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September 30, 2024 8:00am by Kokila Patel

General Debate 30 September 2024

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General Debate

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Chuck Bird

A UK MP with some principles. Are there any here?

UK MP quits Labour in protest against PM Sir Keir Starmer’s approach to poverty

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/uk-mp-quits-labour-in-protest-against-pm-sir-keir-starmers-approach-to-poverty/7WAGIQHJAFDNVI32EDHFLB6L2M/
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September 30, 2024 8:11am
- Biscuit
  
  They’ll all be along shortly to downtick you, Chuck!
  
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  September 30, 2024 8:14am
- artemisia
  
  The previous UK government left a “£22 billion black hole” the PM said, justifying belt tightening. On cue the opponents appear, preferably on front page headlines, ably assisted by a compliant media.
  
  Sounds familiar.
  
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  September 30, 2024 8:26am
- Eastlander
  
  His stand on the pensioner fuel allowance laid bare just how bad his political instincts are and just what he really thinks of the country he rules. The cost of the allowance was a pittance compared to Britain’s annual foreign aid splurge but he and his gang acted like they were saving Britain from bankruptcy.
  
  Starmer and friends really do see Britain not as a country but an NGO, a tax farm there to generate revenue for their global mission. British nationals to them aren’t citizens the government has any sort of special moral duty to, they’re just donors who need to cough up more so Britain (sorry, the ‘yoo-kay’) can continue being a ‘climate leader’ and ‘model for the world’.
  
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  September 30, 2024 8:33am
- Grunter
  
  His cost-cutting policies seem to be the right ones – but his personal ‘grifting’ is disgusting but not surprising for a Labour PM.
  
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  September 30, 2024 8:41am
  - Colville
    
    Explain that?
    Not a dig, just a question.
    
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    September 30, 2024 9:22am
    - Grunter
      
      1. Cost cutting – the UK has a GBP22 Billion deficit, so they need to cost cut. Starmer has done a little bit of this, so that is a good thing IMO
      
      2. He has accepted a bunch of personal gifts/bribes. It’s scale stuff but freebies all the same.
      
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      September 30, 2024 10:30am
    - NeverMindTheBollocks
      
      Sir Keir has form in accepting gifts from grateful citizens.
      
      http://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdd4z9vzdnno
      
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      September 30, 2024 10:46am
      - Biscuit
        
        NMTB, you spell ‘bribes’ differently to Moi.
        
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        September 30, 2024 12:08pm
- imalwaysright
  
  Starmers job is to punish Britain to the extent that they will beg the EU to take them back.
  
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  September 30, 2024 8:46am
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    That makes sense. The commies want to rejoin with their commie mates.
    
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    September 30, 2024 9:28am
- Paulus
  
  It has been already established in the UK that Starmer is nowhere left enough for many of his own close people.
  They thoughg that with him they could lead and control the revolution.
  It is beginning to hit the Labour fan, we are told and the country will feel it.
  
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  September 30, 2024 10:12am
- sirknz
  
  Are there any Labour mps here with principles?
  
  Doubtful.
  
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  September 30, 2024 10:39am
  - NeverMindTheBollocks
    
    Sure there are. You might not like those principles, though.
    
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    September 30, 2024 10:47am
    - Matt Long
      
      Don’t like their principles? In that case, they have new ones.
      
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      September 30, 2024 11:36am
- NothingLeft
  
  Rumors swirling in UK (and injunctions filed) regarding the nature of Starmer’s relationship with both his wife and the donor responsible for some much of the contents of Starmer’s (ironically) closet.
  
  https://x.com/UnityNewsNet/status/1839642737395556547
  
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  September 30, 2024 3:16pm
Grunter

I find it interesting being in Dunedin and listening to the outrage over the hospital. Wake up sheeples…..we are broke and digging deeper into debt each day.

If you are this angry over the hospital build just wait for the next 5-20 years when it becomes apparent that we can not afford the bloated welfare state, basic health care, retirement funding, let alone infrastructure.

In the real world money does NOT grow on trees. Why is that such a difficult reality to understand?
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September 30, 2024 8:13am
- Tomtoddy
  
  A lot of infrastructure chickens are coming home to roost – hospitals, roads, water/sewerage reticulation, ferries, ports etc. Decades of poor economic performance, low productivity, spending too much on houses and social services that were unnecessary and unaffordable have turned us into a ‘second’ world country. Can we ever catch up?
  
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  September 30, 2024 8:53am
  - Dudley Quaffquaff
    
    All that, but I think that the chicken that isn’t coming home to roost is the real elephant in the room. That is, the loss of competence as more and more of our ablest young people leave for better prospects overseas. More and more of the jobs, both in the public and the private sector, that really, really need to be done by somebody competent – aren’t. This will make things worse, encouraging more people to leave. It’s really hard to see how this vicious circle can be broken out of
    
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    September 30, 2024 9:04am
    - Phronesis
      
      This is the real problem. There’s a pretty limited pool of talent in this country and as soon as they realised that they couldn’t compete for the top jobs against the DEI hires then they left. The public service doesn’t even know what competence looks like anymore so how could they value it? Rational, evidence based decision making is now considered to be literally racist.
      
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      September 30, 2024 10:06am
    - NeverMindTheBollocks
      
      It’s worth bearing in mind that NZ remaining a First World country is by no means guaranteed. Back in the 1930s, Uruguay and Argentina were among the richest countries in the world – being great suppliers of beef. Disastrous economic and social policies saw them slide down the scale, post war.
      
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      September 30, 2024 10:51am
  - cmm
    
    I would argue that we can only afford to be a second world country.
    
    It is all the “first world” entitlement and spending that is really getting us into debt.
    
    We end up with all sorts of ridiculous spending on stuff that does not bring real value to society.
    
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    September 30, 2024 9:08am
    - PurplePen
      
      I’ve never thought us a first world country. Always teetering and in reality second world.
      
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      September 30, 2024 9:40am
      - David Garrett
        
        Purple: We were indeed most definitely a first world country once – second only to the US in the 1950’s – but that of course is the time when we were “England’s farm”, and the “mother country” bought virtually of our agricultural produce.
        
        BTW the second world was/is not a state of development between the first and third worlds; it was the communist world, which of course now barely exists.
        
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        September 30, 2024 10:02am
      - cmm
        
        DG: “; it was the communist world, which of course now barely exists.”
        
        Given the was socialism has progressed, in some ways one could argue that communism (or at least parts thereof) has expanded.
        
        I think though that the “second world” name was more a way frame the communist world as inferior.
        
        It’s a bollocks label just like calling the third world “developing nations” is bollocks. Most are not developing. Most are regressing.
        
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        September 30, 2024 10:14am
    - Dudley Quaffquaff
      
      So what would be a good example of a second-world country that we could look to as a guide for re-setting public expectations?
      
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      September 30, 2024 9:56am
      - David Garrett
        
        Dudley: See above re the “second world”. Trust me on this: I remember asking one of my profs at uni just what the term meant. Back then of course, there was a communist world.
        
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        September 30, 2024 10:03am
      - Phronesis
        
        Most of the former second world countries are doing much better than us. They have consistent real gdp growth. Maybe Belarus?
        
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        September 30, 2024 10:12am
      - Grunter
        
        Argentina is definitely re-setting expectations in a realistic way. The jury is still out as to whether this will stick long-term. Their Leftards are very grumpy.
        
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        September 30, 2024 10:35am
  - Grunter
    
    “Can we ever catch up?”
    
    Not under the existing tax and borrow centralised system. Doing the same thing and expecting a different result is……insanity. Socialism is what we have, and even the Germans couldn’t make that work!
    
    The answer to all this is glaringly obvious – free-market capitalism, slash big Govt. But NZ will NEVER go there in our lifetimes.
    
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    September 30, 2024 9:09am
    - NZer In Exile
      
      If we can get Swiss style direct democracy in we may be able to stop the tail (minority idiot far left) wagging the dog. Things should improve vastly from there. Currently we don’t have democracy. We have a stealth insurrection from within run by the vocal and overwhelmingly irrational far left.
      
