an aircraft to fly return to Sydney’
      
      I really do hope they don’t belong to any of the 400 Media Pardy organisations that are part of the Covering Climate Now coalition , the ones who shill climate panic.
      
      Otherwise they’re nothing but lying hypocrites.
      
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      April 20, 2021 10:18am
      - Tall Man
        
        Otherwise …….. ?
        
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        April 20, 2021 11:55am
      - sooty
        
        Are they going to turn down a free jolly, duty free, etc. Not bloody likely!
        
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        April 20, 2021 12:46pm
  - Suze Wainwright
    
    Heh, you know, the Cuban business owners and middle class thought that Fidel & Che were a breath of fresh air at the start of the Revolucion…
    
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    April 20, 2021 9:15am
  - Bykmad
    
    Are you talking about the Vapid Narcissist who currently occupies the Prime Ministers Office in the Beehive.
    
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    April 20, 2021 11:12am
- tf78
  
  Happychappy – here’s one to make Cindy feel a little worse I hope!
  
  https://weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/how-many-people-die-each-day-covid-19-coronavirus/
  
  It’s very interesting indeed.
  
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  April 20, 2021 9:09am
  - tf78
    
    Sorry, I’ll try that again.
    https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/how-many-people-die-each-day-covid-19-coronavirus/
    
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    April 20, 2021 9:17am
Tony Stuart

A friend of mine works as an Immigration Advisor, based offshore. He made this comment last night about the decision to finally allow some migrant families who have been kept apart for more than a year to be reunited:

The damage this Labour Government is and has done to NZ’s reputation as an immigration destination is incalculable. This reputation has been established over 30 years since 1991 and all the goodwill of successive Governments and the hard work of licensed immigration advisers has been undone in less than 12 months. So much for NZ’s compassionate reputation.

The heroine here is National backbencher Erica Stanford, who over the last month or so has applied the blowtorch to Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi. Faafoi and his officials sat on their hands for months, before Stanford started grilling him. Unfortunately most of her questions in the House were at the foot of the list of Questions for Oral Answer, and did not get the attention they deserved.

Erica Stanford is proof that an Opposition MP can get things done, and she has been like a dog with a bone, eventually shaming Faafoi into doing what was right all along. For that she deserves much credit.
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April 20, 2021 8:01am
- kowtow
  
  The Media , even if they were inclined to give credit where it’s due (which they’re not as they are ‘progressives’ ) are bought and paid for ,so Stanford will get no credit .
  
  Talking of the Media , they are shameless in their froth over the opening of the so called trans Tasman bubble and all its positivities . Shameless , because had it not been for the Media Party’s explicit role in pushing the Covid fear / panic narrative the world would not have had to shut down over a particularly bad case of the ‘flu .
  
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  April 20, 2021 8:07am
  - amospicton
    
    The pattern has been that National/ACT suggests something, the government rejects it, two weeks later the government adopts the idea as their own and there is widespread acclaim. Especially re Covid where in February last year Bridges told Ardern to start taking it seriously. It’s easy to dismiss the Opposition as useless given the government’s ineptitude but it must be a frustrating game.
    
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    April 20, 2021 9:58am
    - Paulus
      
      Ardern is losing it – her middle class ladies who went from National to Labour are now unsure as the polls show and will get worse for her.
      
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      April 20, 2021 10:36am
      - tf78
        
        Paulus – it’s called “The Awokening”.
        
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        April 20, 2021 7:18pm
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      Time for National to publicise (everywhere) all their ideas that Labour at first rejected, then adopted.
      
      Will be quite a long list.
      
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      April 20, 2021 10:56am
      - Mike
        
        A possible reversal of the usual pattern of NZ politics?
        
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        April 20, 2021 11:31am
- Ehlana
  
  I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. This is a government who couldn’t figure out that an island nation needs ships to supply it, ships need mariners and mariners need MIQ places when their voyages end.
  
  Of course they wouldn’t be able to work out that when you are running at close to full employment NZ businesses will need to recruit overseas workers and those workers, being human, come with families, who will therefore also need MIQ places.
  
  I would have thought the MIQ allocation would include a set-aside number of places available to mariners as required, then a priority list of something like: people out of the country when the whole thing started, but usually living & working here (who would all be back fairly soon); then people coming in to take up jobs & their families (a smart government would try to hook up returning NZers with jobs before they arrived), and then other people with a right to return.
  
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  April 20, 2021 8:46am
  - Brian McDonald
    
    Don’t follow this. Do you mean NZ crews?
    
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    April 20, 2021 9:52am
    - Ehlana
      
      Yes, Brian. You may have seen frequent comments here about the difficulty NZers crewing ships having getting MIQ spots so they can return home when their period of work ends. Unlike aircrew, ships rosters don’t allow crews to embark and disembark at their home ports; they have to fly to/from where the ship happens to be.
      
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      April 20, 2021 11:09am
      - Brian McDonald
        
        Crazy stuff Ehlana especially with all the other pressures surrounding shipping.
        
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        April 20, 2021 12:18pm
  - Master Mariner
    
    Great comment Ehlana,
    As for me Im Quarantining in Indonesia. 6 x PCR tests in last 2 weeks alone.
    Been in 2 shipyards in Singapore which require tests day 1, 3, and seven.
    Got another PCR test tomorrow to Fly home to Akd within 72 hrs.
    
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    April 20, 2021 1:12pm
  - Master Mariner
    
    NZ Seafarers
    Media release
    20 April 2021
    NZ SEAFARERS ARE ESSENTIAL
    Kiwi Seafarers working internationally have been forgotten by the New Zealand government, their request for support keeps being ignored and their status as essential workers continues to be overlooked.
    
    Many Kiwi Seafarers are stuck outside of New Zealand borders on vessels and in foreign ports. These Seafarers are unable to return home because of the inflexibility of the Managed Isolation Allocation System (MIAS). The system was set up to assist returning New Zealanders to secure a place in an MIQ facility, Representatives from MBIE have confirmed that the MIAS is not equipped to deal with the nature of seafaring. The rigidity of the booking system means that, if there has been any shift in crew change dates, which can be a common occurrence, Seafarers cannot change their allocation date to get into an MIQ facility.
    
    If a seafarer is unable to depart their vessel on their original travel date, they often have no choice but to remain on board working 12-hour days every day, or if they are fortunate enough to obtain a short notice visa, be subjected to expensive isolation and accommodation in a foreign country until flights and an MIQ booking becomes available. More often than not however, they cannot obtain a visa to stay in the country. This means being stuck on board their ship, extending their contracts, for substantial lengths of time, while they try to rearrange a new MIAS booking to line up with their vessel’s movements. It is an impossible situation.
    
    Why don’t kiwi seafarers book using the MIAS like everyone else? Because it is unrealistic. Aside from the current four month wait for a room in MIQ, it is quite common for a vessels internet and phone connections to be unreliable, or even nonexistent. Furthermore, crew change dates are dependent on factors well out of a seafarer’s control, such as weather, mechanical breakdowns, shipping movements, political turmoil, and unfavorable sea state. This is why the MIAS needs to have in built flexibility for seafarers.
    
    Since the MIAS was introduced, many seafarers have been in touch with their local MPs asking for help and advocacy to make changes. Responses from government departments and MPs alike all end with a referral to apply for an emergency allocation in MIQ. The emergency allocation categories are not designed to manage a Seafarers particular circumstances. There is no specific reference to Seafarers in the emergency allocation rules because Seafarers frequently don’t meet the very specific criteria, and as such, are often denied an emergency allocation in MIQ. This is partly due to the fact that Seafarers not only require to come home, but also to return to the world outside our borders. To continue to do a job that the rest of the world views as critically essential. The New Zealand government however does not.
    
    On 1 December 2020, the UN General Assembly called for all seafarers to be designated as “key workers”. International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Kitack Lim said “Sadly, hundreds of thousands of seafarers, who are vital to maintaining supply chains, remain stranded at sea for months beyond their contracted time. This is causing immense strain, fatigue and exhaustion and is unsustainable. I hope that this call to action will result in positive momentum to resolve the crew change crisis”.
    Despite the call from the UN and the IMO, Minister Chris Hipkins replied to our pleas for help on the 6 April 2021 with “There is no legal requirement for New Zealand to facilitate crew changes outside our territory and we are fulfilling our legal obligation by facilitating movements through New Zealand ports”.
    
    Kiwi Seafarers deserve better from our government. We need access to a separate allocation for MIQ, with more flexible bookings to accommodate the nature and reality of shipping. This will ensure that we can keep essential shipping and trade lines open around the world during this challenging time, and so that Kiwi Seafarers can return home to their families at the end of their contracts. If the government continues to ignore requests for changes, they are putting Seafarers’ mental and physical health in jeopardy.
    In response to this crisis, we are launching a campaign to educate the public of the plight of our Kiwi Seafarers working internationally.
    
    A video has been released on http://www.nzseafarers.com to direct people to sign our petition on change.org We aim to take this petition to the government in the hope that they will join the UN and the IMO in recognizing Kiwi Seafarers as essential workers and assist them in continuing to do the critical work they do.
    Link to Video: https://vimeo.com/533914260
    Link to Website: https://www.nzseafarers.com/
    Link to Petition: https://www.change.org/NZseafarers
    Link to Facebook page:
    https://www.facebook.com/NZSeafarers
    Link to Newstalk ZB interview 18/4/21:
    https://www.dropbox.com/…/NZ%20Seafarers.com%20Newstalk…
    
    Our Media Liaison can put interested parties in touch with our local spokespeople and affected seafarers stranded in various countries and vessels around the world.
    For more information, please contact:
    
    info@nzseafarers.com
    
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    April 20, 2021 1:14pm
- Brian McDonald
  
  Did your friend consider the reaction there would have been if MIQ facilities were filled with immigrant families and not returning NZer’s Tony?
  I appreciate that you believe the change came about because of Erica Standford and was never on the schedule at all.
  
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  April 20, 2021 10:02am
  - Mike22240
    
    I can’t blame Tony for thinking it is all because of Erica’s really good work on this issue. Fafoi has been avoiding giving any statement or any idea at all of what work has been going on in the background to make this happen. I would be more inclined to believe there was a schedule if the Govt had (and I can’t believe I’m saying this) announced a schedule or a plan (even in response to one of Erica’s many questions). Instead just as Erica was starting to get some serious traction they allowed immigrant families to come in. It really looks like a response to a successful campaign by the opposition and not a well planned part of a coordinated stragergy.
    
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    April 20, 2021 10:17am
    - Tony Stuart
      
      Work has only gone on in the3 background to remedy this situation for some of the affected migrants since Faafoi started to take heat on it. A demonstration outside Parliament a couple of weeks ago helped as well.
      
      But the reality is that Faafoi sat on his hands for months, while families were separated, although he did have time to let Ru Paul’s Drag Race cast and crew, The Wiggles, the cast of the Lion King and a Queen tribute band come into the country.
      
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      April 20, 2021 6:20pm
  - Captain Mainwaring
    
    Who is Erica Standford?
    Her name is Stanford, idiot.
    
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    April 20, 2021 10:46am
    - Brian McDonald
      
      Talking to yourself again Captain? Or being a hideaway hero?
      
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      April 20, 2021 12:20pm
mikenmildagain

Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Happy UN Chinese Language Day!
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April 20, 2021 8:02am
- cmm
  
  Due to subtleties in word ordering in different languages the correct translation is:
  
  Happy Chinese UN Language Day!
  
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  April 20, 2021 8:10am
  - mikenmildagain
    
    Chines is indeed one of the UN’s six official languages.
    
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    April 20, 2021 8:44am
    - Odakyu-sen
      
      Mandarin or Cantonese?
      
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      April 20, 2021 9:01am
    - KevO'Brien
      
      So? It’s not in regular use here, nor should it be, except among native speakers.
      
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      April 20, 2021 9:15am
      - Brian McDonald
        
        Which natives are you talking about Kev, the O’Brien’s that arrived here around 1820?
        
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        April 20, 2021 10:03am
    - Paulus Gnome
      
      Where is Te reo Mike?
      
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      April 20, 2021 11:37am
Maggy Wassilieff

Gagging order placed on DHB members before tomorrow’s big announcement of health restructure

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/124882577/ban-on-dhb-members-making-political-comment-may-prevent-criticism-of-health-reforms
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April 20, 2021 8:04am
- Souvlaki
  
  No surprises here!! ?
  
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  April 20, 2021 8:08am
- info@cruzpro.com
  
  Taking away their right to free speech?
  
  The “code includes acting in a ‘politically impartial manner’ both as a board member and in a private capacity.”
  
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  April 20, 2021 8:11am
  - Tall Man
    
    So any criticism of policy or activity, or lack thereof, is “political” …. Seriously?
    
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    April 20, 2021 8:25am
  - mikenmildagain
    
    Board members of Crown entities do not have unlimited rights of free speech. It would be untenable for these political appointees to be able to make political comments.
    Elected DHB members should be in a different category, but they are an anomaly. As DHBs have no control over revenues, etc, there is really no scope for elected boards – it’s a cosmetic sop to local democracy.
    
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    April 20, 2021 8:42am
    - 70andstilllearning
      
      Hilarious mike – they are an anomaly created by one of your heroines – Helen Clarke – that replaced the four HFA’s.
      
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      April 20, 2021 8:57am
      - Mike
        
        There hasn’t been a good reform idea for health in NZ since the 1970s white paper proposing a national health service.
        
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        April 20, 2021 11:34am
    - KevO'Brien
      
      Natural justice allows those affected by a change of circumstance to squawk loudly if affected by adverse changes.
      
      The Lady in the Fireplace is not supreme ruler of the universe. Her pride gets in the way of her limited sense.
      
      The more a friendly socialista cabal seeks to protect her and disguise her incompetence the stronger the attacks must be. She’s not even UN cleaner grade.
      
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      April 20, 2021 9:28am
- Tony Stuart
  
  Welcome to the most open and transparent government New Zealand has ever seen…
  
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  April 20, 2021 8:12am
  - Harriet
    
    Transparent alright – she has no clothes – Eva Peron achieved more yet she was never elected. 😎
    
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    April 20, 2021 10:19am
    - oldfella
      
      Yeah, Harriet, and Eva also had better songs. /s
      Can you imagine Glorious Leader singing:
      
      Don’t cry for me, Te Teriti
      They worship the ground I walk on
      Me and my fishy man
      A salty, squishy man
      The man I’ll marry
      I’d hoped for Harry
      
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      April 20, 2021 4:10pm
- MCos
  
  However the DHBs are going to be reorganized there’s going to be criticism.
  The boards are there to make the system work.
  Presumably the new setup will need to be in place in time for the local body elections next year otherwise the public will be electing members to boards as they stand.
  Personally I think all board members should be appointed. So little is know about candidates under the present system that few people vote.
  Once a person is democratically elected they should be free to express an individual view, particularly in local body politics.
  That gets tricky if a bunch of elected board members, rather than work towards transitioning to a new system where they effectively lose their jobs, dig in and fight to maintain the status quo.
  