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      September 30, 2024 2:45pm
    - Quail
      
      Grunter ,
      Absolutely but also a major problem is how wealth is measured and stored.
      Currencies world wide are being debased as Governments spend ( and borrow ) and Central banks just print more and more.
      Spending related to productivity is the last thing in any Governments philosophy,
      Currency’s were meant to reflect productivity and something real. Not anymore!
      Now they have joined the likes of Bitcoin and Government constructs like Carbon credits.
      Sorry for the rant but individual voters deserve better, much much better!
      
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      September 30, 2024 8:05pm
  - Benedict Yu
    
    “Can we ever catch up?”
    
    No. All the government has done is slow the decline.
    
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    September 30, 2024 9:32am
  - cmm
    
    “Can we catch up?”
    
    OK, I’ll bite.
    
    What does “catching up” actually mean? With whom?
    
    The rate USA, UK, Japan etc are going, they’re all in for massive tumbles in the future – possibly quite soon too.
    
    When that happens then “catching up” will be the least of everyone’s worries.
    
    USA has national debt of $US100k per person and personal debt of a further $US125k per person. On top of that there are unfunded liabilities of around another $US25k per person.
    
    So despite all the people living flash lives in $100k trucks and huge houses, on average they are standing in a $250k per person hole.
    
    Is that what you want to “catch up” to?
    
    All this happens because of over-entitlement. People – be they Americans or NZers seem to think they “deserve” fancy $3bn hospitals and $100k trucks just because of when and where they were born.
    
    Does anyone really “deserve” more than people had in the 1960s?
    
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    September 30, 2024 10:08am
    - Phronesis
      
      AD or BC?
      
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      September 30, 2024 10:13am
    - Benedict Yu
      
      Here is what catch up means.
      
      By 2050, New Zealand will have GDP per capita at least equal to the “middle” developed countries. Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovenia. New Zealand is currently ranked at about number 50 in gdp per capita. Catching up would be to lift that to 30 or even 40 by 2050.
      
      Not catching up would see us resemble Fiji with mountains by mid century.
      
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      September 30, 2024 10:46am
      - Taieri
        
        Health care in Poland, Czech Republic and Slovenia is already far superior to that available in NZ.
        
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        September 30, 2024 11:10am
      - Benedict Yu
        
        “Health care in Poland, Czech Republic and Slovenia is already far superior …”
        
        Yes – imagine what the difference will look like by 2050. 🙁 the success of health systems id a function of the underlying health of the people (Fat, smoking, alcohol drugs) and the money available to pay doctors, buy medicines, and MRI machines etc.
        
        Apart from health…..
        
        The Government is simply not addressing the serious issues. In no particular order…
        
        1. The collapse of the schooling system – yes they have done some good things but it is not enough.
        
        2. The collapse of the tertiary education system.
        
        2. Forcing Maori mysticism into analysis and schooling – arguably the most damaging issue – at least in the top 5.
        
        3. Reforming savings for future generations – too late for the current generation but everyone who is under the age of (say) 25 now should move to a Singapore style savings system.
        
        4. The imminent collapse of the system of local government.
        
        5. The decline of New Zealand as a trading nation.
        
        https://croakingcassandra.com/2021/03/31/exporting-how-does-nz-compare/
        
        6. The madness of Net Zero 2050.
        
        7. The looming fiscal disaster caused by demographic change – lots of retired old folk, too many young folk on benefits, and the productive young folk heading for Australia 🙁
        
        …..
        
        These are just seven issues off the top of my head. I guess I could get to 20 if I tried. Even these seven are problems that, collectively, could make or break New Zealand over the next 25 years. I get the impression that I am one of very few who is worried. 🙂
        
        EDIT – I would add #8 – the collapse of traditional families in New Zealand in all groups, except for Chinese folk. 🙂
        
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        September 30, 2024 11:37am
      - Matt Long
        
        Do you mean Tuvalu with mountains? Fiji has mountains.
        https://peakvisor.com/adm/fiji.html
        
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        September 30, 2024 11:43am
      - cmm
        
        BY: An excellent summary.
        
        Look at where we are though: a tiny island in the Pacific far away from anything on demographic skids to become even more Pacific in the rest of this century.
        
        GDP is a poor measure, but it is maybe the best we have available. For per-capita quality of life I would argue that PPP is better.
        
        We already have a GDP per capita in excess of all those countries you mention:
        Poland: $18k
        Czech Republic: $27k
        Slovenia: $29k
        NZ: $48k
        
        In PPP per capita:
        Poland: $43k
        Czech: $50k
        Slovenia: $50k
        NZ: $51k
        
        However we feel poor because we tend to look at the world through social media and pop culture, therefore compare ourselves mainly to Australia and USA.
        Australia: PPP: $63k, GDP $64k per capita.
        USA: PPP $76, GDP $75 per capita.
        
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        September 30, 2024 1:11pm
      - Grunter
        
        I vote Bene for PM !! That’s a great top 8 issues…
        
        NB: All of them are caused by Governments trying to run stuff – stealing taxes and spending it very badly. The quickest path to success for any country is to minimise the Government to almost nothing. Let the people ‘vote’ everyday by entering into voluntary transactions.
        
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        September 30, 2024 2:16pm
      - NZer In Exile
        
        Yes cmm GDP can just represent a lot of spinning wheels and not much traction.
        
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        September 30, 2024 2:49pm
- imalwaysright
  
  G
  Exactly.
  The adern regime did more damage to this country than if we had fought and lost a war.
  We have no money , severely damaged infrastructure , high prices, and a much reduced productive workforce.
  
  Her most sinister attack was that on the social cohesion of the country which now sees us fighting each other over trivial matters rather than pulling together to rebuild this great country.
  
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  September 30, 2024 8:53am
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    Ardern’s damage will be with us for decades.
    She should be in jail. Thing is she is so ignorant and stupid she does not even know what she has done.
    Not her fault!//
    
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    September 30, 2024 9:32am
    - Benedict Yu
      
      “She should be in jail.”
      
      Sadly she did not commit any crime in the Crimes Act.
      
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      September 30, 2024 11:39am
      - Anthony Melchett
        
        She has committed plenty of crimes.
        
        Unfortunately she hasn’t been charged for any of them.
        
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        September 30, 2024 1:55pm
      - Steve Otto(North Shore)
        
        Lying to NZ is a crime. If not it should be.
        Compulsive liar and so blatant.
        
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        September 30, 2024 2:57pm
    - NZer In Exile
      
      Exactly why we need Swiss style direct democracy. We need to stop the system of allowing little tin pot dictatorships running roughshod over we the people.
      
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      September 30, 2024 2:51pm
      - imalwaysright
        
        Government , the public service and local government all now work in their own interests.
        The only value of the citizenry is that their labour is the source of the income of the three.
        
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        September 30, 2024 3:36pm
  - Paulus
    
    I think thet Helen Clark and her close cronies started much of this by moving things within the Welfare State, they destroyed much ot the traditional family deliberately.
    Ardern as an umarried mother perpetuated it.
    
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    September 30, 2024 10:17am
  - NothingLeft
    
    When growth stops the psychology of a countries’ inhabitants shifts from a growth mindset of how do I grow the pie to a me-first mindset of fuck the community how do I grab more of the pie for myself. It fosters corruption (abetted by regulation and govt bureaucracy) and conflict and inevitably drags on the economy.
    
    Eg the grim 60’s 70’s and 80’s in NZ vs the growth 90’s to mid 2010’s.
    
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    September 30, 2024 2:03pm
    - NZer In Exile
      
      For most people it’s aim for a public service related job for life or go to Australia. That dynamic is running the country down though.
      
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      September 30, 2024 2:53pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  Some time ago a philanthropist offered to pay for all or some of the build cost (Public Private Partnership) and Labour turned it down saying they are the ones who build hospitals – or something. Now there is no money.
  Yet another Labour fuckup, and people will still vote for them!
  Did I get that wrong? Seems labour are now saying this is National’s fault.
  
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  September 30, 2024 8:56am
  - pdm
    
    Not only voting for them SO.
    
    In Dunedin they even March in the streets to celebrate Labour’s incompetence.
    
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    September 30, 2024 9:02am
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    Ardern:
    “She said there’s enough money in the government’s capital spending allowance to fully fund the new hospital without a PPP.”
    “She said the time frame set out by National to construct the hospital is too long, and not using a PPP would mean Labour could deliver the hospital sooner. ” Really Ardern??
    August 2017 she said Labour would begin building if elected to Govt, without PPP.
    ANOTHER LIE
    
    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/election/2017/08/labour-promises-new-dunedin-hospital.html
    
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    September 30, 2024 9:16am
    - RoboRob
      
      And the coverage from the legacy media over this is ‘zero’.
      
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      September 30, 2024 9:35am
      - pdm
        
        No, No, No, RR.
        
        The legacy media loved the protest march and their good friends the protesters making up the numbers..
        
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        September 30, 2024 12:40pm
  - Benedict Yu
    
    I keep hearing that. Is there any evidence or is it an urban myth?
    
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    September 30, 2024 9:36am
    - wsk12345
      
      Assuming it is true, perhaps the Coalition should seek a PPP for the build. Save some money and stick one up the left at the same time 🙂
      
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      September 30, 2024 10:01am
      - imalwaysright
        
        It seems that one way of getting the hospitals and infrastructure we need is to introduce part payment by the user.
        There is no financial incentive to get healthy when the hospitals will get you ticking again for “free”.
        Maybe also incentivise private health insurance by making the premiums deductible .
        
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        September 30, 2024 10:35am
    - Phronesis
      
      He’s confused with the Wellington hospital that was built and donated. Dunedin was a commercial PPP arrangement.
      
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      September 30, 2024 10:16am
      - Benedict Yu
        
        That was just a “childrens hospital” – effectively just a building in the hospital. Extremely generous but hardly comparable with Dunedin.
        
        The donor gave $50 million, half the cost.
        
        https://www.ccdhb.org.nz/about-us/history/the-public-hospital-in-wellington/a-new-childrens-hospital/
        
        IIRC the donor was a property developer. A condition of his donation was that he manage the project. It came in on time and on budget. Surprise.
        
        Just for interest, the left blogs at the time attacked the government for accepting that donation.
        
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        September 30, 2024 11:44am
  - NZer In Exile
    
    The Green/Labour mindset dominates unions. They control education. Children and youth are brainwashed to believe Green/Labour kind and smart and ACT/NZF/Nats nasty and stupid.
    
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    September 30, 2024 2:56pm
- cmm
  
  Grunter: Fair comment.
  But still, if there is going to be spending then let us get good value for money – don’t just piss it away.
  
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  September 30, 2024 9:06am
- PurplePen
  
  I can sort of understand their outrage. All they’ve been told and heard from Nats, then Labour, then Nats is that you’re going to get a new world class hospital and you’re going to get it in record time. Then effectively they’ve finally been told you’re not because it’s going to cost another $1B or so. But all the punters can see is recent announcements about $10B for transport, the misunderstood landlord “tax rebate”, half a mil on the new regulations ministry, etc. Of course they’re not going to react positively. They will feel ripped off. And natural enough they’re expressing that.
  
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  September 30, 2024 9:47am
  - Ian Boag
    
    the misunderstood landlord “tax rebate”
    
    What’s to misunderstand?
    
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    September 30, 2024 10:28am
    - sirknz
      
      That it’s a tax rebate on interest, which every other business entitled to, and not a tax cut as every single lefty is misrepresenting it as.
      
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      September 30, 2024 10:49am
    - PurplePen
      
      Perhaps could have expressed it better. All those that mistakenly call it a tax break are the ones that misunderstand, not realising it’s just returning treatment of interest on loan to buy rental as an expense.
      
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      September 30, 2024 4:50pm
- Damocles11
  
  All chickens coming home to roost from the Ardern era, businesses closing and big job losses due to our crazy Green ‘NZ must save the world’ mindset. But hey: we just set the world record for The Worlds Largest Haka!! Wow!!
  This country is a madhouse.
  
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  September 30, 2024 10:35am
- Handyman
  
  A country slipping in GDP (eg New Zealand and UK, and soon Germany) has a different mindset compared to upwardly mobile counties of the same per capita GDP.
  
  On the way up, countries are very happy because it was constant improvement in their lives. So in New Zealand we were very happy with single glazing and no insulation because it was “our own house”. We were happy with flooding Waikato hydro lakes because it provided electricity; avoiding blackouts was seen as a good thing.
  On the way up people see widespread improvement in infrastructure, the connection to honest work and “social fairness” was not tolerating “bludgers”. A rising tide floats all boats. It really was the country of new zeal and energy.
  
  New Zealand has slipped from 2nd to about 22nd in GDP per capita, at first gradually but then rapidly as we went from rock star economy to rock bottom in one Labour term. Most people have not adjusted to the new reality of not being able to afford things. How many times do we hear that “Norway does it, so why can’t we have … drugs, roads, hospitals etc?”
  It reminds me of kids wanting a new car for NCEA “graduation” because Kylie got one from her parents.
  There comes a horrible realisation in a society that when we spend more time arguing about the past than building for the future, our best days are behind us.
  
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  September 30, 2024 11:15am
  - Jack5
    
    Handyman’s … New Zealand has slipped from 2nd to about 22nd in GDP per capita …
    
    The authoritative World Factbook, produced by the CIA, ranks NZ 44th in GDP per capita.
    
    That’s “real” – inflation adjusted – GDP per capita. Using 2023 figures the CIA’s World Factbook puts NZ’s GDP per capita at $US48,800.
    
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    September 30, 2024 1:29pm
    - Handyman
      
      Thanks Jack for the info.
      A few more years and some New Zealanders would have lived through the equivalent of the entire fall of the Roman empire.
      
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      September 30, 2024 9:18pm
  - Yabster
    
    Norway has done it because it’s making Billions from North sea oil- we are also rich in natural resources but mining bad….where do these bozos think the copper, lithium, cobalt etc comes from to build EVs- sunlight and fairy farts?
    
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    September 30, 2024 1:37pm
    - NZer In Exile
      
      The inheritance set believe they are in godszone. A very very special country that must remain a boutique NIMBY paradise just for them. They are fine, so F everyone else.
      
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      September 30, 2024 3:04pm
  - AitchW
    
    When, oh when, will the rest of the world wake up to the economic and social vandalism that the last Labour government visited upon New Zealand and realise that Ardern wasn’t some sort of messiah, but rather a wrecker?
    
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    September 30, 2024 3:09pm
- Chris Nisbet
  
  From what I’ve heard, we could do ourselves a massive favour by mining our vast resources and selling them to the world.
  
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  September 30, 2024 11:25am
artemisia

In the Herald today, not paywalled – Working from home WFH: Christopher Luxon’s office return order overlooks hybrid benefits

This article traverses mostly the downside of working in the office rather than WFH some or all the time, plus challenges of being in the office.

What is missing is any proposal or suggestions from these authors on how working in the office can be managed better so that productivity and ‘wellbeing’ are improved.

Given the backgrounds of these authors they should be well placed to advise on all options, not just the ones they (seem to) have cherry picked research for. Like, for example, what would be useful for managers to learn and do so they can improve productivity of their staff even though, gasp, they might have to be under the boss’s eye again.

The authors – Stephen Blumenfeld, Director, Centre for Labour, Employment and Work; Chris Peace, Lecturer in Occupational Health and Safety; Joanne Crawford, Worksafe New Zealand Chair in Health and Safety; Roya Gorjifard, Doctoral Candidate, School of Health. All are based at Victoria University of Wellington.
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September 30, 2024 8:16am
- Benedict Yu
  
  I have not read the article, but….
  
  Here is a way that public service managers could improve productivity in offices… Reduce the volume of folk talking and playing the fool in open plan offices below that of a crowded pub.
  
  Also at home you are “under the eye” of your boss at any time. It is called the camera staring at you.
  
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  September 30, 2024 8:29am
  - Jethrod
    
    Also, somehow reduce the reliance of people on their phones. Really glaring example is when you drive past a building site there is ALWAYS someone on their phone. Also the supervisors of road cones …… the same.
    
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    September 30, 2024 8:43am
    - RoboRob
      
      The health and safety costs are now a significant portion of any job. Simply doing work on the footpath now requires one laning a road and two or three ‘cone experts’ on site over days to check and adjust 500 road cones.
      