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  April 20, 2021 8:41am
  - Paulus
    
    Remember the Boards have majority politically appointed representatives and have done so for years.
    
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    April 20, 2021 8:54am
    - MCos
      
      The Counties Manukau DHB, which covers our area, has four appointees and seven elected.
      
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      April 20, 2021 9:29am
      - KevO'Brien
        
        Elected members have to be free to speak on those matters which in their view affect those who voted for them and all whom they represent.
        The Govt appointees are not there to silence any body.
        
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        April 20, 2021 9:35am
- 70andstilllearning
  
  “Members must also consult with the board chair on any “proposal to make political comment or to undertake any significant political activity”.
  
  Most elected DHB members are politically active either on the left or right. Guess given all DHB chairs are now left patsy’s appointed by the Health Minister only leftie members will be allowed to engage in any “significant political activity”.
  
  “But Public Service Commissioner Peter Hughes said it was “totally and utterly untrue” to suggest the new code of conduct was linked to any government announcement.”
  
  I think Hughes meant “any PARTICULAR announcement” i.e. it’s designed to cover every government announcement.
  
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  April 20, 2021 8:44am
- wreck1080
  
  More of this, I suppose…
  https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/121640802/mori-and-pasifika-given-priority-in-elective-surgery-waitlists
  
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  April 20, 2021 8:49am
mikenmildagain

A very good article on Stuff about the journalist and novelist Robin Hyde:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/124828925/a-feminist-and-a-fighter-the-extraordinary-life-of-wellington-writer-robin-hyde
Passport to Hell is a great read.
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April 20, 2021 8:04am
- Swifty
  
  I see her son died just a couple of months ago.
  
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  April 20, 2021 8:38am
- doublehappy
  
  I’m not sure why all the downticks to this post. In today’s world I would probably not agree with some of her ideals, but votes for women and equality I would see eye to eye with. I doubt I will follow up on reading her books and more about her, though I’m sure if I did I would find it interesting. Thanks for enlightening me and who knows I might just follow up with one of her novels.
  
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  April 20, 2021 1:50pm
  - mikenmildagain
    
    Here’s a short read about the subject of her well-known book:
    https://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/opinion/114527994/starkie-our-toughest-bravest-soldier
    
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    April 20, 2021 6:07pm
cmm

Here’s a doctor, likely trying to do The Right Thing, but using inexcusable scare tactics.

The use of off-label drugs is apparently bad, bad bad.

But wait a minute, something like 20% of medications are used off label in NZ – and way higher (eg. Over 70%) for some drugs. I’ll bet the fine doctor (assuming he’s a GP) is prescribing off-label drugs every day.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/distressing-death-warning-for-unregulated-euthanasia-drugs/WO5V6TGSETF6I3AJ6FBNDTXO6Y/
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April 20, 2021 8:08am
hullkiwi

What is Michael Wood hiding? This morning speaking on Red Radio about a report into Transmission Gully as though he is knowledgeable about the subject and PPP procurement. As someone who has advised on moreproject finance/PFI and PPP deals than have been done in NZ, I can tell you Wood doesn’t have a clue about major infrastructure procurement. That said Transmission Gully is a screw up. It was nothing to do with the minister, but more to do with the public servants advising (two of whom I worked with in the UK, one of whom is now an Assoc DG responsible for Infrastructure in a NZ govt ministry) NZTA. The fundamental problem is NZ’s govt agencies are lead and staffed by people who lack qualifications and experience to do the jobs they do, or to be put in control of anything more than watching paint dry.

However, on the other hand, if you want political “yes” people they are very good at that.
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April 20, 2021 8:12am
- Prince
  
  One of Suzie Ferguson’s hit jobs I’m afraid. Listen to the approving ‘mmm’s’ as Wood blames Steven Joyce for delay, cost escalation etc. We are being softened up for announcing a further delay, but it will be all National’s fault.
  Of course Joyce wasn’t invited on to reply. We were told he could respond in his newspaper column.
  Balanced reporting ? What’s that ?
  
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  April 20, 2021 8:24am
  - Benedict Yu
    
    What rubbish. Based on his track record, if Steven Joyce had been Minister for the last 3.5 years, he would have been all over Transmission Gully issues.
    
    And who was the Transport Minister for the first term of the government?one Phil Twyford. Enough said.
    
    Twyford admitted in Parliament two years into the job that he had never visited the TG site. Because Labour hated the project and campaigned against it.
    
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    April 20, 2021 8:53am
    - mikenmildagain
      
      Project was flawed from the beginning. Mainly due to political pressure to make it seem affordable, which it never was.
      
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      April 20, 2021 9:10am
      - virtualmark
        
        Mike,
        
        The project itself isn’t really the problem. Sure they encountered some ground conditions that led to higher costs & delays, but that is one of those unexpected things that should be expected to happen.
        
        But the contracting & funding has been a dogs bollocks. I’m a rational capitalist, but I don’t see the advantage of PPPs. The Crown can fund infrastructure cheaper than the private sector can, and the idea that you’re transferring risk to the private sector partners is bollocks – as can be seen from the subsequent variations and delays. If the private partners are never to take any commercial pain and instead just send the higher bills back to the Crown then why doesn’t the Crown just fund & contract it directly itself?
        
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        April 20, 2021 3:00pm
    - MCos
      
      Steven Joyce isn’t around so there’s no point in beating his drum.
      Road building in NZ is painfully slow.
      Whatever has been going on on the road to the Mangere Airport has dragged on for years. Same with the Southern M/W.
      Interestingly I was talking to a Chinese guy who’s bunging up some houses near me & we compared road building here & Asia. There, he said, they work 24/7 and roads get built at at great rate, but the quality here is much better. Too much political interference.
      
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      April 20, 2021 11:21am
  - Paulus
    
    That is $105,000,000
    
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    April 20, 2021 8:55am
  - Bob
    
    We are being conditioned for the rebirth of the old Ministry of Works, complete with all it inefficiencies.
    The difference this time will be that ALL senior management positions will be appointed by the MOW Minister, to whom they will report and obey directives from.
    
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    April 20, 2021 1:51pm
- MCos
  
  Who are these people?
  
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  April 20, 2021 8:52am
  - hullkiwi
    
    MCos, slander laws and the public service apparatus protect these people. I couldn’t afford the legal bills if I called them out. But needless to say, neither had experience in transport infrastructure procurement, prior to Transmission Gully.
    
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    April 20, 2021 9:27am
- KevO'Brien
  
  That’s not Public Service.
  
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  April 20, 2021 9:37am
- JohnStanton
  
  It has every thing to do with the minister. The minister is where the buck stops. If the minister happened to have been Jacinda Adern you would be baying for blood. So your work colleagues were of little talent?
  
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  April 20, 2021 3:06pm
  - hullkiwi
    
    The minister doesn’t do the specificatio, the cost model or recommend the procurement method. Like Wood you don’t have a clue.
    
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    April 20, 2021 6:20pm
kowtow

The Global Warming movement is a millenarian cult that will die out mid century when all their dire predictions prove false , but the damage as with so many cults will have been done .

And while screaming girls and politicians of all hues talk the talk over disappearing atolls , what preparations are being made for The Big One on the Alpine Fault? You know , a real world problem in our own back yard .
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April 20, 2021 8:13am
- cmm
  
  As shown by many seismic events through history, including the last Kaikoura EQ, the coming Alpine Fault has a far greater impact on NZ sea levels than a few melting icebergs.
  
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  April 20, 2021 8:24am
  - Apropos of the Wet Snow
    
    You cannot tax a tectonic fault line though.
    
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    April 20, 2021 10:04am
    - Harriet
      
      Given you essentially pay insurance for living on the fault line then what’s the bet they do start to tax it? 😎
      
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      April 20, 2021 11:21am
- RockyJ
  
  I read this morning in Newshub that the head of the UN is warning that we are “staring into the abyss” of climate change and that 2020 was one of the three hottest years on record. Never mind that the record is only 30 years old.
  He must be panicking now that the northern hemisphere is experiencing the coldest spring in over a hundred years
  
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  April 20, 2021 8:34am
  - Benedict Yu
    
    At least the UN is consistent. They said the same thing 20 years ago in 2001.
    
    https://www.un.org/press/en/2001/ENGDEV559.doc.htm
    
    And they will be saying the same thing in 2041.
    
    Meanwhile New Zealanders are actually staring into the abyss of the Government’s planned response to climate change.
    
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    April 20, 2021 8:58am
- Nickc2
  
  For all you Climate Change/Global Warming advocates, the Aust Labor Party has broken away from the Scam of the Century and is now advocating for Coal use/export in Aust.
  https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/02/australian-labor-party-coal-alp-anthony-albanese
  It’s quite hilarious really as they have now driven a wedge between themselves and their lunatic Green Party sycophants.
  I should mention in all fairness, there is a bi-election in Newcastle NSW pending.
  
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  April 20, 2021 8:48am
- UrbanNeocolonialist
  
  The exhortations of doom have been going on for 30 years, 30 years of continual hyperbole, and total failure in the end-of-the-world predictions to eventuate and continual emperor-has-no-clothes moments any time the science and model predictions are examined by someone who is not part of the cult. Yet the doomster industry keeps rolling on – because almost everyone has short memories and the real metric for success in this game is generating more overblown alarmist headlines that Legacy media are willing to print to loosen politicians purse-strings for funding more of same. IT’s bullshit, but still a successful model for ongoing funding – scares sell.
  
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  April 20, 2021 9:00am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Looks like Obama’s Chief Scientist at the Energy Department has had a change of thinking with respect to the Climate Change Emergency
  
  https://wattsupwiththat.com/2021/04/18/what-climate-science-tells-us-what-it-doesnt-why-it-matters/
  
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  April 20, 2021 9:00am
  - cmm
    
    Poor sausage. The trough went dry so he’s no longer motivated to keep schtum.
    
    His biggest Climate Change Emergency is finding another teat to suck on.
    
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    April 20, 2021 10:06am
  - SB2
    
    MW, there is more to Steve Koonin than meets the eye . Certainly, a climate Contrarian shoulder tapped by the Trump administration to work for them on climate change I wopuld think for that very reason,
    
    One-time chief science researcher for BP.
    
    https://www.desmog.com/steve-koonin/
    
    So there!,
    
    And no by any stretch of the imagination can be called stalking
    
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    April 20, 2021 1:23pm
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      and just as Koonin predicted…
      
      First, the mainstream climate community will try to ignore his book, even as his publicists work the TV bookers in hopes of making a splash. Then Mr. Koonin knows will come the avalanche of name-calling that befalls anybody trying to inject some practical nuance into political discussions of climate.
      
      He adds with a laugh: “My married daughter is happy that she’s got a different last name.”
      
      Now why do some folks choose to name-call and abuse others, SB2?
      
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      April 20, 2021 2:25pm
I remember when

How much we have changed.
John Dawes passes away, at the age of 80, and many younger rugby fans probably don’t know who he was.
With the 1937 Springbok tour, the 1971 Lions tour was one of the great rugby events.
Perhaps the 1981 Springbok tour, for different reasons, makes up the trifecta.
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April 20, 2021 8:13am
- Prince
  
  It certainly gave NZ a jolt, and quickly changed the way we played rugby.
  
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  April 20, 2021 8:27am
- mikenmildagain
  
  Coach of the 1977 Lions – one of the great series, of which we sadly will never enjoy the like again. Money in the game ironically means that touring sides can no longer have the extended match schedules of the past.
  
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  April 20, 2021 8:49am
- MCos
  
  The 1956 Springbok Tour was right up there.
  
  Iain Gallaway died the other day. I remember listening to his commentaries for years from the days when radio commentators were real personalities.
  He loved Carisbrook.
  I watched one game there. The 1971 Lions beat the ABs 9-3. Fergie McCormack missed a penalty from right out in front. He never played for NZ again & I never went back to Dunedin for 30yrs in protest.
  
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  April 20, 2021 9:08am
  - amospicton
    
    Iain was a terrific commentator and a fine gentleman. Grew up listening to his commentaries. Must admit that the first time I went to Carisbrook it was somewhat less glamorous than he had made it seem.
    
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    April 20, 2021 10:03am
    - Mike
      
      Never went there – but we sure have some great international cricket grounds now: University Oval, Hagley, Mt Muanganui. Basin Reserve still the best, of course.
      
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      April 20, 2021 11:42am
      - MCos
        
        I was watching some game involving Australian players and an Aussie commentator commented how beautiful the various grounds were.
        Basically they are not concrete stadiums, with a couple of exceptions.
        
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        April 20, 2021 6:10pm
- Scott
  
  The 1971 lions tour was mysterious with the Lions coach Carwyn James correctly predicting the test series outcome at the beginning of the tour. And Barry John with his round the corner place kicking which I’d never seen before.
  I went to the Taranaki game. We nearly won. Taranaki scored two tries to one. Sadly our kicker missed the crucial kicks at goal. ?
  
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  April 20, 2021 10:07am
  - Brian McDonald
    
    They were an unbelievable team and before their time.
    
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    April 20, 2021 12:23pm
  - Prince
    
    James said the Lions had identified a weak point in the All Blacks. This caused a bit of a fuss as local journalists etc went about guessing who that might be. McCormick ? Going ? Flankers ? Props ?
    In the end it was probably a ruse, but worked well. NZ Rugby was at a low point. A backline (from 3rd test by memory) containing Howard Joseph, Mains, Carrington. Worse, our flankers were impotent against the 25 yard passes from Edwards to John, who controlled the game.
    
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    April 20, 2021 9:24pm
- Apropos of the Wet Snow
  
  It’s ironic that some of the ’81 tour protestors, or their offspring, will likely be the same people who are currently pushing for a state of real, but unacknowledged, apartheid in favour of Maori and non-Whites generally.
  
  As a footnote, the 3rd test against the ’81 Boks was probably one of the best and most dramatic tests to occur in the country, not withstanding that it is perhaps more infamously remembered as the flour bomb test.
  