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      September 30, 2024 9:37am
      - David Garrett
        
        Robo: As I have said here before, up in Tonga – where the roads are much narrower than here – they seem to be able to manage significant infrastructure work – such as replacing power poles – with only half a dozen cones, and one guy – not wearing hard hat and gloves – slowing the traffic in the lane where the work is going on. There probably aren’t 100 cones in the whole bloody kingdom!!
        
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        September 30, 2024 10:07am
      - RoboRob
        
        @David
        
        Absolutely. Not that many years ago that was the case here too. The problem is the fallacy of absolute safety and continuous improvement is in play now.
        
        Closing the road and many cones is ‘safer’, reducing the speed to 30km/hr is safer so it must be done. This is hard to argue against unless you allow for some degree of risk otherwise why stop at 30km/hr when 10km/hr would be even safer.
        
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        September 30, 2024 10:27am
      - Yabster
        
        another Brillant Labour initiative- there was a rule that the cones had to be at least 1m apart- the bozos scrapped it- so now the likes of fulton hogan etc space them ridiculously close together- and charge for every cone used.
        
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        September 30, 2024 1:40pm
    - Nobby2
      
      MP’s are no different. Watch Parliament’s question time and count the number of MP’s of all parties who have their heads down looking at their phones, which shows that they have no interest in being there and participating in the debating and decision making of the institution which passes legislation affecting all New Zealanders.
      
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      September 30, 2024 11:24am
  - rouppe
    
    It is called the camera staring at you.
    
    I hope you mean the boss can call you up any time.
    
    Even though it is possible, if you think there is someone covertly monitoring the webcam of every person in the office, you are seriously out of touch.
    
    That is the equivalent of your opinion on the Pfizer jab causing heart disease.
    
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    September 30, 2024 9:02am
    - Benedict Yu
      
      I don’t have any opinions on the vaccine causing heart disease. I have a peer reviewed data set with 46 million records. What do you have?
      
      If a manager cannot manage people working at home, the manager is incompetent. I’m clearly referring to knowledge based workers. I understand that cafe workers can’t work at home.
      
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      September 30, 2024 9:41am
      - David Garrett
        
        Bene: Aside from the twelve months I was suspended from practice, I have been self employed for 25 years, and aside from client meetings and court appearances, I have worked from home the entire time – well, the entire time I was working in NZanyway.
        
        On the rare occasions when I had to go in the shit-hole that is Auckland city, I always used to shake my head about the congestion, and wonder why on earth these people did it. Every day of the working week.
        
        Up in Tonga my commute is less than ten minutes, and “rush hour” lasts about ten or 15 minutes morning and evening. Very laid back.
        
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        September 30, 2024 10:12am
      - artemisia
        
        Plenty of incompetent manager about, in my experience. If they don’t know whether their staff are meeting their outcome targets, they need to be ‘re-educated’.
        
        What there are no outcome targets? Colour me surprised.
        
        Also in my experience plenty of managers that don’t really know how to manage, esp if there is any level of conflict, so they retreat to the weeds and are very busy doing what they know how to do, usually from a previous life. Basically doing staff level jobs. Very busy though, no time for that other stuff.
        
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        September 30, 2024 10:40am
      - imalwaysright
        
        Peer review isn’t what it used to be.
        
        Peer review was meant to make sure a conclusion was backed up by facts and reason.
        
        To get peer approval these days the peers will want your thesis and conclusion to be in agreement with their view.
        
        It has become corrupt. The nickname Pal Review is more apt.
        
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        September 30, 2024 10:46am
      - rouppe
        
        That’s a meaningless diversion.
        
        You said that the boss can monitor you at any time through your webcam.
        
        What evidence do you have anyone routinely and covertly does that?
        
        Managing remote workers is completely different from monitoring them over their webcam
        
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        September 30, 2024 11:07am
      - Taieri
        
        To get peer approval these days the peers will want your thesis and conclusion to be in agreement with their view.
        ————
        
        Basing on my own (admittedly fairly limited experience) I can confirm that. One of the three reviewers of one of my publications was quite explicit in demanding corrections complying with the prevailing (his/her ?) views. I refused to implement them and the article was still published.
        
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        September 30, 2024 11:16am
      - Ra Henare
        
        As always in Science Bene, You have your analysis (a citation would be nice, apologies if you have posted it before) supporting a hypothesis.
        
        ANd then along comes a counter argument/finding.
        https://www.news-medical.net/news/20240828/Myocarditis-risks-linked-to-COVID-19-vaccination-explained.aspx
        
        During the study period, 4,635 individuals were hospitalized for myocarditis, 12% of whom were classified as postvaccine, 6% as post-COVID-19, and 82% as conventional myocarditis. About 67% of postvaccine myocarditis patients developed symptoms following the second vaccination dose.
        
        I am still open minded as a longer time elapsed research tends to show truth better than short term IMHO.
        
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        September 30, 2024 1:44pm
      - NZer In Exile
        
        Where there is a (political/financial) will there is a way (to gerrymander peer review).
        
        Note: I have no position on mRNA vaccines causing injury. I do know plenty of highly intelligent people who have looked into that and come to the conclusion there was widespread damage (much of it sub-clinical).
        
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        September 30, 2024 3:09pm
  - imalwaysright
    
    ” Here is a way that public service managers could improve productivity in offices… ”
    
    Instead of having the morning powhiri, I would invite a couple of representatives from Social Welfare to give a presentation to the staff on their dole entitlements should they be lazy enough to lose their job.
    
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    September 30, 2024 9:10am
    - RoboRob
      
      Yeah. When I work from home it is on a PC, with a real keyboard and monitor, NO web cam. I have a phone 🙂
      
      Many laptops have a physical cover for the camera to block spying and if yours doesn’t some tape will do the job nicely. Your boss has no idea what you are doing as long as you are reponding to calls and emails periodically. Thats why, state services in particular, should be in office.
      
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      September 30, 2024 9:39am
      - Benedict Yu
        
        Sorry for my unclear language. I meant to convey that the boss can video call at any time.
        
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        September 30, 2024 9:51am
      - Phronesis
        
        BY apparently it’s now considered unreasonable to require people to turn their cameras on for meetings and calls. Overheard a mixed age group in the koru lounge discussing this and the younger ones thought it was offensive to be required to actually speak to people and not just message.
        
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        September 30, 2024 10:22am
      - RoboRob
        
        @BY
        
        Yeah, but you dont have to answer. You could be outside doing the washing or walking the dog. If your manager asks why you didn’t accept the call, you were in the toilet.
        
        I play an online multiplayer game. Games last 30+ minutes, up to over an hour. A number of times I have played with or against people who have had to go as they have a meeting coming up 🙂
        
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        September 30, 2024 10:31am
- Flossie
  
  Hard to feel sympathy for these precious office workers when others have to front up to their workplace….talking about nurses, drivers, plumbers, retail workers, chefs and many more.
  
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  September 30, 2024 8:31am
  - artemisia
    
    Rob MacCulloch reckons those who have to front up every working day should get paid 20% more, and those WFH paid 20% less.
    
    https://www.downtoearth.kiwi/post/the-public-services-association-union-is-causing-public-services-in-nz-to-collapse-nurses-teacher
    
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    September 30, 2024 8:37am
    - I remember when
      
      Yes, no doubt the Union used the cost of getting to and being at the office when justifying their pay claims.
      
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      September 30, 2024 8:42am
    - cmm
      
      That would be an interesting experiment.
      
      I’ll wager a lot of people would go for the 20% less and, on the basis that they are being paid less, goof off even more.
      
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      September 30, 2024 9:18am
      - Benedict Yu
        
        If someone “goofs off” they will not deliver what they have been asked to do. There will then be consequences. It does not matter a damn whether they are in the Wellington office, at home in Petone, in Sydney, or Tehran.
        
        I have worked on a team with folk all over New Zealand, in Sydney, and in the UK. You think we didn’t do anything because we were not all gathered in a Wellington office? We all met every morning, 12 happy faces on the giant monitor, to review milestones. We would sure know if someone was “goofing off”.
        
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        September 30, 2024 9:48am
      - wsk12345
        
        That’s naive BY. Your experience is not THE experience. I know plenty of WFH people who spend at least 1-2 days per week of work time (in time not all at once) doing personal stuff.
        
        You can’t tell if they are delivering. One is an EA. As long as she books the travel, organises the meetings and answers the phone nobody asks any questions. Does she have a lot of free capacity? Yes. Who would know? Only the people she talks to or sees personally on WFH time.
        
        Many jobs can’t be measured easily, how long does it take to carry out that complex bit of analysis – 2 days or a week? Who knows and therefore who knows if they have spare capacity that could be utilised by the person paying their salary.
        
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        September 30, 2024 10:10am
      - cmm
        
        BY: I too work from home most of the time, with an international team (3 USA offices, France, Germany).
        
        I put it to you that many office workers do not really have measurable outcomes.
        
        But my main point is that if people were to be paid 20% less to work from home then that would effectively be a license to slack off.
        
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        September 30, 2024 1:14pm
  - I remember when
    
    BY’s correction draws attention to one of the differences when working from home.
    At work management can see you without needing to check.
    
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    September 30, 2024 10:02am
    - Benedict Yu
      
      Yes OK they “see you” in an office. How do they know whether you are doing anything useful?
      
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      September 30, 2024 10:50am
      - I remember when
        
        The same way as at home?
        
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        September 30, 2024 12:58pm
      - NeverMindTheBollocks
        
        Walk past your computer screen
        
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        September 30, 2024 7:46pm
- Anthony Melchett
  
  It has shown the ugliness of modern entitlement combined with a short period where there was heaps of (borrowed) money and it was hard to get staff.
  
  These people think that their employer owes them more than a pay check and they shouldn’t have to work too hard to get it.
  
  Wait you want me to actual go into your place of business to do my job
  Pfft. Your lucky I even turn my computer on.
  
  These snowflakes can’t handle being in a physical location. The anxiety that someone might have a different opinion at the water cooler (or fancy coffee machine these days) is too much for them.
  
  Things were much better when labour were splashing money around and they could wfh on 150k doing a job managing something that hadn’t started yet so there wasn’t anything to do (true story).
  
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  September 30, 2024 8:55am
  - Benedict Yu
    
    “The anxiety that someone might have a different opinion at the water cooler (or fancy coffee machine these days) is too much for them.”
    
    My anxiety is caused by 20 people nearby, shouting and laughing while I am trying to concentrate on complex work. They are shouting on the phone, talking about their weekend, gossiping and playing the fool.
    
    Until managers solve this problem, these are not serious places for work.
    
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    September 30, 2024 9:56am
    - Anthony Melchett
      
      Agree – there is a huge lack of professionalism in most offices I see too.
      
      Ultimately though, managers must create and uphold standards to allow all a space to work productively.
      
      BY, if your role is that important you should have a separate office, although this seems to be a thing of the past now
      
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      September 30, 2024 10:54am
      - Benedict Yu
        
        “BY, if your role is that important …”
        
        I would not be so conceited……
        
        My roles have been no more, and in many cases less, important than many others. I confess that I am easily distracted by folk shouting nearby. I have partially addressed the problem by expensive noise cancelling headphones playing white noise. I am not alone.
        
        As for offices, in my experience nobody has an office. Not even the CEs.
        
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        September 30, 2024 11:49am
      - Anthony Melchett
        
        Yep it’s all open plan, pods and breakout areas now.
        
        None of which helps a jot with productivity, efficiency or customer service.
        
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        September 30, 2024 2:00pm
    - Taieri
      
      They are shouting on the phone, talking about their weekend, gossiping and playing the fool.
      ————-
      
      Why do they remain employed? Poor management?
      
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      September 30, 2024 11:19am
      - Benedict Yu
        
        Yes. In some cases the managers are the worst offenders. It is a culture that started about 10 years ago and went on steroids under Jacinda as the numbers of public service workers grew.
        
        The numbers are another problem. There are two government agencies that I know could not come close to accommodating all their workers in existing office space should all the at home workers show up. Not even close. There will clearly be others that I do not know about.
        
        No surprise – none of these guys said to Chris Luxon “Hey the workers at home won’t fit into the office.” Guess what the response would be? 🙂
        
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        September 30, 2024 11:52am
    - cmm
      
      Do what I do. I often wear industrial grade ear muffs when I am in the office.
      
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      September 30, 2024 1:17pm
- PurplePen
  
  Yes. Skim read it. I had to laugh as isn’t it the hallowed universities crying about students not turning up to lectures and students wanting to just view them all online. The university argument includes things such as connecting with others on campus etc.
  
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  September 30, 2024 9:52am
- PurplePen
  
  I blame managers or middle managers. If some of your staff just produce widgets, of the white-collar type, then you tell them how many they must output each day or week etc and they can do this anywhere they want. If it’s other outputs, more creative or thinking perhaps wouldn’t the manager still be able to assign deliverables with a due date knowing the competency of the worker and the scope of the work required. It then doesn’t matter where they are. There will be some efficiencies from doing the work in the office, especially if you need to work with others. If you choose not to do this and ask for more time as a result, then no. You’re not working effectively.
  
  As for noisy offices and distractions, again on the manager. Why is the office allowed to get noisy in the first place. Years ago we used to have quiet time every day until 10. No internal meetings nor internal phone calls before 10 am every day. It worked very well.
  
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  September 30, 2024 10:00am
  - artemisia
    
    I once worked in a team of 5 where each member was issued with a list of essentially similar applications to process and pass on to the legal team.
    
    I was done by lunchtime almost every day and then did cases for others who were never going to get through their lists. Partly that was the caliber of people, partly wasting time. Managers should have known both, sorry I helped hide it!
    
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    September 30, 2024 12:28pm
- Paulus
  
  But, but, University people can do everything, anythime, as they and they alone are the experts in getting paid to do nothing, except get paid for suitable leftwing moaning Newspaper articles written to order.
  
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  September 30, 2024 10:21am
Cassandra

Massive protests in Dunedin re downsize of its new hospital. Total population of Otago is 235,000 (less than Manawatu-Wanganui) and Southland 100,000 (less than Taranaki) so 39,000 protesting is a lot of people. $3 billion is $9,ooo per person so that’s one possible solution. You’d wonder what planet these 39,000 people are on, but then you’d remember that Dunedin votes left totally, therefore money grows on trees.
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September 30, 2024 8:20am
- David Garrett
  
  Cass: The thought that immediately came to my mind was if this was all straightforward, how come Labour never got around to building it? What a complete shit show the Ardern government was!
  
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  September 30, 2024 8:28am
  - RoboRob
    
    The wonderful legacy ‘news’ outlets are pinning this all on the current government, who has been in place all of a year. There is no mention of Labour skuttling the PPP that would have helped pay for it, of Labour promising the hospital sooner then nationals 2024-2027 timeline, of labour cutting facilities from the original plan after the first blow out or of the ex Labour minister running the build.
    
    Just like with the ferries, Labour make a total hash of it, national have to pull the plug or just borrow more money and yet its all those nasty National ministers fault.
    
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    September 30, 2024 9:08am
    - Paulus
      
      That is just how over many years Labour have thought.
      Agree to anything to get votes, and forget to find the money and blame National for 9 years failure.
      
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      September 30, 2024 10:23am
  - mogg
    
    Rebel News in Canada have a YouTube vid of Ardern ‘running away shaking in fear’ when being asked awkward questions about her premiership.
    She really is a spineless coward.
    
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    September 30, 2024 10:17am
- artemisia
  
  Are you suggesting that the protesters each donate $9k to the hospital rebuild? Excellent idea, and actually they should be allowed to pledge and pay it over the next couple of years if they wish.
  
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  September 30, 2024 8:29am
  - RoboRob
    
    Lol, like they would ever pay 🙂
    
    Someone posted last week that Otago doesn’t have the rich benefactors up north to help pay for this sort thing, like happened with the childrens hospital. The poster forgets one quite rich and famous southlander, Richard Taylor. The same lefty who would like to pay increased taxes to help the country but only if he could be sure the government would use it wisely (lol). Perhaps some local fundraising could plug the $1.2b overrun. Its a big number.
    
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    September 30, 2024 9:12am
    - Taieri
      
      one quite rich and famous southlander, Richard Taylor
      ———-
      
      You mean Ian Taylor?
      He’s not a Southlander. Lives in Dunedin.
      