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  April 20, 2021 10:12am
  - Mike
    
    Another moron who doesn’t know what Apartheid means.
    
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    April 20, 2021 11:43am
  - MCos
    
    My father, who was a dyed-in-wool rugby supporter from Timaru was so annoyed that that tour went ahead he never went to a game of rugby again for the rest of his life.
    That was his own small protest.
    He was also most uncomfortable in 1960 when the ABs went to SA with no Maori.
    He didn’t let rugby get in the way of his principles.
    
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    April 20, 2021 12:00pm
hullkiwi

Are there not laws against the likes of Hager?
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April 20, 2021 8:13am
- Blackbob
  
  No there isn’t and neither should there be, we all need to be able to see fools in action.
  
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  April 20, 2021 8:30am
  - Chris R
    
    Under Ardern’s “hate speech” package I would argue Hager is a terrorist. When has he ever written affirming solid Kiwi values. Rather he pours acid on this country including its servicemen. He is places his right to free speech on an open grill each time he craves attention.
    
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    April 20, 2021 9:20am
- I remember when
  
  If we made laws against Hager it would mean we are taking him seriously: not many really care that much.
  Well meaning? Perhaps. Or just opportunistic.
  I believe he is searching for a taniwha as I write.
  
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  April 20, 2021 8:31am
- Mark
  
  What haS HAGAR done to upset you now Diddums?
  
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  April 20, 2021 8:35am
  - mikenmildagain
    
    Nicky Hager is one of the favourite bogeymen on Kiwiblog.
    
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    April 20, 2021 8:50am
    - Inandout
      
      m&m, to be PC, Hager is a bogeyperson.
      
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      April 20, 2021 9:20am
    - RoboRob
      
      That’s what happens when you pretend to be a journalist but instead are simply someone who produces hit pieces against the right of politics just prior to every election.
      
      If you want to site the hit he ran on Helen Clark, remember at that time Hager was a 100% Green party man and Helen was seen (by the Greens) as too right wing.
      
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      April 20, 2021 11:49am
  - UrbanNeocolonialist
    
    He’s a far left trustafarian propagandist. No redeeming features.
    
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    April 20, 2021 9:24am
    - Apropos of the Wet Snow
      
      Hager a leftist, so he is firmly in the “establishment.” I just wish he would stop pretending that he is an outsider looking in. If the system is broken Nicky, then just look into the mirror if you are looking to apportion blame. The contributions of someone like Michael Bassett are far more of a danger to the status quo than Hager ever was or will be.
      
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      April 20, 2021 10:18am
      - SB2
        
        ” The contributions of someone like Michael Bassett are far more of a danger to the status quo than…” ??
        
        Michael Bassett a pointy head red neck fabulist
        
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        April 20, 2021 1:30pm
  - I remember when
    
    Mark. Do you have a free kick every time.
    
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    April 20, 2021 12:00pm
- Paulus
  
  It appears that we have paid Hagar to do a report for RNZ on a report that a professional company has prepared a report on some Brethren.
  Are we mugs or what ?
  
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  April 20, 2021 8:58am
RockyJ

Question of the day is “when is National going to grow some balls and confront the government over its plan to wreck democracy in NZ through completing implementation of the He Paupau plan for Maori sovereignty?”
David Seymour has started the battle but he needs Judith Collins to step up and get this disaster into the main stream media
I realise Judith may be feeling ashamed that it was John Key who opened this Pandora’s box. But she can rightly say even the creeps at the UN say it is not binding. Chance to show some real leadership Judith.
Otherwise it will be a disaster and we who stood silent will have blood on our hands.
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April 20, 2021 8:17am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  https://www.bassettbrashandhide.com/post/cartoon-of-the-day-3
  
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  April 20, 2021 8:42am
- kowtow
  
  No doubt their focus groups are telling them otherwise ……
  
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  April 20, 2021 8:46am
- mikenmildagain
  
  Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
  It will be hard for the national party to ‘confront the government over its plan to wreck democracy’, as there is no such plan.
  
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  April 20, 2021 8:47am
  - RockyJ
    
    Google “He Puapua”, Mikey. It is a very specific plan for co-governance for all New Zealand by 2040 (in addition to accelerated wealth transfers including private property) It is on the Te Puni Kokiri website. Some of the milestones like Maori wards in local authorities and a new history curriculum are already being implemented.
    Do you have children Mikey? If you do you should be very concerned. Paradoxically I think it will be Maori who would be the biggest losers if this continues.
    
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    April 20, 2021 9:04am
    - Apropos of the Wet Snow
      
      Forget it Rocky. mike won’t know that he’s about to be run over by the bus of history until it has already arrived at the terminus. Thankfully, I and others are here to help him understand the world he inhabits.
      
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      April 20, 2021 10:21am
      - oldfella
        
        Mike, to quote Churchill: “Each one hopes that if he feeds the crocodile enough, the crocodile will eat him last. All of them hope that the storm will pass before their turn comes to be devoured. But I fear greatly that the storm will not pass. It will rage and it will roar ever more loudly, ever more widely.”
        
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        April 20, 2021 11:11am
      - SB2
        
        Out of context Churchill quote fantasist nonsense.
        
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        April 20, 2021 1:33pm
    - Mike
      
      I have read it, and it isn’t what you think.
      
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      April 20, 2021 11:45am
      - RockyJ
        
        I have read it and it is
        
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        April 20, 2021 12:28pm
      - Libertarians are right
        
        Most of us have read it and not only is it exactly what we think, it’s explicitly what we think.
        
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        April 20, 2021 3:47pm
      - Fuzzysnuggleduck
        
        Really? You read it?
        The diagrams of their plan for an EQUALLY sized Maori governance structure, only SLIGHTY overlapping the Crown sphere – and the words explaining their intentions for a separate Maori governance with scale and resourcing equal to the Crown, should raise alarm bells.
        
        How on earth is this meant to be traced to a Treaty promise for ‘the rights and privileges of British citizens’ into an obligation to fund a almost completely separate state within the state?
        
        Utter madness in terms of waste, duplication, and potential for poorer outcomes in any case.
        Hard to believe you can read their clearly declared aims and then scoff at people who are concerned.
        A little peek into the ultimate aims of Maori sovereignty-ethno-nationalists.
        
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        April 20, 2021 4:51pm
  - Libertarians are right
    
    Of course there is. This government hates democracy, the list of things they’ve done/tried to do since they got in to undermine democracy is truly disgusting.
    
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    April 20, 2021 9:12am
- KevO'Brien
  
  Indigenous “rights” were surrendered when Maori ceded sovereignty to the English Crown to prevent them wiping themselves out from utu. Some idiots want that back. Is Waikato going back to war with Nga Puhi etc?
  
  If such provisions come to pass all the Maori should be bundled up and put on reservations, preferably offshore and our Waitaingi settlements refunded. A Development charge to date should be recovered too.
  
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  April 20, 2021 9:50am
  - Mike
    
    Would you like me to recommend some NZ history books for you to improve your knowledge of our country?
    
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    April 20, 2021 11:50am
    - KevO'Brien
      
      I was around when history was actually taught in NZ schools, not the current time wasting baloney.
      
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      April 20, 2021 12:06pm
      - mikenmildagain
        
        Really? Please feel free to share your opinion of which book or books it is contained in.
        
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        April 20, 2021 12:56pm
      - SB2
        
        Some highlights pleasse?
        
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        April 20, 2021 1:33pm
      - KevO'Brien
        
        Once there was real teaching not revisionist texts about a formerly non-literate society. Much history is buried with the raiding parties. They were legend in the Wellington Region.
        
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        April 20, 2021 2:35pm
  - virtualmark
    
    No.
    
    The Treaty basically envisaged two parallel systems, where Maori continued to have authority, jurisdiction, law & customs in their own land and the Crown had authority, jurisdiction, law & customs in the land owned by the Crown & Pakeha. One major rationale for Maori in entering the Treaty was that there was no policing or law in the European townships & land (ie Russell being the “hellhole of the Pacific”).
    
    Like most initiatives the philosophy didn’t survive implementation – with responsibility/blame due to both Maori & the Crown. And the facts on the ground today make that original philosophy pretty much irrelevant.
    
    But that was the Colonial Office’s plan, and their instructions to Hobson.
    
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    April 20, 2021 3:09pm
    - oldfella
      
      Don’t think I’ve every read your version of the treaty, VM. 😉
      I always thought Maori ceded all authority to Queen Victoria and the crown. No?
      
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      April 20, 2021 4:19pm
    - Paulus Gnome
      
      Got to be one of the more memorable concise misinterpretations of the ToW imo
      
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      April 20, 2021 4:31pm
    - virtualmark
      
      Like I said, the philosophy didn’t survive implementation.
      
      The problem (as ever) is in the different translations and versions of the Treaty. International law places more weight on the version signed by the party who *didn’t* draft the contract or treaty. So it places more weight on the Maori translation than the English one.
      
      Article 1 gives “Sovereignty” or “government” to the Crown. There was no Maori equivalent of sovereignty – which is a source of much of the subsequent disagreement over the Treaty.
      
      Article 2 … and here is where the translations are critical … in the Maori translation gives “the unqualified exercise of their chieftainship over their lands, villages and all their treasures”.
      
      The chiefs who signed the Treaty thought that they were granting the Crown control & government over the European aspects of New Zealand, and that they were retaining the chieftainship (tino rangatiratanga) over their own people & the lands that they occupied.
      
      It didn’t work out that way. And I’m not making any judgements of whether it could ever have worked out that way. And the facts on the ground today make it moot.
      
      But that was the understanding and mindset of the Maori chiefs who signed the Treaty.
      
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      April 20, 2021 5:23pm
I remember when

Irina Fedatova, a 36 year-old Russian model, has reached the pinnacle being banned from every bar and nightclub in the UK for two years.
She violently lashed out at police officers breaking up a drunken fight between her and friend Viktoria Goncharova.
The two women were bloodied from the brawl.
In 2018, she was arrested for making a fake national newspaper article falsely branding her ex-boyfriend a pervert.
In 2016 she was fined for assaulting one police officer and biting another.
Would she be referred to Te Pae Oranga if it happened in New Zealand.
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April 20, 2021 8:22am
- Tall Man
  
  Wrong colour so she’d be prison bound ……..
  
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  April 20, 2021 8:46am
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  That’s some kind of accomplishment.
  
  Not sure I’d have it on my CV though.
  
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  April 20, 2021 9:26am
Maggy Wassilieff

Very good interview with Dr Shane Reti this morning.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/first-up/audio/2018792240/reti-disgraceful-hospitals-discharging-patients-after-midnight

But why does RNZ interview the Deputy Leader of the National Party at 5:45am on Tuesday Mornings?

Key questions he wants answered:
Why aren’t GPs being used for the Covid vaccination roll-out?

Why aren’t vaccination numbers being released daily?

Why is each DHB being left to bring in its own Covid vaccination roll-out?

Why are our DHBs continuing to discharge elderly patients at ungodly hours?
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April 20, 2021 8:28am
Maggie Pie

One of the girls from tennis moved up to Remuera after selling their Southland farm 3 years ago.
She raises an interesting question…..

‘I thought selling our sheep and cattle stations to the Chinese for conversion to Pine Plantations had been outlawed by this government?’

https://nz.hougarden.com/wyndham-surrounds-southland-southland-1613143
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April 20, 2021 8:36am
- SB2
  
  MP , aside from spreading your chinaphobia did she make a decent capital gain?
  
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  April 20, 2021 1:36pm
Mark

Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
What haS HAGAR done to upset you now Diddums?
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April 20, 2021 8:40am
kowtow

I’ve seen quite a few articles crediting Creepy Sleepy Joe for the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan , no mention of the fact that this is a Trumpian policy !

Likewise he gets credit for vaccine rollout when it was Trump’s Warp Speed .

The Lying Press .
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April 20, 2021 8:41am
- mikenmildagain
  
  If your are suggesting it has been claimed that Trump was going to leave troops there, while Biden has opted for withdrawal as a contrast, then you should cite a source, as I have not seen that angle.
  The only difference in policy was that the previous administration was making withdrawal contingent upon an agreement with the Taliban. As no such deal can be struck, now, the best thing is to withdraw regardless.
  
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  April 20, 2021 8:56am
  - KevO'Brien
    
    Biden is going to leave thousands of contractors (mercenaries) behind unless you have much better info than has been announced to date.
    
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    April 20, 2021 9:53am
- RoboRob
  
  Yes, Lying Press. Yes Trump was a key driver of the vaccine rollout. Yes withdrawal from Afghanistan was a Trump policy BUT he blinked (under pressure from the ‘establishment’) and didn’t follow through. Instead, he extended again (as so many previous presidents had done.
  
  I give Joe credit for wanting to withdraw but would be surprised if he follows through too. Already leaks and stories about Afghanistan are starting to creep out. Wait for an attack on the US forces that will ‘force’ an extension until things have cooled down. This has been the pattern for many years. An number of powerful government agencies and also external players, have a vested interest in the US staying in Afghanistan.
  
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  April 20, 2021 9:02am
  - Nickc2
    
    Let’s face it, the Taliban don’t want US forces to leave either. They won’t have anyone to shoot at FFS.
    Seriously, there’s a shit load of money to be made by the Afghans out of the US Military selling stuff that’s past its use-by date and the US doesn’t want to take it home for disposal. The Taliban will on-sell it to tin-pot dictatorships like NZ.
    
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    April 20, 2021 1:17pm
    - RoboRob
      
      Yup. As I understand if the Afghans are definately one of the parties very keen to keep the US involved. As you say, plenty of money to be made.
      
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      April 20, 2021 4:26pm
- SB2
  
  Trump may have been a key player in the vaccine rollout but it was all in vain givin his constant and appalling attacks on Anthony Fauci during the election campaign.
  
  Not forgetting his covid denialism and total mismanagement of the Covid pandemic.
  
  Fact!
  
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  April 20, 2021 1:40pm
- virtualmark
  
  Nope. Most of the reduction in troop numbers happened under Obama.
  
  When he started as President in 2008 there were about 50,000 American military personnel in Afghanistan. While he was President they did the 2010-2011 surge where personnel topped 110,000 for a while. Then he drew down forces until there were 8,400 left in 4 garrisons when he finished as President.
  
  Trump reduced it to 2,500 military personnel, but with a significant rise in contractors (mercenaries). Most of that 2,500 remaining personnel are special forces and CIA paramilitaries.
  
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  April 20, 2021 3:15pm
  - mikenmildagain
    
    US troop numbers in the wider Middle East actually increased under the Trump administration.
    
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    April 20, 2021 7:20pm
Swifty

Chaotic scenes at Auckland airport!

The citizenry expresses their feelings at the time taken to organise the trans-Tasman travel bubble:

https://www.liveleak.com/view?t=sjT2Y_1618753383
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April 20, 2021 8:45am
mikenmildagain

Transmission Gully – a flawed idea, badly planned and executed. Somehow, I expect it to continue to be trouble for a long, long time.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300281133/review-finds-transmission-gully-doomed-from-the-start-with-unrealistic-expectations-of-cost
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April 20, 2021 8:45am
- kevn
  
  @mma… Yes, much better to just Welly with one road in and one road out. Earthquakes etc? pfft. Whatever.
  Is that what you are implying?
  
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  April 20, 2021 9:18am
  - Mike
    
    If it was about disaster resilience, then $1 billion could have paid for some very good capabilities.
    
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    April 20, 2021 11:55am
- Inandout
  
  m&m, the Kapiti Expressway was finished on time and under budget. so how the hell did you expect Labour to take over any successful project like this and finish it on time? I can’t think of anything Labour has finished on time or under budget.
  
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  April 20, 2021 9:25am
  - rockape
    
    Waterview tunnel got nowhere from 2000 to 2008. Under Labour it never left the consultation phase. When Joyce took over the planning was completed in about 18 months and the project opened on time and budget In 2017.
    How is Kiwibuild doing or any other Labour project?
    
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    April 20, 2021 11:29am
- mandk
  
  Except that the article you refer to doesn’t say what you state.
  
  The idea wasn’t flawed, just the business model.
  
  It will be shown that TG was a wonderful idea fro a variety of reasons.
  
  And as for the cost, $1.25 billion is a snip compared to the likely $2.5+ billion cost of one line in the mooted Wellington LRT system.
  
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  April 20, 2021 9:34am
  - Bob
    
    the cost, $1.25 billion is a snip compared…..
    at least the TG project answers a decades long need for a reliable fast roadway into/out of Wellington; unlike the billions being spent boring an unnecessary tunnel under Albert st. Auck., a tunnel that will make no difference whatsoever to the mismanaged traffic chaos in Auck. Only the installation of a competent council will fix Auck’s. traffic problem
    
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    April 20, 2021 2:02pm
    - Nickc2
      
      ………and sacking all those AT wankers and starting again.
      
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      April 20, 2021 2:26pm
- KevO'Brien
  
  What are they going to do now? Close it in again?
  Wellington is severely short on highway access and will not rest until Transmission Gully provides a second route avoiding the sole trip around the narrow coastal highway.
  
  Live in Wellington and consider the risks.
  
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  April 20, 2021 9:59am
- TWEEDSE
  
  M&M, “a flawed idea, badly planned and executed”. I thought you were about to mention Auckland light rail or the Tron to South Auckland “express” rail service.
  
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  April 20, 2021 10:11am
- virtualmark
  
  Mike,
  
  For sure it’s a poorly envisaged, negotiated and managed contract.
  
  But it will make a big difference to transport times and disaster resilience and we’ll be using it for the next 100 years. So in terms of eventual outcomes it will be good.
  
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  April 20, 2021 3:17pm
Maggy Wassilieff

Our Foreign Minister outlines our plans for China
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018792264/foreign-minister-outlines-plan-for-china

Personally, I’d rather know China’s plan for Xinxilan
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April 20, 2021 8:48am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  and as reported by the Australian Associated Press
  
  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/19/new-zealand-uncomfortable-with-expanding-five-eyes-remit-says-foreign-minister
  
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  April 20, 2021 9:13am
  - oldfella
    
    Maggy, I’m sure Mahuta gave those Chinese yesterday a strong telling-off about their barbaric treatment of the Uighurs. Probably in the 5 minutes of Te Reo she used to start her speech so they would really get the message. /s
    “Mihrigul Tursun was one of more than 40 women in a 40-square metre underground cell.
    In Xinjiang, north-west China, they were chained at the wrists and ankles. It was their prison and their toilet. It had just one small hole in the ceiling for ventilation.
    The women, Tursun said, were stripped naked, forced to undergo a medical examination, electroshocked and beaten while interrogated. She said she witnessed nine deaths in three months of detention”
    https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/asia/300281437/break-their-roots-new-report-details-chinese-authorities-alleged-torture-rape-of-uighur-women
    
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    April 20, 2021 11:45am
  - Bluegrass
    
    Surprising that this is not a separate discussion topic on this blog.
    
    The political implications and possible consequences of this are potentially problematic for NZ .
    
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    April 20, 2021 5:44pm
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      Sometimes DPF takes a few days to post up a topical issue.
      
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      April 20, 2021 6:08pm
- 70andstilllearning
  
  Based on mythical creatures?
  https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300280386/the-taniwha-and-the-dragon-foreign-minister-nanaia-mahuta-talks-china-in-major-speech
  
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  April 20, 2021 9:20am
  - Tall Man
    
    The taniwha can’t be mythical, it means “money” in NZ …..
    
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    April 20, 2021 10:14am
  - oldfella
    
    70: according to that article:
    As well as spelling out what the Treaty of Waitangi means for foreign affairs, a new metaphor adopted by Mahuta on Monday morning dug into creatures of Chinese and Maori mythology.
    WTF does the Treaty have to do with foreign affairs? Anyone on here know?
    Then she got really … weird.
    “When I think about this relationship … I liken it to the respect a Taniwha would have for a Dragon and vice versa,” she said
    “Taniwha are protectors or guardians, often of water, and hold dominion over rivers, seas, lands and territories. Deeply steeped in culture, they are spiritual and one with nature. They symbolise a sense of guardianship for our people and our land and a strong belief in self.
    “And like the Dragon, they are powerful, auspicious, and embedded in our epistemology. They have many forms, and are a symbol of leadership, prestige and strength, and are to be revered.
    What about the majority of Kiwis for whom the taniwha has no meaning? Shouldn’t our Foreign Affairs Minister be speaking for all of us?
    
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    April 20, 2021 11:24am
    - 70andstilllearning
      
      Best of luck on answers oldfella. mnm seems to have knocked off just after 9:00 ish, Sb2 seems to be mia, but there’s always BM maybe 🙂
      
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      April 20, 2021 12:19pm
    - 70andstilllearning
      
      But to add a point the only times I’ve heard the taniwha referenced in the several maori communities I’ve lived in was to scare the shit out of the moko….
      
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      April 20, 2021 1:08pm
- Inandout
  
  [past the limits of what KB allows for offensive comments – Mod]
  
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  April 20, 2021 9:31am
- Paulus
  
  Heard on RNZ this morning and did not understand a word of it, let alone the mumbling interpretation of our language.
  Sad really as it is important.
  
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  April 20, 2021 10:45am
- SB2
  
  Xinxilan??
  
  Planned Invasion and occupation to feed paranoid minds?
  
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  April 20, 2021 1:43pm
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    Xinxilan??
    
    Yep, but if you prefer Hanzi
    新西蘭
    
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    April 20, 2021 2:09pm
RockyJ

Productivity Connisioner shows why he is the cause of our low productivity. In Newshub this morning he lectures NZ businesses to apply the Maori concepts of “kaitiakitanga, manaakitanga, and whanaungatanga” to improve business productivity.
No explanation of what these mean.
It’s like the education expert I heard on the radio explaining why our school science education performance was dropping. She said “there’s more to learn now, like Maori science”.
This kind of bullshit demonstrates that the very people who are paid by the taxpayer to help us overcome our problems are demonstrating the kind of thinking that is the cause of the problems.
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April 20, 2021 8:49am
- Maggie Pie
  
  During the D of E’s funeral coverage, a wag tweeted …….they built Windsor Castle 300 years before Maori arrived in New Zealand!
  
  LOL!!
  
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  April 20, 2021 8:59am
  - RockyJ
    
    I think High School students have finely attuned bullshit detectors. When they hear a teacher explaining why traditional Maori knowledge qualifies as science their bullshit detectors are activated and they turn off the entire subject
    
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    April 20, 2021 9:11am
  - sooty
    
    Wouldn’t have built it without the wheel!
    
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    April 20, 2021 9:14am
  - kevn
    
    @Maggie… and they would have used ‘wheels’ as well.
    
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    April 20, 2021 9:19am
  - fightingtemeraire
    
    THe stone was bought over from near Caen in Normandy
    
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    April 20, 2021 10:00am
  - Nickc2
    
    Well done that Wag!
    
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    April 20, 2021 12:59pm
- mikenmildagain
  
  The productivity commission is a waste of money. Always has been, always will be. It;s best contribution to improving productivity would be recommending its own dissolution. This is nothing to do with the abilities of those involved – it is simply pointless to establish such commissions when no government would seriously consider their advice.
  Another ACT brain fart.
  
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  April 20, 2021 9:00am
  - RW Capitalist
    
    I’m sure ACT didn’t envisage this Labour/Greens ridiculousness, when they set it up.
    
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    April 20, 2021 10:10am
    - Mike
      
      Perhaps next time they have any influence they won’t be so keen on creating extra bureaucracies.
      
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      April 20, 2021 11:58am
      - RockyJ
        
        Do you have any idea how ridiculous your statement is?
        
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        April 20, 2021 12:29pm
  - UrbanNeocolonialist
    
    NZ’s productivity is woefully lagging the worlds, but If you are familiar with all the non-work that must now be attended to due to regulatory expansion and nutty genuflections to leftist hobby horses then it is abundantly clear why. NZ needs to focus on improving productivity, examining all regulations for their economic cost-benefits, and above all we need to keep all left wingers the hell out of any position of influence in that process – because everything they touch turns to shite.
    
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    April 20, 2021 12:04pm
    - mikenmildagain
      
      Poor productivity is NZ is not caused by over-regulation. NZ has one of the most open economies in the world. The answers lies in immigration policy, skills education and lack of investment in technology.
      
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      April 20, 2021 1:52pm
      - UrbanNeocolonialist
        
        Spaketh the public servant who knoweth not whereof he speaketh. There are vast (and ever growing) numbers of hours spent by workers in all walks of life appeasing various regulatory wallahs, from the creeping tide of HR regulations to guard against civil proceedings to armies of Safety Elves doing their McJobs, Various snowflake protection squads and endless environmental protection bookwork – which have all contributed so badly to the rapidly escalating cost of building houses amongst other things. If you are in public service then there is also now the huge added inefficiency of pushing Maori culture into everything aspect of your existence – standing around for Waiata, pointlessly translating things into a language only a few % of pop understand, wasting taxpayer money on cultural sensitivity training etc. All of this stuff is costing 10’s of billions a year, making us poorer and leading to worse outcomes in a raft of industries and activities – and ultimately that leads to more misery, shuttered businesses (and industries) and people in poverty.
        
        Most industries were far more efficient 20-30 years back, getting stuff done for far less in real terms than it costs now. The dividend paid by improving tech has all been pissed away on regulatory imposts.
        
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        April 20, 2021 3:16pm
      - virtualmark
        
        Mike,
        
        Our office-based jobs are basically as productive as other office-based jobs elsewhere. But our primary production jobs and our construction jobs are not.
        
        Construction & infrastructure work here tends to be very labour intensive and slow … cottage industry stuff. For example we build bespoke custom houses, but they’re hideously expensive.
        
        Primary production shows our equivalent of the resource curse (aka the paradox of plenty). Lots of fertile soil, a benign climate, and a small domestic population mean that farming here hasn’t had a lot of pressure for productivity. Oh I know NZ farmers will protest about how wonderful they are, but that’s simply not true. The Netherlands is the powerhouse of farming productivity – for example check out https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/netherlands-agriculture-food-technology-innovation
        
        If our farmers, with our land area and climate, were as smart and as productive as Dutch farmers then we would be able to feed … well I want to say half the world but maybe it’s not that many. But it would be several times the level that we produce today.
        
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        April 20, 2021 3:24pm
- graham
  
  “Maori science” – give me a break.
  
  A couple of weeks ago, there was the story about the University of Hull telling lecturers not to worry about “elitist” concepts such as good grammar, spelling, and the like – these were seen as tools of the colonialists and white privilege and other such twaddle. At the time Mike Hosking interviewed the head of the NZ Universities Association, who said that here in NZ the Universities work with the employers – you know, the people who will be hiring (or not) the university graduates – to find out what they want, and surprise, surprise, turned out NZ employers rate good English skills quite highly.
  
  That’s what it comes down to, ultimately. Your tutor at University can tell you that good spelling doesn’t matter, and the ability to write a report doesn’t matter, but at the end of the day what does matter is when you walk out of there and start looking for an actual paying job. And sure, there may well be some jobs where they are looking for a new graduate who can relate the current lunar phase to a particular tree that is in flower, put it into a waiata and connect the entire observation to a specific deity. But I strongly suspect that most employers who are looking for a new grad to fill a science role will want somebody who, y’know, can actually do SCIENCE.
  
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  April 20, 2021 9:22am
  - Paulus
    
    But Uni students all have spell checks on their toys but they probably do not know how to use hem !
    
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    April 20, 2021 10:48am
- tf78
  
  RockyJ – we have a swear jar in our house – every Maori word uttered gets a $1 fine!
  
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  April 20, 2021 9:46am
  - RockyJ
    
    Personally I tolerate the use of te reo in everyday language although I don’t engage in it. Half my family are Maori and they are good people. But this crap is going to split our country and divide families. I can’t stand the weaponisation of Maori culture.
    
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    April 20, 2021 10:15am
    - RoboRob
      
      The progressive left use terminology and procedures as a way of identification and exclusivity. By saying ‘happy holidays’ instead of ‘merry christmas’ one identifies to others they are part of a specific ‘club’. We see this all through society, where the words and labels used to identify things or people change on a frequent basis. Look at LBGTQ (and whatever the rest of the letters are) or whatever it is a white person is allowed to say when attempting to describe and american with African decent (I for one have no idea what the current acceptable term is).
      
      In NZ, many (non Maori) people identify themselves as part of the ‘in club’ by proving they know a smattering of Maori words. This is sad but may actually be good for the language.
      