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      September 30, 2024 11:23am
      - RoboRob
        
        Yeah I do mean Richard Taylor 🙂 My applogies re the southlander commnt. I meant southlander in the sense of living in Otago as opposed to actual southland. My bad, it comes from being a northerner (in CHCH) !
        
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        September 30, 2024 1:16pm
    - Burtland
      
      let the protestors have some stake in the project …
      – form a PPP with the local council and get them to fund the 1.2B goldplating
      
      its working in Christchurch, why not Dunedin
      
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      September 30, 2024 11:49am
  - Paulus
    
    I wonder how many people actually pay Taxes in Dunedin and surrounds, or are they like so many others getting tax back that they never paid anyway.
    WFF is a rort as an example.
    
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    September 30, 2024 10:25am
    - Taieri
      
      I wonder how many people actually pay Taxes in Dunedin and surrounds
      ————-
      
      As many as anywhere else in NZ. We are not all on the dole down here, you know…
      
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      September 30, 2024 11:24am
- Blackbob
  
  These were the same people happy with previous Govt. slashing the project as well, why spend money on a region that votes for you anyway…
  
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  September 30, 2024 8:29am
  - Paulus
    
    Sounds just like Labour thinking for many years.
    
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    September 30, 2024 10:26am
- nz_aj
  
  And there is 157+ bed hospital in Invercargill and 25 bed at Queenstown.
  South Island isn’t where the population growth is.
  
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  September 30, 2024 8:52am
  - RoboRob
    
    Not sure that’s entirely true. Christchurch, Queenstown and the Nelson area are all growing rapidly. Facilities are needed here, its a question of right sizing things, building them affordably and in a way that maintenance is affordable.
    
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    September 30, 2024 9:15am
    - Ghost
      
      I would guess most hospitals need substantial investment to either extend or build new. Our infrastructure is not built for today’s population.
      
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      September 30, 2024 9:24am
      - RoboRob
        
        Totally, but you can design and build in cheaper / better ways. If you build with certain materials the cost of building might be lower and / or the cost of ongoing maintenance might be significantly lower.
        
        For example my kids old school rebuild has resulted in a beautiful set of buildings with expansive wooding decking, raised and lowered grass (artificial in places) and not a solar panel in site.
        
        Every few years (2?) the massive decks will need restraining. Every 10years or so the artificial grass will need replacing. Not putting solar power on will save $100,000 or so on upfront costs but would have paid for itself 10x over the life of a school. Just a stupid design.
        
        My primary school when I grew up was made of unpainted concrete block. Indestructible with zero on going maintenance. Year it looked a bit military but worked and as a kid I never noticed.
        
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        September 30, 2024 9:49am
    - wsk12345
      
      I heard last week from someone who bought a $1.8m house in Christchurch that “in the end we decided to just suck it up because for two years we have lost out on every place we offered on to people moving from Auckland or Wellington, and to whom this is just a fairly average price for a nice house.”
      
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      September 30, 2024 10:14am
    - Paulus
      
      Are new immigrants going South ?
      Wash your mouth out !
      
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      September 30, 2024 10:27am
      - Jack5
        
        White flight seems to be taking some people from the north to the South Island.
        
        Of course the folk say it’s house prices. But the effect is the same.
        
        NZ’s population surge has come from immigration. It took off in 2020 and is still high.
        
        Our exports can’t support the rate of immigration, and nor can our infrastructure. Our GDP per capita is falling under the pressure.
        
        https://www.stats.govt.nz/topics/migration
        
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        September 30, 2024 11:00am
- Colville
  
  Cass.
  
  My Brother is in Palmy hospital right now and I have visited a couple of times in the last weeks so had time to have a look at it its sad and shabby.
  Pete has a window bed on the 4th floor…on the ceiling times there appears to be dried blood spray… he commented on it because it was there when he was in there 4 months ago…so great cleaning.
  He and I were part of the rebuild done to that hospital back in about 2002… and it hasnt been touched since.
  
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  September 30, 2024 9:28am
  - Ghost
    
    I was watching an old series of undercover boss Canada. Impressive. It was a large hospital that also catered to war veterans. The maintenance personal were constantly on the go, touching up paint that had been damaged, repairing walls. He really took pride in his job and keeping the hospital looking new. Meanwhile, the hospital down here had some renovation work done a while ago, including in the ED. Last time I was in there I noticed water stains on the ceiling. Although they had finally fixed the hole in the wall where someone had punched the wall.
    
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    September 30, 2024 9:49am
  - Burtland
    
    so has maintenance been turned off ?
    
    Cullen did this on state housing – $1B deferred by the time they got kicked out
    
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    September 30, 2024 1:05pm
- Lance
  
  West Auckland has around the population of ChCh and growing fast.
  If has a clinic.. at best a half arsed hospital with a few services. The majority of surgery etc is performed at North Shore hospital. So if you come down with appendicitis, it is a long journey to North Shore hospital. This is not a sparse rural community, but a densely populated urban sprawl.
  So Dunedin is collectively throwing their toys out of the cot because they can’t have the most expensive hospital in the Southern Hemisphere, while West Auckland which would house Dunedin as a small suburb, has fuck all.
  We know where the entitlement is.
  West Auckland is constantly pissed on becasue it is not right enough or not left enough for the local and central govts.
  It also has the two most congested roads in NZ with zero chance of them ever being sorted.
  
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  September 30, 2024 9:41am
  - MCōs
    
    North Shore, Waitakere, Auckland and Middlemore have a combined approaching three thousand beds, all within reach of West Auckland for a combined population of about one and a half million people
    Dunedin and Christchurch hospitals have about twelve hundred. Timaru is 132 for example
    The South Island is a big area and I expect a lot of people travel a long way out of necessity to get to one or other of those hospitals.
    
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    September 30, 2024 10:09am
    - Lance
      
      Auckland and Middlemore do not take patients from West Auckland expect by special referral.
      As I said, Waitakere Hospital is little more than a bigger clinic
      So all of West Aucklands (and the entire North Shore) only actual hospital is North Shore.
      This is a joke for such an enormous population.
      I am pointing out that there is a shortage of hospital beds nation wide and is not the exclusive problem of Dunedin or other South Island locations.
      
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      September 30, 2024 12:32pm
      - MCōs
        
        Dunedin Hospital has 361 beds and being the only hospital in the far south must do a big range of stuff
        Waitakere is 283 beds
        I live in Mangere Bridge, not far from Middlemore, but I’ve been sent to Starship, Greenlane, Ormiston (private) and a clinic near Ellerslie raceway which are all in Auckland area for scans and xrays
        
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        September 30, 2024 3:58pm
    - Burtland
      
      just one more example of why immigration cant be used to prop up the economy
      – you would think some dumb arse in government would understand this
      maybe its deliberate?
      
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      September 30, 2024 1:11pm
      - MCōs
        
        Immigrants prop up the Health NZ
        
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        September 30, 2024 3:59pm
- Eastlander
  
  It has been noted before but the number of protestors will not have been as high as that. News media everywhere talk up the headcounts of demonstrations they support.
  
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  September 30, 2024 9:46am
  - sirknz
    
    Next week they will be claiming 3.5 million…
    
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    September 30, 2024 11:07am
- MCōs
  
  Maybe the people of NZ should have a referendum on what should get built
  Dunedin Hospital
  EW Link between Onehunga and the Southern MW which would cost about the same
  Tunnel between Kilbirnie and Wellington CBD
  Another Harbour/Bridge
  Flash Cook Strait ferries
  
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  September 30, 2024 9:47am
- lifesgood
  
  Well, well, well, who would have thought there were so many morons in Otago and Southland, mind you they are solidly left in Dunedin so there’s your answer.
  
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  September 30, 2024 11:59am
  - MCōs
    
    You talking about the solid sensible South?
    Groundswell NZ and all that
    
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    September 30, 2024 4:03pm
Bridgenag

Sunday Strip: The Gender Bias of Slaying Dragons
Playing with fire.

Man identifying as 6 year old breaks all records in T-ball league

https://open.substack.com/pub/rwmalonemd/p/sunday-strip-the-gender-bias-of-slaying?r=1aj1bv&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
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September 30, 2024 8:23am
- Pope Punctilious II
  
  My favourite: “People who think men can get pregnant are suddenly worried about misinformation on Twitter.”
  