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      April 20, 2021 12:07pm
      - 70andstilllearning
        
        A relatively small number of maori words understood by both cultures have been used interchangeably for the the last six and a half decades that I can recall. Moko for grandchild, tutai as in in piece of ….,etc. The problem is that since maori language week last year the media has ( at someones direction) tried to use more maori words more frequently thus creating a bastardised language that only those fluent in both maori and english understand. This is a very small number of the population and is ultimately doomed to fail and will likely do more to damage the maori language’s retention than good.
        
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        April 20, 2021 1:53pm
    - UrbanNeocolonialist
      
      It’s a power grab – if you are incapable of lifting yourself by your own efforts due to laziness, poor choices or lack of focus then obviously your focus will go onto stealing what you covet off of others. Academia and public service are populated by people who feel they deserve far more than what their chosen careers are yielding, so they are endlessly looking for opportunities to leverage politics to elevate themselves ahead of actual productive people. Identity politics is the greatest tool for that end that they have been able to find in several generations – abetted by that other mob of perennial leftie losers in the media.
      
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      April 20, 2021 12:11pm
- kowtow
  
  Maori word salad .
  
  That’ll get Shane’s cousins off the couch.
  
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  April 20, 2021 10:31am
- cmm
  
  This is the kind of bullshit that keeps Brongos’ noses in the trough.
  
  Apparently “Maori business” is subject to different forces than “Pakeha business”. Bollocks: the same fundamental forces apply to all business.:
  
  1) Need to be profitable: No profit = unsustainable = go out of business.
  2) Need customers: No customers = no business.
  3) Need to give value to your customers: No value = no customers = go out of business.
  4) Cash flow/reserves/access: No cash = no room to move = go out of business.
  
  That’s really about it whatever business you are in.
  
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  April 20, 2021 12:04pm
  - RockyJ
    
    In my observation a lot of Maori businesses are propped up by iwi grants. They also operate as ‘rentier’ businesses, meaning they sit on assets and gather the income off those assets
    
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    April 20, 2021 12:35pm
    - cmm
      
      Yup, in some way they are “adding value to their customers”.
      
      When Brongos get a hand out to provide Maori services their “customer” is really the government handing out the money and needs to get rid of the money to fulfill their objectives. The actual people that they are supposedly serving and providing services to are not really their customer.
      
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      April 20, 2021 2:50pm
peterwn

So Minneapolis has decided to establish a separate unarmed traffic safety service enforcement agency (ie traffic officers), presumably in the wake of the Chauvin situation. Yet NZ merged its traffic officers with the Police in the 1990’s. I think the merger was a partial mistake. Merger of services such a communications (radios were crap then – no encyphering), fleet management, back office administration, control centres, etc was worthwhile but the traffic enforcement should have retained its own front line staff and branding.
In practice policing and traffic enforcement have their separate budget, officers, cars, etc, but the work that traffic enforcement has to do impinges negatively on non-traffic police officers as well.
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April 20, 2021 8:51am
- RoboRob
  
  Absolutely. The hatred of ticketing (traffic enforcement) negatively impacted on the otherwise positive perception of the police.
  
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  April 20, 2021 9:06am
- cmm
  
  I’m not so sure a split is a good idea.
  
  Apart from speed trapping there are numerous times that police (of some sort) need to interact with potentially aggressive and dangerous drivers.
  
  For example, how do you handle a belligerent drunk driver? This clearly needs someone that is trained in arrest procedures etc.
  
  Keep road patrolling etc for the cops, but take away the speed trapping.
  
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  April 20, 2021 12:10pm
  - Mike
    
    I’m sure there are quite a few motorists who think their driving is perfect and reaent being confined to speed limits or fined for exceeding them.
    
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    April 20, 2021 2:36pm
  - peterwn
    
    MOT brought in a psychologist to advise traffic officers how to handle this. He told them not to take it personally but to think $1500. That was what the fine and Des Deacon (drink drive lawyer now deceased) would cost let alone disqualification. Prosecutor would tip off the court reporter and call the traffic officer to describe the accused’s belligerent so the accused got a drubbing in the newspaper as well so he or she looked a total idiot.
    
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    April 20, 2021 5:33pm
bythesea

You may have noticed the sparring between Act and the PM over the free speech/hate speech laws.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/04/prime-minister-jacinda-ardern-disheartened-by-act-s-anti-hate-speech-law-campaign.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

In the article is the complete letter response to govt by Act about the hate speech laws. Its just excellent. Well worth a read
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April 20, 2021 8:56am
- TWEEDSE
  
  That is an excellent well thought out letter from David Seymour and ACT. If only Ardern and co spent as much time on thinking through the repurcussions of their decisions rather than on the hoof, back of the envelope policy making.
  
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  April 20, 2021 10:26am
  - oldfella
    
    Tweedse: talking of free speech… ‘dead naming’ is now officially dead. /s
    “A judge has ordered two opponents of the Westland District Council to take down offensive material they posted online.
    Their victim described the ruling as an important decision about the harm caused by dead-naming people, which refers to using the birth or other former name of a transgender or non-binary person without their consent.”
    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/124866629/pair-ordered-to-remove-offensive-material-after-deadnaming-hokitika-businesswoman
    
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    April 20, 2021 11:34am
- septic skeptic
  
  My choice to vote ACT continues to be vindicated. Second choice would have been either National, or maybe an abstention.
  
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  April 20, 2021 11:06am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  And once again our PM shows she is completely out of the loop and has no idea what is going on with her Ministers.
  
  He said Ardern was wrong to suggest ACT is not willing to engage on hate speech laws, because ACT has written to Justice Minister Kris Faafoi agreeing for the caucus to meet with him on the subject.
  
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  April 20, 2021 11:19am
Ehlana

Today’s silliness: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/triggering-and-harmful-demi-lovato-goes-to-war-against-frozen-yoghurt/S3Y7P5WQF2M4XYLZ6XG7TFS3OM/

Apparently, a pop star with a history of eating disorders had to walk past “tons of sugar free cookies/other diet foods” to get to the counter, which she says “not only enables but praises disordered eating”.

The store apparently thinks it is okay to offer options to diabetics and other customers with specific needs or wants and to do so openly.

Suggestion: people with eating disorders are only one of many groups of people with eating issues in our world. Businesses should try to accommodate as many as possible, for commercial gain and social inclusion. Perhaps pop star could accept that some things aren’t for or about her – they are for others.
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April 20, 2021 8:57am
- Biscuit
  
  Exactly, Ehlana.
  
  I make a list when I go (‘get sent’ is probably more apt) shopping.
  
  If ‘Biscuits’ ain’t on the list, I don’t go down the Supermarket aisle labelled ‘Biscuits’…
  
  The fact that I don’t want to (that day) buy Biscuits shouldn’t preclude folk who do from indulging in their fetish, heh.
  
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  April 20, 2021 1:28pm
Tomtoddy

Stuff has woken up to the fact you cannot force people to use public transport even when its free.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/local-government/124830549/whats-the-point-of-buses-if-noone-uses-them

Well, well well, who would have ever guessed it. Like bike lanes, trains to Hamilton, climate change and more – the elites making us pay for their nonsense.
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April 20, 2021 9:07am
- Maxx
  
  The Greens will next be saying we need to pay people to use buses.
  
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  April 20, 2021 10:04am
  - UrbanNeocolonialist
    
    No, the response of public transport and bike zealots to public’s clear dislike of them is always to dream up schemes to make it more difficult, expensive or even impossible to use better and more flexible alternatives like cars. Like leftists everywhere their idea of how to improve the world involves knobbling all opposition, reducing choice and cutting standards of living of all those they hold power over ‘for their own good’.
    
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    April 20, 2021 10:48am
- Ruawai
  
  Buses in Pukekohe also empty for at least 5 years. What a waste of money and pollution, surely they have people who check usage and an unused service gets deleted after a period of time, say 3 months.
  
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  April 20, 2021 10:57am
- Paulus
  
  Waiting at Tauranga Station for my train to Auckland as promised, now that it has got as far as Hamilton next stop Tauranga.
  The promised eternal railway triangle.
  
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  April 20, 2021 2:06pm
  - virtualmark
    
    I’d have a long think about safety standards in the Kaimai Tunnel before I boarded a passenger train from Tauranga to Auckland.
    
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    April 20, 2021 3:31pm
    - virtualmark
      
      The downtickers might want to think about this …
      
      The Kaimai tunnel is 9km long. It is only just large enough for the train to pass through without hitting the sides. It has no refuges, no fire deluges, no forced ventilation. The locomotive drivers going through there have breathing apparatus. If the train breaks down they have to walk out. If there is a fire, well, they still have to walk out but let’s not kid ourselves that that would be easy.
      
      So if you want a Tauranga to Auckland passenger train then you should expect the safety briefing to really blow your hair back.
      
      Oh, and the dirty little secret is that the Rimutaka Tunnel is 8.9km long and has all the same problems. And we send passenger trains through there several times a day …
      
      And the Otira Tunnel is 8.5km long, has all the same problems, and a passenger train takes a return trip through it every day …
      
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      April 20, 2021 5:58pm
Maggie Pie

IS JUSTICE BLIND?

KDC questions the impartiality of our politically appointed judges….

https://twitter.com/KimDotcom/status/1384211509585145858
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April 20, 2021 9:16am
- SB2
  
  I’m confident it is and wouldn’t trust the word nor the opinion of Kim .com.
  
  But you evidently do ?
  
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  April 20, 2021 1:53pm
  - Maggie Pie
    
    You ever get invited to any of the parties at the Mansion?
    
    Thort not. LOL!!
    
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    April 20, 2021 2:49pm
    - SB2
      
      Pill popping all go ?
      
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      April 20, 2021 3:09pm
Swifty

Interview with Sir Keith Park (1961)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXDf6Cw4l0o

Quite good.

Also, Sir Hugh Dowding (1968):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxg83RQvRX4
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April 20, 2021 9:17am
Maggy Wassilieff

The darling of identity politics discourse was an abuser of young brown boys

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/4/16/reckoning-with-foucaults-sexual-abuse-of-boys-in-tunisia
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April 20, 2021 9:18am
- Maggie Pie
  
  It’s like my partner has always said…”You can tell by just looking at them”
  
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  April 20, 2021 9:23am
  - Odakyu-sen
    
    I thought that photo was of a bald Jimmy Saville, before I realized it was Foucalt.
    
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    April 20, 2021 9:58am
- UrbanNeocolonialist
  
  quelle surprise
  
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  April 20, 2021 9:30am
- Tall Man
  
  Could you ever imagine our compliant media seeking out and questioning the ardernists on their behaviour?
  
  Those carpets must be getting pretting high by now …
  
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  April 20, 2021 9:57am
- Swifty
  
  Sickening.
  
  And to think he was, as late as 1977, a signatory to petitions calling for the French government to decriminalise sexual acts between adults and ‘consenting’ children.
  
  So if you can talk them, or bribe them, into it that makes it ok?
  
  The man was morally corrupt and thought that fucking prepubescent children was a perfectly fine thing to do.
  
  I sometimes wonder whether these people have ever canvassed the views of the children’s parents to see if they too thought it ‘perfectly fine’ – and if not, why not?
  
  May they hand their heads in shame they who would even think about hurting a child.
  
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  April 20, 2021 9:59am
  - Gravelroad
    
    In the article it says this top guy paid cash to use the children for his sexual gratification.
    Soooo- it is not beyond the possibility that, sadly, the parents knew about it – but hey- money!
    Easy money to pay for other adult stuff- drugs, alcohol, gambling and so on.
    Deadbeat parents.
    
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    April 20, 2021 10:38am
    - UrbanNeocolonialist
      
      If the choice is between prostitution and survival and no prostitution and abject poverty or even death then it is pretty clear which way most will go. Aside from risk of disease concerns over being shagged for money are entirely a social construct – our society is very weird about it compared to the norms of human history.
      
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      April 20, 2021 10:52am
      - Gravelroad
        
        So why don’t the parents sell themselves for sex then, instead of selling their toddlers?
        
        2 1
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        April 20, 2021 1:54pm
      - UrbanNeocolonialist
        
        Lack of demand. Child prostitution was the norm though much of the history of civilisation (had some benefit in being less likely to lead to pregnancy), adult men fucking children was pervasive in most cultures (Greeks and their boys, Romans and their slaves who died at average age of 17, Sambia People and their culture of Fellatio by pre-pubescents) and is still normal in Islamic world (Bacha Bazi ‘boy ~~play~~ rape’, child brides, Aisha getting deflowered at 9 by Mohammed setting the ‘standard’). I suspect that for most of human existence and given patriarchal nature of almost all society and strong attraction to youth by adults that lower class women and girls not being raped was probably the exception rather than the rule. They had no choice but to live with it, and probably suffered little long term anguish about it because it was so common.
        
        Just look at how kids are currently being used as tools by immigrants at Americas southern Border. Most of them will be getting sexually abused.
        
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        April 20, 2021 3:30pm
- Apropos of the Wet Snow
  
  [deleted for breaching the limits of offensive comment – Mod]
  
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  April 20, 2021 10:27am
- SB2
  
  MW , lets bring these GOP child sex abusers into the picture to help gain a sense of perspective, eh?
  
  Republican Sexual Predators, Abusers, and Enablers Pt. 16
  
  https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/7/11/1870982/-Republican-Sexual-Predators-Abusers-and-Enablers
  
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  April 20, 2021 1:56pm
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    Go for it.
    I have no time for folks who abuse others.
    
    8 0
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    April 20, 2021 2:14pm
    - Swifty
      
      Notice his first reaction is not to condemn – but rather purely to score political points.
      
      7 1
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      April 20, 2021 2:28pm
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        Yep,
        and as usual, he can’t address the topic of my post.
        
        5 1
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        April 20, 2021 3:46pm
    - SB2
      
      And not just the”darlings of identity politics”like Faccoult as you appear to hve implied.
      
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      April 20, 2021 3:01pm
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        like Faccoult as you appear to hve implied.
        
        Wrong again.
        
        I have posted many times on this blog about abusers who have been protected by authorities.
        
        You have consistently misunderstood these posts and tried to accuse me of being a racist or anti muslim.
        
        Just so you get the message once and for all:
        
        I abhor abuse of any type, but especially abuse of those who have no voice and no power.
        
        And I hold in contempt folks who endeavour to excuse or play down the abuse.
        
        You may not be aware of the fact that Michel Foucault is one of the most cited individuals in Academic research.
        https://blog.uvm.edu/aivakhiv/2014/05/18/top-humanists-of-the-last-century/
        
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        April 20, 2021 3:44pm
Fletch

I see today in the news that Jacinda is already pushing back against ACT’s David Seymour who is raising the alarm about the proposed hate speech laws.

“I am really disheartened to see the ACT party has started a campaign on something that has not even been concluded by the government” – Jacinda

So, he should wait until they have created a bill and THEN push back? No, he is doing the right thing by raising awareness now.
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April 20, 2021 9:19am
- graham
  
  There was something on the Newstalk ZB 6.00 news this morning about this, where they said that David Seymour’s tour had “landed him in hot water with the PM”.
  
  I thought, wow, that’ll have David Seymour quaking in his boots.
  
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  April 20, 2021 9:46am
  - kowtow
    
    Very little from the Media Pardy over Nash’s very nasty comments re Nicole McKee being a “nutter”
    
    This from a govt who’ve campaigned on mental health , wimmins’ and Maori .
    
    Their silence is most eloquent.
    
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    April 20, 2021 10:36am
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      When men have to revert to calling competent women “nutter”, you know they have lost the debate.
      
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      April 20, 2021 11:27am
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/mike-hosking-breakfast/audio/pollies-stuart-nash-calls-act-mp-nicole-mckee-a-nutter/
      
      So Graham Nash reckons one of NZ’s most accomplished experts in Firearms safety is a “nutter.”
      
      Somehow I’d rather see Nicole McKee walking down the road with a firearm, than some of his Gang mates.
      https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA2007/S00022/minister-wont-take-guns-from-gangs.htm
      
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      April 20, 2021 11:33am
      - Captain Mainwaring
        
        Who’s this ‘Graham’ Nash?
        
        3 0
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        April 20, 2021 12:02pm
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        Woops…
        Stuart Nash
        
        4 1
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        April 20, 2021 12:15pm
      - Maggy Wassilieff
        
        Just for you Captain…
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKSj-aE7zyc
        
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        April 20, 2021 5:27pm
Yvette

“Your COVID-19 vaccination guide” is a 12 page booklet, featured in a photograph on the Newsroom website, heading an article that is paywalled.

Apparently, Information contained in this booklet is in addition to what you will receive from the Ministry of Health. but nowhere in its pages does it state how the vaccination will be given – whether by health department staff is a specialised covid vaccination facility, or by your private doctor or staff at your local health centre.

At three points the booklet mentions the need to refer to your GP, for example in the case of your being on blood thinners or other medication which may react with a vaccination.
It does not explain how you will be contacted regarding an appointment to attend whatever facility will be used, nor does it indicate how or who will establish your priority considering any underlying conditions you may have.

Newshub says By June 30, the Ministry of Health expects 1,161,952 vaccine doses will have been administered. and So far in New Zealand’s vaccine rollout, 135,585 vaccines have been administered, comprising 105,391 first doses and 30,194 second doses. More than 34,000 vaccine doses have been administered over the past week. [1]

But all again without specifically saying whether vaccination is by special staff or GPs plus their health centre staff or a combination of all of them.

If they plan to vaccinate 1,161,952 mushrooms by the end of June, they will shortly have to stop keeping us in the dark, waiting for the next load of horse manure, and actually tell us how it works and where we will need to go, and how we will be contacted with that information.

And for those tending to panic slightly – Palmerston North rest home residents still six weeks from being vaccinated as trans-Tasman bubble opens – Newshub understands rest home residents in Palmerston North will be among the last in the aged care sector to receive the crucial jabs – it’s understood residents have to wait until May 31 [2]

For these elderly people, many with underlying conditions, the booklet (mentioned above) says –
You will need to receive your second dose of the vaccine about 21 days after receiving the first dose.
For the vaccine to be effective you must receive the second dose.
Protection against COVID-19 will occur approximately seven days after your second vaccine dose

So add another month, making it the end of June before these people are protected.

[1] https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2021/04/covid-19-ministry-of-health-aims-to-administer-1-million-vaccine-doses-by-end-of-june.html
[2] https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2021/04/coronavirus-palmerston-north-rest-home-residents-still-six-weeks-from-being-vaccinated-as-trans-tasman-bubble-opens.html
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April 20, 2021 9:32am
Fletch

I see they got that copter to fly on Mars, and it actually contains fabric from the Wright Brothers plane that made the first flight (although the Wrights technically may not have been the first).
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April 20, 2021 9:32am
- Ed Snack
  
  The Wrights claim to be the first controlled powered flight is pretty secure. Emphasis on controlled as well as powered. They were the first to correctly recognise and apply control principles. Our NZ Pearce had control ideas, but sadly they were incorrect and had he succeeded in getting sufficiently aloft his attempts at control would almost certainly have killed him.
  
  The Wrights controlled their machine using “wing warping” whereby the actual angle of attack and curve of each wing was altered to change lift. They persisted with this scheme well after the far simpler and more effective (though possibly theoretically less puristically aerodynamic) mechanism using ailerons. There was a fair legal Stoush over who “invented” lateral control between the Wright Brothers and Glen Curtiss. Though as was later discovered a Briton, Matthew Boulton had actually patented ailerons as a concept way back in 1868, however with no (then) practical application this priority was forgotten.
  
  Just FWIW
  
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  April 20, 2021 10:04am
- WaynelSexton
  
  First attempt, with zero testing under those conditions too. Not even the Wright brothers managed that and they lived in our atmosphere and gravity.
  NASA still can’t manage to get back to the moon though….
  
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  April 20, 2021 10:38am
  - mikenmildagain
    
    Isn’t the pan to return humans to the Moon by 2030?
    
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    April 20, 2021 1:54pm
    - Batman
      
      *2024
      
      4 1
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      April 20, 2021 2:07pm
    - virtualmark
      
      Return?
      
      What are you saying? Where did you come from?
      
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      April 20, 2021 3:32pm
NeverMindTheBollocks

This morning’s moan on Radio NZ was from an Indian Masters student at Vic complaining that her young daughter (here in NZ) had not seen her husband/ father since Oct 2019, & how unfair the current border restrictions are; how harmful for her daughter etc.

Putting aside the fact of her being described as being here on a skilled resident visa (which, as she is a student, I question), what was ignored in the interview was that she & her daughter have always been able to jump on a plane back to India. Indeed, all courses at Vic have remote learning enabled, so she can continue with her degree from India.

The unspoken assumption is that she’s here for residence, first & foremost, & her daughter’s welfare, not to say that of the rest of us, is secondary.
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April 20, 2021 9:35am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Seems our Government encourages folks to take lousy courses under the belief that they can qualify for residency.
  
  https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/prosper/advice/300281225/an-immigration-scam-encouraged-by-the-new-zealand-government
  
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  April 20, 2021 11:41am
  - mikenmildagain
    
    ‘Export’ education has been a huge boondoggle for thirty years.
    
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    April 20, 2021 1:54pm
    - Maxx
      
      So you’re happy with the hypocrisy bus that Labour is on?
      
      4 3
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      April 20, 2021 2:28pm
      - mikenmildagain
        
        Did I say that. Despite what some denizens of this blog pretend to believe there are plenty of failings shared by our two main political parties. Immigration is definitely one of those bipartisan policy failures.
        
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        April 20, 2021 5:53pm
- Paulus
  
  As one Immigration Person specialising in Indian people said -” whilst it is disappointing with Indian people being delayed coming back we will just have to wait a little longer”.
  Understand that there are, possibly many tens of thousands of people from India waiting to come to New Zealand – not all with valid visas.
  
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  April 20, 2021 2:14pm
Happychappy

Auckland Mum calls on community to stop turning blind eye after girls attacked in mall.
This is what society as a whole have had to endure since Jacinda Ardern grabbed power with the help of Winston Peters in 2017 and implemented her kind, caring and Wellbeing policy.
Really I could just imagine if this was happening to Labour Party MP’s family members the Prime Minister would be screaming from the rooftops of Parliament and blaming others for her inept policy.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2021/04/auckland-mum-calls-on-community-to-stop-turning-blind-eye-to-violence-after-girls-attacked-at-mall.html
Since Labour has been the Government crime has steadily increased under her watch and Prison numbers have drastically reduced , so why hasn’t our Prime Minister addressed this problem as it will only get worse.
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April 20, 2021 9:45am
- Maxx
  
  I’m sure Willy Jackson will employ the boys will be boys defense, Marama Davidson will label anyone who brings it up as racist, Andrew Little will say locking them up isn’t the answer, Kelvin Davis will let them out if they are locked up, Robbo will scream about years of neglect, Chris Hipkins will obfuscate, and Megan Woods will eat a pie.
  
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  April 20, 2021 10:00am
  - RW Capitalist
    
    Willy Jackson, the “Comic Ali” of the Labour party?
    
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    April 20, 2021 10:11am
  - Biscuit
    
    Just the one pie, Maxx?
    
    I seriously doubt THAT, ha…
    
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    April 20, 2021 1:22pm
Maxx

I must admit, I in.some ways feel sorry for Jacinda. She’s announcing (after suitable announcements of the forthcoming announcement) all of these solutions and nothing is changing. It’s not her fault before becoming PM she didn’t actually have to actually achieve something, have some tangible results from something she led. All she was ever tasked to was stand up, make speeches, and show empathy.

She, and many of the other politicians currently working for the taxpayer embody why we should demand people in the job who can point to tangible results, not just be parrot party slogans. Especially those that end up in cabinet positions.
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April 20, 2021 9:54am
- Tall Man
  
  She has the opportunity to say “no” so no sympathy from me.
  
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  April 20, 2021 10:08am
  - Maxx
    
    I guess that’s why I say in some ways.
    
    Plenty of people get thrust into positions that they are not suitable for, often by people who are self serving. It’s the same with plenty of executive leaders who also should step down or sideways, but they don’t because they get caught up in a false reality.
    
    I’m sure both Robbo and Little knew that anyone else leading the party would not see them elected, and I have no doubt they (and many others) adulate her abilities beyond the reality, and I’m sure this emboldens her to keep going forward. Easy to get caught up in a false reality if these are the people you talk to everyday. And now what’s her options to get out while saving face? Very few people fall on their sword, especially politicians. That’s why I’m a supporter of #CinD4UN!
    
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    April 20, 2021 10:58am
    - KevO'Brien
      
      I wouldn’t inflict Cinders on the UN. Disney needs her more.
      
      4 2
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      April 20, 2021 2:58pm
- Spam
  
  To paraphrase:
  
  “No matter what we announce, no matter how much we tilt our heads and look concerned, the country doesn’t get any better”.
  
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  April 20, 2021 10:50am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Perhaps if she had had a real job after leaving University, then she might have discovered how the real world functions….
  How folks in employment are expected daily to perform tasks and deliver services, not just sit around yabbing.
  
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  April 20, 2021 11:56am
- SB2
  
  Maxx , doesn’t seem to make any impression on the voting public.
  
  Maybe it tells the kind of bubble on and outside KB posters here inhabit.
  
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  April 20, 2021 2:03pm
Lance

Well done NASA
The Mars copter, ‘Ingenuity” took it’s first flight.
Bloody impressive!
At least there is some organization, somewhere, that can get things done.
Big shout out to Rocket Labs as well for their upcoming moon orbit satellite (OK, they have to build a bigger rocket first, still, they actually seem to be able to do things like this according to their track record).
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April 20, 2021 10:04am
- UrbanNeocolonialist
  
  It’s cute, but really very straight forward almost entirely off-the-shelf engineering in the realms of what a good PhD candidate could develop.
  
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  April 20, 2021 12:15pm
  - Lance
    
    …….ummm
    An autonomous flying vehicle, software updated from earth (it had a bug). The outside environment is -60degC (batteries fail below -30 degC) with 1% earths atmospheric density.
    Not too much ‘off the shelf’ there.
    
    I once spoke to someone who wintered over in Antarctica. It took him a week, full time, to repair a broken wire lying on the ground outside. The logistics were horrendous, the risk to life outside was enormous. Engineering in extreme environments is very very very difficult.
    
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    April 20, 2021 12:56pm
RW Capitalist

I see they have a “damming” report on the Transmission gully PPP.
Behind time and over budget…..
Trying to blame how it was set up for the delays.
BUT
I seem to remember this project was on time and under budget in 2017.
We got the “silly girl” then it got behind and over budget,even if you take into account covid lock downs.
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April 20, 2021 10:06am
- Batman
  
  Having been involved back in the day, your timeframe isn’t quite right. The issues are more complex than that and aside from anything else, the executive branch of government has nothing to do with the running of the project, it is locked in stone via a commercial agreement.
  
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  April 20, 2021 10:12am
  - Tall Man
    
    Must be a “soft” stone though.
    
    How about the government refusing to allow the engineers back into NZ? Zero impact?
    
    How about government influence in the “modifying” to fit a reducing expectation?
    
    12 3
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    April 20, 2021 10:21am
    - Batman
      
      I’m not saying the ‘government’ of both types isn’t wrong. Clearly it is the fault of the government.
      
      I’m just making the point that you can’t blithely say that the PM is at fault because it was running under budget before (it never was). That’s a comparison that just isn’t valid.
      
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      April 20, 2021 10:39am
      - Tall Man
        
        When a government is openly anti roading then as far as I am concerned they can live with all the blame they get whether it is apportioned fairly or not.
        
        As an aside, has the minister in charge actually visited the site yet?
        
        ps: I don’t say anything “blithely” ….. ever.
        
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        April 20, 2021 1:56pm
      - Batman
        
        Re blithely, I was referring to the original comment.
        
        Ok duly noted that you’re not interested in accuracy, just partisan points.
        
        No idea about a site visit as it has nothing to do with me, I assume he would post about it on social media!
        
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        April 20, 2021 2:06pm
      - Tall Man
        
        Jeez Batman, I guess your degree wasn’t in English comprehension.
        
        Blithely: happily and without feeling or showing any worry, especially when there is a reason to be worried:
        
        As for scoring partisan points, I think your TDS shows that is your issue rather than mine.
        
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        April 20, 2021 5:57pm
- Frank Hematuria
  
  I have just spent some time skimming through the report. I will try to find time to read it more closely later. But some observations – one of the peer reviewers is Michael Cullen. That in itself should be enough to raise a red flag. However, nowhere in the report do I see either anything that justifies the media’s hysterical use of the term “damning” (which I think is a media invention, no surprise there) or anything that comes remotely close to attributing blame to any Minister – neither National nor Labour. NZTA’s approach to the project appears to have been most at fault, but with an elaborate governance structure in place it is extraordinary that the deep-seated problems identified by the review were not elevated by NZTA long before the need for any Ministerial intervention. Also, the Government has had this report since February and only released it today. That, along with Michael Woods’ immediate blaming of the previous Government, looks very much like a spin doctor’s strategy to make National look bad while Labour basks in the glory of a Trans-Tasman bubble.
  