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  September 30, 2024 8:55am
Kiwiguy

I notice everyone has these newfangled pronoun thingys these days, so I’m thinking of jumping on the bandwagon.
Being a regular straight Kiwi bloke with a sense of humour, my new pronouns will be he/he.
31 1
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September 30, 2024 8:23am
- Grunter
  
  Ha Ha – very good! I think I’ll steal that one, and it will really grind with my woke daughters!
  
  19 1
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  September 30, 2024 8:48am
- Jethrod
  
  How about mine….. she/it !
  
  16 0
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  September 30, 2024 8:48am
  - Kiwiguy
    
    Haha!
    For people who are completely confused and identify as She/He/It, I recommend they simply abbreviate it to SH/IT
    
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    September 30, 2024 4:47pm
- imalwaysright
  
  Who/What would be a mind bender for them.
  
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  September 30, 2024 9:45am
  - Gussy Fink-Nottle
    
    …for the people who identify as transparent
    
    2 0
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    September 30, 2024 4:41pm
- NZL Fusion
  
  Try Bro/Mate.
  
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  October 1, 2024 3:23pm
I remember when

What’s afoot in Palmerston North.
A ‘foot’ is the amount of rainfall registered for August/September at Palmerston North Airport.
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September 30, 2024 8:37am
Yvette

Subtle photo mis-information?
Is RNZ photographer Samuel Rillstone establishing an personal identity through a visual gimmick, or intentionally expressing a biased view – more subjective (a perspective based on feelings, opinions, or emotions) than objective (an view based on facts and evidence, uncluttered by obscurity – literally perhaps in this case)?

Two photo examples –
• Chief Ombudsman criticises Costello over withholding tobacco documents
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/528429/chief-ombudsman-criticises-costello-over-withholding-tobacco-documents
• ‘Most benefit’ of government’s tobacco tax cuts will go to tobacco company Philip Morris, officials told Casey Costello
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/529387/most-benefit-of-government-s-tobacco-tax-cuts-will-go-to-tobacco-company-philip-morris-officials-told-casey-costello

Google ‘Samuel Rillstone photographer RNZ’, click on IMAGES, for more examples.

If an ancient adage that ‘one picture is worth a thousand word’ is true, what are the photos of RNZ photographer Samuel Rillstone saying?

And, if a article writer can be biased, why not the accompanying photos, especially as they are usually the first impression?
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September 30, 2024 8:40am
- Jethrod
  
  Why does RNZ need a photographer?
  
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  September 30, 2024 9:26am
  - cmm
    
    Maybe that’s all the photos are good for?
    
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    September 30, 2024 9:40am
- I remember when
  
  The long-term decline in daily smoking in Australia has largely been driven by people never smoking rather than people quitting smoking.
  Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2024.
  
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  September 30, 2024 1:07pm
- kevn
  
  Yvette… Self described as a ‘Visual Journalist’ none the less… wow.
  
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  September 30, 2024 4:03pm
Matt Long

Great to see that there’s still no accountability for city sewage spills, but fines for dairy effluent spills keep getting steeper.
Future projection, rural polluters will be forced out of business and Auckland beaches will be off limits for swimming and food gathering most of the time.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/one-of-aucklands-most-popular-beaches-off-limits-to-swimmers-after-sewage-overflow/2WJ7OJRRNJDXVMPM54VYHWTMBU/
https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/350431749/massive-fine-305900-imposed-dairy-farm-offending
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September 30, 2024 8:47am
- pdm
  
  Matt that is known as the ‘kick a farmer, any farmer, in the guts when he/she is down syndrome’.
  
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  September 30, 2024 9:07am
  - sirknz
    
    Precursor condition for communism isn’t it? Demonise the farmers and the landlords, followed by business owners.
    
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    September 30, 2024 11:14am
Steve Otto(North Shore)

“U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon is once again stepping into the spotlight as the presiding judge for the case of Ryan Routh, who has been charged with attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump”
I am thinking Routh will be working on insanity.

https://conservativeadvocacy.com/judge-cannon-presides-over-case-against-alleged-trump-assassin/?
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September 30, 2024 9:59am
Steve Otto(North Shore)

Harris to do another interview.
Maybe the reporter will ask what her policies are, but don’t hold your breath, it is Stephanie Ruhle of MSNBC.

https://politicalactionalerts.com/kamala-harris-finally-faces-the-media-with-rare-msnbc-interview/?
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September 30, 2024 10:05am
Chuck Bird

Australia has a big problem with Muslims even second and third generation born in Oz. Their loyalty is more to other Muslim countries than the country they were born in.

Thousands rally in major cities across Australia against Israeli aggression | ABC News

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heCMVQ0zE_I
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September 30, 2024 10:11am
- cmm
  
  I would argue that you are more likely to have problems with second and third generations than with first generations.
  
  If there are now second and third generations, then the first generation moved a while ago (30+ years ago).
  
  The first generation moved because hey disliked their shithole enough to pack their bags, find somewhere else in the world, and move to somewhere where their skills and labour could be put to use.
  
  30+ years ago, moving country was a lot more challenging than it is today. Now everything is on the web and filling out the forms is simple. So is scouting out the new country.
  
  When I moved to NZ (1991/92) it was much more hassle. Just finding the address of the place to write to for forms was a hassle. Then write off for forms, countless correspondence to clarify things etc etc.
  
  Thus, immigrants from 30+ years ago were far more motivated. People like those tend to be far more industrious and higher IQ. They also appreciate what they are getting and are far less entitled.
  
  Fast forward a generation and the kids are less likely to be as industrious or as bright. They now feel entitled and every problem is blamed on racism. They lose connection with their new home and become easy prey for tribalism.
  
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  September 30, 2024 10:26am
- Paulus
  
  A Large Lebanese population live in SouthWest Sydney being (ex Tampa parents) from very violent genetically based environments.
  They are currently being controlled by the Police, but remember the race riots a few years ago by them – they are now the next generation, and we are told are seething for whatever they think they can achieve.
  No going tobe nice not too far away sadly.
  
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  September 30, 2024 10:36am
Chuck Bird

Austalia is fortunate to have Sky News.

Sky News host slams media’s strange portrayal of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah

Sky News host Danica De Giorgio has called out mainstream media over its “appalling” coverage of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah following his death.

It comes as the Washington Post described him as a “saviour” and a “fatherly figure” with a “folksy yet articulate manner”.

The New York Times also labelled him as “a charismatic religious and political leader and military strategist who had dedicated his life to resistance”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsaEY3IuTco
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September 30, 2024 10:22am
- Grunter
  
  Yes, the Leftard Media’s view of the evil Nasrallah is almost as deranged as how Shia Islamist view him.
  
  Most Shia regard Nasrallah to be a direct descendant of Muhammed himself. That is, the evil guy that Israeli bombs just killed is a descendant of some invisible guy in the sky…..(I know crazy eh?)
  
  It’s important to understand however that this means the batshit crazy Shia, who were already mad as hell, are now beside themselves with rage. Not just in Lebanon, but also in Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Yemen, etc. All the other Muslim tribes will no doubt be very grumpy over this as well.
  
  But don’t worry, Netahyhu has got this! He told the UN on Saturday that the killing will continue until there is peace….
  
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  September 30, 2024 3:05pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

Non citizens registered to vote.
Many will not vote? This is where the Dems come in. They hijack the ballot.

https://pjnewsletter.com/video-evidence-noncit-registered/?
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September 30, 2024 10:29am
- MCōs
  
  I was going to read the article, but I was distracted by other sensational headlines about Ivanka in a bikini, A video I must watch before it is surely banned, something that will sink Hillary’s career and so on
  
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  September 30, 2024 12:36pm
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    What distracts you about Ivanka?
    Many women wear bikinis. My partner does, and at 65 it is not too shabby.
    Now you mention Hillary. Mind bleach when you are done using it please.
    
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    September 30, 2024 6:13pm
- imalwaysright
  
  This is why we are seeing questionably close polls. They can pump in illegal votes and have a believable 2 or 3% swing on election day, but they couldn’t pull it off if the difference was 5% or more.
  
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  September 30, 2024 4:24pm
Jack5

Jury in tenth day of deliberation on 21 rape charges, and nine other sex charges.

What could the problem be?