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  April 20, 2021 11:23am
  - Bob
    
    had this report since February….
    Takes a long time for one of limited cognitive development to ‘look up’ the long words in a dictionary, and then translate the report contents into comic strips
    
    4 1
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    April 20, 2021 2:11pm
- cha
  
  By 2017 it was a Road of National Budget blowout.
  /
  
  Wellington Gateway Partnership (WGP) has confirmed it is seeking new resource consents for an extra three million cubic metres of earthworks at Transmission Gully – but says the road will still open on schedule in April 2020.
  
  WGP originally applied for consents for about 6m cubic metres of earthworks.
  
  https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/97077727/transmission-gully-earthworks-estimates-out-by-50-per-cent–but-builders-say-its-still-on-schedule
  
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  April 20, 2021 11:58am
  - mikenmildagain
    
    When the bill is finally tabulated it will make the original BCR of about 1.o look really good. astonishing waster of $1 billion (and counting).
    
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    April 20, 2021 1:58pm
Maggie Pie

I think Nanaia is actually starting to grow on me.
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April 20, 2021 10:07am
- RW Capitalist
  
  Like a fungal infection?
  
  15 1
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  April 20, 2021 10:11am
- Tall Man
  
  Like this you mean?
  
  https://images.esellerpro.com/2296/I/738/9/mil-tec_ghillie_suit_faden_amazon_ALL.jpg
  
  5 1
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  April 20, 2021 10:12am
  - Maggie Pie
    
    OMG! My partner is sooo looking forward to May 1.
    
    6 2
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    April 20, 2021 10:57am
- Captain Mainwaring
  
  She certainly speaks much better than she looks.
  
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  April 20, 2021 10:25am
- septic skeptic
  
  Have a up of tea and a lie down. It will pass.
  
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  April 20, 2021 10:47am
- Maggie Pie
  
  It’s just that I listened to her subtle messaging to China….. and the way she shoved it up them.
  Then to see where the ‘CCP propaganda department’ reported on the speech by explaining what a Taniwha was in Maori culture, but completely ignored her pointed criticisms of China’s human rights abuses, debt traps, cyber attacks, etc.
  Good. On. You. Gal.
  
  7 5
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  April 20, 2021 10:50am
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    We’ve got the Golden Dragon Takeaways just down the road, but no Taniwha kai-tango in Kaiti.
    
    8 1
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    April 20, 2021 12:05pm
    - Maggie Pie
      
      We did have a Chinese Takeaway up on Remuera Rd, but they finally moved out St Johns way thank goodness.
      
      4 2
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      April 20, 2021 12:39pm
      - SB2
        
        MP , your Chinaphobia got the better of you at long last.
        
        0 11
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        April 20, 2021 2:01pm
      - Maggie Pie
        
        Pls do not jump to conclusions SB!
        It’s just that one of the gals from tennis had a Boutique only a couple of doors away from where they were located. Some people reckoned her clothes smelt like old wonton.
        
        7 2
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        April 20, 2021 2:24pm
  - KevO'Brien
    
    what a Taniwha was in Maori culture A good source of moolah in the cultural exchanges around allowing work to proceed.
    
    5 2
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    April 20, 2021 2:52pm
- Bob
  
  quick, take those ‘meds’ that you forgot this morning.
  
  2 2
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  April 20, 2021 2:12pm
WaynelSexton

It appears a credit crunch is already underway. If the banks aren’t extending consumer credit, particularly to consumers with excellent credit scores, it’s usually because they are having trouble selling or servicing their own debts.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/its-a-disgusting-way-to-treat-loyal-customers-barclaycard-faces-growing-backlash-over-decision-to-slash-credit-limits-by-more-than-90percent-as-bank-tries-to-defend-move/ar-BB1fO9MQ
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April 20, 2021 10:11am
Captain Mainwaring

https://www.motortrend.com/news/two-dead-fiery-tesla-model-s-crash-no-one-driving-authorities-say/

Yes, pretty stupid to have nobody in the driver’s seat, but 30,000 gallons of water to put the fire out?
Clearly before electric cars take over here the fire brigades are going to have to do a bit of retraining.
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April 20, 2021 10:33am
- Lance
  
  I know there is a lot of concern in Fire and Emergency about how to deal with electric car accidents and/or fires. So far some theories are circulating but nothing definitive.
  The biggest issue the very lethal DC voltages involved.
  
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  April 20, 2021 12:35pm
- Inandout
  
  Captain, why would the other guy sit in the back? Chaps normally sit together unless it is a taxi, but hell I would not even consider an EV.
  
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  April 20, 2021 2:11pm
Sacha

Help!!!
I visited BFD this morning to read the General Debate posts and got this banner request:

“Do you want to allow “https://thebfd.co.nz” to use up to 1.2 GB of storage on your Mac?”

Why would they be wanting that?
8 1
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April 20, 2021 11:07am
- BAM
  
  It’s a Safari browser issue.
  Use Chrome or some other search engine.
  
  4 1
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  April 20, 2021 12:12pm
  - Sacha
    
    I’ve got Duck Duck Go .
    
    6 0
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    April 20, 2021 12:50pm
  - Nickc2
    
    Try this one. It’s got Duck Duck Go as a search engine option and you can also select No Adds in the settings function. I have been using it for quite a while and have no regrets.
    https://brave.com/
    
    8 0
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    April 20, 2021 12:57pm
lazza

Bill O’Leary, the deputy chair of the New Zealand Fish and Game Council on RNZ (Nine to Noon 20th April) reports that; “he and his members have lost confidence in the New Zealand Police” … principally over their administration of firearm controls. Other sections of our law-abiding communities share his concerns.

The effects of a watering-down of hard nosed policing are now being felt, for example; recent concessions made in the recruitment and training of new police officers and the perception, if not the reality, of armed gangs gaining the upper hand. All combine to reinforce Bill O’Leary’s views.

When New Zealander’s lose trust in their Police force, when they feel unsafe walking the streets, it is high time for our government to take stock and put a stop to the rot.

They must undertake a total reconsideration and reversal of their “soft on crime” policies. Only by taking the essential steps necessary, can a shaken public’s respect for and confidence in our Police be restored.
13 3
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April 20, 2021 11:34am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  Put Nicole McKee on the job.
  
  She’ll sort the system out.
  
  12 1
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  April 20, 2021 12:09pm
- greybeard
  
  Who in their right mind would down-tick such a sensible comment as this ?
  
  4 2
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  April 20, 2021 4:04pm
lazza

Anyone know of progress with Elon Musk’s linked satellite broadband coverage of (rural) Aotearoa?

Nice to have UFB … at our remote beach hideaway.
2 7
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April 20, 2021 11:38am
- Captain Mainwaring
  
  Where is this mythical Aotearoa place of which you speak?
  
  8 1
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  April 20, 2021 2:57pm
KH

And of course there is no fraud in preflight covid testing in India. Can’t be.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/news/124890020/47-passengers-on-one-flight-to-hong-kong-test-positive-for-covid
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April 20, 2021 11:42am
- MCos
  
  You’re not shocked are you?
  I would imagine if the money was right false certifications could be obtained anywhere in the world.
  Apart from that there are all sorts of ways one can become infected after the test.
  
  4 1
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  April 20, 2021 1:12pm
Maggy Wassilieff

Judgement against a couple who ran an online harassment campaign against a private individual.

Judge Blackie said Keenan and King’s posts were clearly derogatory and included false allegations.

“I can find nothing which would justify the nature of the personal attacks on Ms Grant.”

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/124866629/pair-ordered-to-remove-offensive-material-after-deadnaming-hokitika-businesswoman
11 2
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April 20, 2021 11:46am
- WaveyDavey
  
  More disturbing if you read the piece though
  
  Their victim described the ruling as an important decision about the harm caused by dead-naming people, which refers to using the birth or other former name of a transgender or non-binary person without their consent.
  
  You now need “consent” to state a fact? Be very, very worried.
  
  16 2
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  April 20, 2021 12:10pm
- SB2
  
  Of course nothing remotely like what happens on KB.
  
  Right?
  
  1 13
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  April 20, 2021 3:05pm
cmm

Fire is an amazing thing, but still…

I was reading a bit about the fire on Table Mountain in Cape Town. Nothing new there – Table Mountain burns pretty much every year. Indeed many of the native species in Cape mountains need fires to activate their seeds.

But this time the fire got into my old university (UCT) and some buildings got burned out – including the Jagger Library. It was 40 years ago and I think I visited the library twice in my whole Uni career, so I had to check that the building was where I thought.

As per the link below, the Jagger Library is slap-bang in the middle of the university surrounded by other buildings in all directions. How the hell could that catch fire?

Was that just natural or did it get some “help”?

https://www.uct.ac.za/sites/default/files/image_tool/images/328/contacts/maps/uctuppercampus.jpg

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/fire-on-cape-towns-table-mountain-under-control-smouldering/2LPQ3HDQVOA77YSW6NW2L3VRVM/
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April 20, 2021 11:54am
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  During a fire storm sparks and burning material can travel kilometres from the main fire front.
  
  However, looks like arson is involved somewhere along the line
  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/19/cape-town-fire-table-mountain-evacuate-university-jagger-library
  
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  April 20, 2021 12:19pm
  - cmm
    
    Yup, that is true for a very intense fire, but I don’t think the vegetation near UCT is enough to support that (maybe 40 years have changed things). The dry mountain bush (fynbos) burns hot, but it is mainly low scrub and is not particularly dense in that area.
    
    Jagger library (and surrounding campus areas) have had frequent arson attacks – especially during “decolonization” riots.
    
    That a few of the “colonial” locations suggests this could be a fire bug.
    
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    April 20, 2021 3:07pm
    - Maggy Wassilieff
      
      Still, I doubt that the folks on the Port Hills thought their gorse and tussock-clad hills would burn so fast, so far, and for so long.
      http://trauma.massey.ac.nz/issues/2018-2/AJDTS_22_2_Pearce.pdf
      
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      April 20, 2021 4:10pm
Happychappy

Winston Peters in court to appeal Superannuation decision.
This is a bit rich from Winston who has used Parliament in the past to breech others privacy and I might be wrong but didn’t he also play a part in a former Green Party Leader demise from Parliament for a very similar offense.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/winston-peters-in-court-to-appeal-superannuation-privacy-breach-decision/IDKOUEXTU24MZXZC4P56YIIQ3Y/
Why should others be put through this trauma of a large debt after being cleared of any part of the complaint at a previous trial.
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April 20, 2021 12:05pm
- BeaB
  
  Are we paying?
  
  7 0
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  April 20, 2021 1:03pm
  - cmm
    
    It isn’t so much if, but how.
    
    5 0
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    April 20, 2021 3:08pm
  - peterwn
    
    Hopefully Crown Law will make sure Winston pays. However I have some suspicion that Jacinda and her lot will show some ‘kindness’ here.
    
    5 0
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    April 20, 2021 5:36pm
- peterwn
  
  Fortunately no individual (apart from Winston) is being put through the trauma of a large debt. The two former Ministers were acting in their official capacities so the Crown is covering their legal costs (Winston effectively abandoned his case against them), and the two public servants were acting within their official capacities so their employer (as any decent employer would in the circumstances) ie the Crown is meeting their costs.
  The two public servants involved will not be losing any sleep over this and probably could not care less about it now.
  Anyway who is this Winston? Hardly heard a thing about him since last September.
  
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  April 20, 2021 1:22pm
oldfella

Remember the Capital Hill cop who was supposedly killed by those Trump supporters who hit him with a fire extinguisher? The MSM went wild with that story.
Well, the verdict on what really killed him is finally in – two strokes the day after the disturbance, making it a death from natural causes.
https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1384235113156775943
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April 20, 2021 12:08pm
- MCos
  
  Two strokes the day after being involved in a small fracas in front of the Capitol.
  No connection says Glen Greenwald mate of Kim Dotcom.
  
  3 4
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  April 20, 2021 1:04pm
  - Batman
    
    Hahaha a small fracas. You could put it that way with 400 arrests and counting.
    
    A good little peak into how the Oath Keepers, as one example, were operating, thanks to 60 Minutes: https://youtu.be/-KCcpsWvFMY
    
    3 7
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    April 20, 2021 1:53pm
- Mike
  
  Any word on the over 100 rioters facing justice for their attempted insurrection?
  
  3 7
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  April 20, 2021 1:42pm
  - KevO'Brien
    
    What about Pelosi and Maxine Waters?
    
    6 3
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    April 20, 2021 2:41pm
    - mikenmildagain
      
      You think the FBI should be pursuing people who didn’t attack the capitol?
      
      2 5
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      April 20, 2021 3:37pm
- RiP NZ
  
  Oldfella, you’ve been downticked for a truthful statement.
  Tells you all you need to know. So the lies by Cuomo, Tapper, Stelter, etc etc are what these people support.
  
  Fk them
  
  11 4
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  April 20, 2021 1:53pm
  - Batman
    
    Well, Oldfella is taking what Glenn Greenwald says as gospel.
    
    Any rational person can see a link between being bear sprayed, attacked, and a high stress situation, with blockages or burst veins causing the fatal strokes.
    
    It’s not as clear as being shot but it’s still a causality. Of course the strokes themselves are put down to natural causes, just like you couldn’t easily link a heart attack to something highly stressful and traumatic.
    
    3 12
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    April 20, 2021 1:57pm
    - mikenmildagain
      
      Funnily enough, the same people who think this officer’s death had nothing to do with being attacked, also think George Floyd died of a drug overdose.
      Who knewsassaults could be so harmless?
      
      3 13
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      April 20, 2021 2:01pm
      - Inandout
        
        m&m, you draw a long bow here with comparing that cop with a known drug addict and felon.
        
        10 3
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        April 20, 2021 2:20pm
    - RiP NZ
      
      Maxine’s champion has arrived.
      
      5 1
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      April 20, 2021 2:32pm
    - rangitoto
      
      It is widely reported, including in a statement from the police.
      
      3 1
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      April 20, 2021 2:38pm
- KevO'Brien
  
  The death was not from the strokes directly either. He had further complications so he died of unusual but natural causes.
  
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  April 20, 2021 2:44pm
Maggie Pie

Here’s your daily dose of Awww

https://twitter.com/TomBoadle/status/1372614686496190475

(……full screen / volume up) 😀
4 6
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April 20, 2021 12:45pm
Maggie Pie

And I’m starting to get the scent that Vodafone treat their staff like shit.
12 3
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April 20, 2021 1:02pm
- Tall Man
  
  Well they treat their customers like that so why should the staff get a better deal …….
  
  7 2
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  April 20, 2021 2:20pm
- Inandout
  
  Maggie, I haven’t actually asked them because their response time is measured in hours, so I went the Spark way. I would not be surprised in the least if Vodafone had unhappy staff in the Phillipines or Mumbai.
  
  9 2
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  April 20, 2021 2:25pm
I remember when

Things not going too well for the Labour Government.
Too much news starting to be bad news.
Michael Wood has just found out that National is responsible for Transmission Gully problems.
17 1
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April 20, 2021 1:29pm
- Lance
  
  “It’s all Nationals’ fault” is the default setting for the Labour party automatons.
  
  17 1
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  April 20, 2021 1:55pm
Bobba Fret

Here’s another one that probably slipped through the cracks and will be blamed by Ardern.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/300281691/covid19-border-worker-at-auckland-airport-returns-a-positive-test
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April 20, 2021 1:41pm
I remember when

Finally, a bit of good news from Brazil.
The covid daily deaths chart shows that the latest wave appears to have passed its peak and is now reducing.
This news is unlikely to appear in the media in the near future.
7 4
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April 20, 2021 1:53pm
- Mike
  
  Did you not find out about this from the news media?
  
  2 2
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  April 20, 2021 3:02pm
Jack5

New Zealand has pushed aside its Five Eyes intelligence partners (the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia) by pursuing closer ties with China, says the Telegraph.

The newspaper says:

“New Zealand’s attempts to now distance itself from the Five Eyes alliance will inevitably open up Ms Ardern to allegations that her administration is ignoring abuses in Hong Kong and against Uyghur Muslims in order to preserve and grow its trading relationship with China.

It quotes Foreign Minister Mahuta as describing the China-New Zealand relationship as one between a “dragon and taniwha”, in reference to a serpent-like creature from Maori myth.
15 2
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April 20, 2021 2:03pm
- Captain Mainwaring
  
  Makes sense. Spindy is a Communist, so is the Chinese government.
  
  14 2
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  April 20, 2021 2:19pm
  - Mike
    
    Sure, it’s only a matter of time before you’re shipped off to the Gulag, Cap’n. To be followed by the collectivization of industry and the liquidation of the Kulaks.
    
    2 9
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    April 20, 2021 2:45pm
- KevO'Brien
  
  We have made the world news, Iran at least:
  https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/04/19/649810/New-Zealand-Rejects-%E2%80%98Five-Eyes%E2%80%99-Policy-Of-Contradicting-China
  
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  April 20, 2021 2:38pm
graham

So Vodafone NZ has sent out a memo to its employees, telling them that if they go for a quick holiday to Australia and – through no fault of their own – get trapped across the Tasman for an “extended” period of time due to a border closure, they could well get the chop.

“It is strongly recommended that any employee planning an overseas trip discusses it with their people leader before booking flights. Employees should also understand that if they are prevented from returning to NZ and their home/work for an extended period beyond their original approved leave dates, their employment may be terminated.”

An employment lawyer has said that she doesn’t believe this would hold up in an Employment Relations Authority hearing or the Employment Court; and Auckland University senior law lecturer Dr Alan Toy agrees, saying that he thought a reasonable employer would offer extra paid leave beyond the agreed period, then unpaid leave, for a border-closure stranded employee.

But hey! Vodafone NZ uses Aotearoa in their cellphone heading, and wants to focus on honouring the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. So they must be a fantastic company, am I right?
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April 20, 2021 2:18pm
Maggy Wassilieff

The consequences of people putting nasty rumours about can bugger-up other folks lives.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/124883817/onetime-teresa-cormack-murder-suspect-vindicated-after-33-years-as-court-clears-child-kidnapping-convictions

But that’s the point of starting nasty rumours against individuals, isn’t it?
12 2
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April 20, 2021 2:42pm
- fernglas
  
  There’s quite a back story to that particular case, Maggy, and no-one comes out of it terribly well.
  
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  April 20, 2021 2:45pm
- Mike
  
  People can be very cruel.
  
  5 2
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  April 20, 2021 2:46pm
slightlyrighty

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/04/auditor-general-deems-government-s-ihum-tao-purchase-unlawful.html

Well, well, well!
20 1
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April 20, 2021 3:00pm
- cmm
  
  Well who is surprised. Chalk it up with other criminal activities:
  1) Trespass by “protesters”.
  2) Dereliction of duty by guitar-playing cops.
  …
  
  16 1
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  April 20, 2021 3:13pm
- rouppe
  
  Some politicians might need to be dropped into those wells…
  
  9 1
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  April 20, 2021 3:14pm
lazza

Kia Ora Folks

JUST IN FROM THE OAG

GOVERNMENT SPEND OF $25 M ON ?IHUMATAO LAND … “UNLAWFUL” ???

Their “unlawful” verdict on the $25M handed out to our Brown Brothers for the purchase of Ihumatao land.

Oh Dear.

Parliament in a fortnight’s time will be very interesting … and MUST be an onslaught for this and all the other outrageous Socialist’s waste and misappropriation of taxpayer’s monies.

The Auditor General’s 3PM 20/04/21 communique said:

Quote:

Last month, David Seymour MP and Nicola Willis MP wrote separately to our Office about the Government’s purchase of land at Te Puke Tāpapatanga a Hape (commonly referred to as Ihumātao). They had concerns about:

$29.9 million of the appropriation for the Land for Housing Programme being used to purchase the land at Ihumātao from Fletcher Residential Limited;
the use of that amount being outside the appropriation for that Programme and, therefore, potentially unlawful; and
the importance of the public being reassured that significant sums of taxpayer money are being managed appropriately.

In our view, the intent of the Ministry, and the intent of Ministers, was to establish a new appropriation that would provide authority for the purchase of the land at Ihumātao. However, because the Ministry did not seek the correct approvals, the expenditure was incurred without appropriation and without authority to use Imprest Supply. For these reasons, the payment is unlawful until validated by Parliament.
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April 20, 2021 3:08pm
- virtualmark
  
  In other words, the Ministry that bought the land bollocked up the Public Finance Act paperwork. Doesn’t mean that the deal won’t happen, just that they need to sort out their paperwork and approvals.
  
  Inept, embarrassing and stupid, but it doesn’t mean the deal will fall over.
  
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  April 20, 2021 3:38pm
  - KevO'Brien
    
    It needed the prior authority of Parliament for the money to be spent.
    
    They have been throwing money around like water. I’m not satisfied the Grants slush fund has been all lawfully spent.
    We have “appropriation” by Parliament so govts can not spend as they please but the use of taxpayer’s money requires full authorisation.
    
    5 3
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    April 20, 2021 5:57pm
    - virtualmark
      
      Yep, very familiar with the processes for both appropriations and imprest supply. Someone at the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development has egg on their face.
      
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      April 20, 2021 7:41pm
- Loddenthinks
  
  Also, unsurprisingly and without a shred of integrity, morals, ethics or respect for due process, St Jacinda the Good: “Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has rejected the assertion of any wrongdoing by her Government.”
  
  Can’t even admit it when she’s told by the Auditor-General that what she did was unlawful. Apologies are for other people, like public transport and delivering on promises.
  
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  April 20, 2021 3:40pm
  - rangitoto
    
    Cindy decides what is lawful around here, not some jumped up civil servant
    
    9 1
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    April 20, 2021 3:54pm
  - Maggy Wassilieff
    
    Well, the initial Lockdown of NZ was unlawful…
    
    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-coronavirus-lockdown-unlawful-for-first-nine-days-high-court-finds-but-says-action-was-justified/AI2WQ3PZ5QYEWUYGSTS3MNKE6Q/
    
    No worries… just write a new bit of legislation or find a patsy Judge to tell us that the action is justified.
    
    11 1
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    April 20, 2021 4:17pm
  - 70andstilllearning
    
    Wont be unlawful because will be retro – problem solved when you have an absolute majority in a system that never anticipated an absolute majority.
    
    6 2
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    April 20, 2021 4:45pm
  - KevO'Brien
    
    It’s a resigning offence. NOW!
    
    7 3
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    April 20, 2021 5:58pm
- mikenmildagain
  
  Will be cleared up by retrospective parliamentary approval. Someone at HUD of the Treasury will need retraining in scoping appropriations.
  
  2 8
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  April 20, 2021 3:44pm
  - KevO'Brien
    
    Too late.
    When I can warn them here over several months others must have been doing so too. This is now a RESIGNING OFFENCE.
    
    This govt has no sense of law or duty of care for the people under its’s social contract. The abandonment of law was evident with the cancellation by Ardern of Taranaki. She acts regally without that authority. Why would the UN want her when Disney would be a better choice?
    
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    April 20, 2021 6:03pm
Loddenthinks

Just going to leave this here – they were told repeatedly in advance that using that money for that purpose was illegal, but they did it anyway. #BeKind

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300281951/auditorgeneral-rules-the-299m-the-government-used-to-buy-ihumtao-was-unlawfully-spent
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April 20, 2021 3:35pm
- Maggy Wassilieff
  
  But perhaps it was “only a bit” unlawfully spent.
  https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/news/2020/08/20/lockdown-only-little-bit-unlawful.html#:~:text=Yesterday%2C%20the%20High%20Court%20ruled,a%20genuine%20public%20health%20emergency.
  
  Any suggestions on the excuses Labour will come up with this time?
  
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  April 20, 2021 4:20pm
  - stinkypete
    
    they spent it too definitively
    
    6 1
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    April 20, 2021 4:37pm
  - KevO'Brien
    
    Law is black & white–grey is not acceptable.
    Cinders has no legal status in regard to law. She may have Office as an Executive Councillor but she is still obliged to take advice as well as give it and to walk within the narrow boundaries of the existing law. As a servant of HM Queen of NZ she cannot recommend anything unlawful or bring it about.
    Her duties are absolute not optional.
    
    RESIGN NOW.
    
    12 5
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    April 20, 2021 6:10pm
    - mikenmildagain
      
      It makes me laugh, a lot, when random people on blogs think they have insight into the law and politics.
      
      4 7
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      April 20, 2021 7:08pm
      - cha
        
        Law, politics, miracles, and alt-energy snake oil are a breeze with Trev’s special discernment…
        
        4 0
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        April 20, 2021 7:58pm
  - Loddenthinks
    
    In the same way that Jacinda is a little bit pregnant?
    
    4 1
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    April 20, 2021 6:45pm
Maggie Pie

Gotta feel for those 5000 kiwi holiday makers suddenly stranded in Sydney
7 2
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April 20, 2021 4:04pm
- sooty
  
  If we lockdown, don’t panic!
  Consider getting a job, even a casual one.
  Open a bank account.
  Tax number.
  If it’s good, come home to pack!
  
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  April 20, 2021 6:05pm
skyblue

My gf works in contract tracing. More to border worker case today coming. Brown stuff to hit the fan.
10 2
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April 20, 2021 5:22pm
- Tall Man
  
  We’ll see. It’s probably your girlfriend’s fault, at least ardern will see it that way 😉
  
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  April 20, 2021 6:00pm
- MCos
  
  Fortunately for your ‘gf’ you use a non de plume.
  
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  April 20, 2021 6:16pm
Jack5

For language lovers ….

Canadian linguist Paul Jorgensen, who recently released a Youtube video on Maori language, has just released a video on New Zealand English.

If you don’t know what a New Zealand hypocoristic is, Paul explains on his Langfocus special on our English.

https://youtu.be/131d3J1Qfac
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April 20, 2021 5:31pm
Maggie Pie

LOL!!

HDPA just read out a txt on air she said some guy sent her….
.”I really love your show Heather. You sound like a busy little bee with a bum full of honey!”

I suspect it was Barry.
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April 20, 2021 5:43pm
Maggy Wassilieff

Oh dear,
How many people would be at St Lukes Food Court on a Saturday Lunchtime?

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/440853/covid-19-worker-at-auckland-airport-tests-positive-plus-one-historical-case
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April 20, 2021 6:05pm
- KevO'Brien
  
  Was the test another false positive–was a retest done?
  
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  April 20, 2021 6:12pm
- Swifty
  
  At least one!
  
  In the coffee shop, coveting.
  
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  April 20, 2021 6:22pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

Trump supporters banned from owning pigeons is case they try to communicate with each other.
Now I wonder if a person with a talking shit degree from Waikato could un-Jacindaspeak that?
5 5
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April 20, 2021 6:19pm
wreck1080

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-coronavirus-top-maori-medical-expert-dr-rawiri-jansen-quits-government-immunisation-group/BBEXVAIKYCWMIJPEFGRZG2X7JQ/

This doctor claims maori are more likely to die from Covid-19. I call BS on that.

Weight, drug use, smoking, and general cardiovascular health are the predictors, not skin colour.

So, rather than skin colour, we should prioritise the overweight, smokers, and those with high blood pressure. By default that will include a large number of Maori, with the benefit of including other ethnic groups with equal risk factors. Everyone wins!

I wonder where this doctor obtained his medical degree? I’m guessing Otago, because he doesn’t know the difference between causation and correlation.
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April 20, 2021 6:35pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

George. Told not to watch the news? Why?
https://rumble.com/vfu0t1-chauvin-trial-judge-blasts-maxine-waters-on-live-video.html?mref=22lbp&mc=56yab&fbclid=IwAR352eMG5BvIj76OxauEIXCfjxlWsyC9uzyjDBcwKgo1SdN32WsxlEu_hSQ
3 3
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April 20, 2021 7:00pm
Wired-one

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/04/prime-minister-jacinda-ardern-reaffirms-commitment-to-five-eyes-after-uk-media-claims-it-s-become-four.html

I’ll stand with the other five eye nations over China anyday of the week. Ardern and her government are weak and pathetic.
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April 20, 2021 7:35pm
Prince

More lies from Ardern this evening, this time about Ihumatao.
She claims the Govt purchase was ‘always about providing houses’.
Of course Fletcher were building 480 houses there before The Govt intervened.
As ‘No Right Turn’ points out, Govt moved in to ‘return stolen land’.
It is highly unlikely that any houses will be built, especially by the Govt.
But there she is, on TV, brazenly lying, unchallenged of course by the TVNZ reporter.
http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2021/04/serves-them-right.html
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April 20, 2021 9:06pm

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