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/529411/muchirahondo-rape-trial-jury-begins-10th-day-of-deliberations
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September 30, 2024 10:42am
- Jack5
  
  Guilty on eight of the rape charges and guilty on 17 charges over all
  
  The Auckland report headline emphasises John Hope Muchirahondo is a Christchurch man.
  
  https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/christchurch-serial-offender-john-hope-muchirahondo-guilty-of-raping-eight-women/QMEQBUR7VBGRDN53D6ZMZ7TBBY/
  
  Radio NZ includes a photograph of him:
  
  https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/529439/muchirahondo-rape-trial-guilty-verdicts-for-17-counts-of-rape-and-sexual-assault
  
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  September 30, 2024 2:46pm
- greybeard
  
  9 unwarranted days of allowances ?
  
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  September 30, 2024 3:25pm
vand

Chuck writes “Sky News host Danica De Giorgio has called out mainstream media over its “appalling” coverage of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah following his death.

It comes as the Washington Post described him as a “saviour” and a “fatherly figure” with a “folksy yet articulate manner”.
”
And “Nasy” made jokes in speeches- I do recall Hitler liked dogs and Stalin liked children…
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September 30, 2024 10:45am
cmm

People are getting their kids to wag school to save on airfares.
Fair enough IMHO, travel can be educational.

Seymour doesn’t like it though and warns that parents can be fined if their kids wag more than 15 days a term.

Wow. tough talk!

So people can wag 60 days a year (that’s about a third of the school year) without getting fined.

I think this will backfire. This will be interpreted as permission to wag.

15 days will be seen as the benchmark for OK wagging (a bit like 100kph is the speed limit and a blood alcohol limit of 50).

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/parents-face-fines-for-school-absences-as-families-choose-early-holiday-for-savings/RJHQ74G5FBDMFL2CPPVVG37WA4/
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September 30, 2024 11:05am
- MCōs
  
  When I worked for the MOW fifty years ago taking a sick day on Friday and the following Monday counted as four days.
  Does taking a day off either side of a two week break for a no good reason count as twelve days?
  
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  September 30, 2024 12:06pm
  - MCōs
    
    I heard a English gentleman interviewed at the airport on Thursday going to Brizzie with his kids who should be at school and he said they were coming back after school started.
    Bloody entitled immigrants!
    Simeon should have been out there taking names.
    
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    September 30, 2024 12:22pm
  - peterwn
    
    The reason for that interpretation was that available sick leave maxed out at 365 days (instead of 300 or so working days) after 20 or whatever years. It was something thrown into negotiations at some point and was a de-facto increase in sick leave since much sick leave taken did not ‘bridge’ weekends.
    Also when you retired you were not paid for unused sick leave (but could exhaust it before retiring as medically unfit). Above all you must avoid dying in office then as that had savage superannuation consequences (your estate got the bare contributions back with nil interest) compared if you retired early as medically unfit the day before you died (your wife received 50% superannuation payments).
    There was a discussion in the office about not being paid for untaken sick leave on retirement and one guy said if he retired with significant untaken sick leave he would be thankful that he enjoyed good health.
    
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    September 30, 2024 12:24pm
    - MCōs
      
      If one took more than one sick day in succession a doctor’s certificate was required was the reason for the rule I mentioned plus 4/5 annual allowance gone in one hit.
      
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      September 30, 2024 12:49pm
      - imalwaysright
        
        I can’t see why an employer should pay an employee who isn’t at work.
        Take the current holidays and sick leave and increase the hourly rate accordingly.
        Give the employees a maximum number of days they are entitled to be absent.
        If people want a day off for any reason then they don’t get paid.
        Too much time off and maybe the employer will find someone more reliable.
        
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        September 30, 2024 4:32pm
I remember when

Among The NY Times’ “Climate Change’ articles.
“That said, hybrids are generally reliable because they tend to come from carmakers like Toyota or Honda with track records of making durable products, said Keith Barry, a senior writer at Consumer Reports who covers cars.
“The manufacturers that make hybrids tend to be the most reliable overall, he said.”
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September 30, 2024 11:43am
- T for Tim
  
  We have Toyota hybrids and they work great. No charging and go a long way on a tank of gas.
  
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  September 30, 2024 5:52pm
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    Electric cars running on petrol/diesel.
    I must tell Greta about this idea.
    
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    September 30, 2024 6:39pm
Eastlander

New Zealanders often think they can escape New Zealand pathologies by relocating to Australia.

Well, they are very wrong. The Australian left looks enviously upon New Zealand’s progress toward a society where democracy is subordinate to a ruling racial caste created by government decrees, and despite failing at the national level with the voice referendum they are trying to implement the same ideas at state level. Specifically by negotiating ‘treaties’ with aboriginal organisations – NSW plans to take the plunge in the near future:

https://www.skynews.com.au/opinion/politically-pathetic-nsw-indigenous-treaty-is-about-creating-division/video/e2b6e0c4460bd06160114f98259cba25

https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/other/aussie-state-sparks-outrage-for-major-treaty-move-wasting-money/ar-AA1rnVNx?ocid=xiaomi

You can read about what is intended here:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://antar.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Treaty-in-NSW-Factsheet.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiVjKbdn-mIAxVYTGwGHUMDLKgQFnoECBQQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3rzppEw4ZO3ng1extsKVZZ

The treaty will involve ‘recognition of Indigenous people as polities,
negotiation, and lastly a settlement of claims that provides for Indigenous
self-government’. In short, it will be the kind of treaty that our friends over here think the treaty of Waitangi should have been, with ‘self-governance’ meaning co-governance by unelected aboriginal institutions comprised of God knows who.
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September 30, 2024 12:06pm
- NZer In Exile
  
  Yep the same luxury-beliefs leftards in Aus are slowly destroying the country from within. The destruction is just slower than in NZ because Australia has vastly more wealth to destroy, built up from the sane years, due to it’s mineral and energy resources. The lunatic state leaders are also trying to reduce the tapping of that wealth (EG self appointed emporer Dan Andrews had the banning of fracking inserted into the Victorian constitution, without a referendum).
  
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  September 30, 2024 4:23pm
  - Eastlander
    
    Their determination to catch up might dramatically advance the timetable. Typical of Melbourne though – the most New Zealand-like Australian state for all the wrong reasons.
    
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    September 30, 2024 7:41pm
Tom Hunter

As if he wasn’t hated enough by Kiwis, it looks like Trump supporters have re-purposed a classic NZ song: Border Czar. They’re having too much fun. Wonder if it’ll be on the TV news tonight?
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September 30, 2024 12:07pm
- MAGA, Mostly Aryans on Government Assistance
  
  With Trump supporters you are never left wondering who eats crayons.
  
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  September 30, 2024 12:26pm
- RoboRob
  
  Love it !
  
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  September 30, 2024 1:35pm
Hugh Pavletich

Debbie Ngawera-Packer spends $39,000 on flights in 3 months!

https://www.thepost.co.nz/politics/350429166/mp-spent-39k-flights-te-pati-maori-wont-say-why
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September 30, 2024 12:51pm
MCōs

Back in July a report recommended spending $33mil on Premier House
In the event the PM is moving in after a mere $170,000 upgrade
This is a bit of a come down for the bloke who hired a flash car to get him to parliament from his home on the other side of the street. A walk that many, many everyday, hardworking, taxpaying Kiwis from the squeezed middle do every day.
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September 30, 2024 1:11pm
- NeverMindTheBollocks
  
  Are you saying that the $33m estimate was a tad excessive?
  
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  September 30, 2024 1:19pm
  - Inandout
    
    NMTB, for $33 million you could build 60 standard houses.
    
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    September 30, 2024 2:19pm
cmm

That Zimbabwean sack of shit has now been found guilty of a string of rapes.

“Since July 29, the 36-year-old Zimbabwean has been on trial before the jury and Justice Preston, accused of raping or violating 15 women over 12 years.”

So a bunch of rapes over a 12 year period. How the hell does that happen?

I understand from his side: rape is just part of Africa. Over 50% of African women are raped before they turn 30. He feels entitled. That’s cultural.

But what I don’t understand is how he was able to get away with it for so long. Why would the victims allow it to go on for so long? Was he playing the race card to prevent victims from reporting him?

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/christchurch-serial-offender-john-hope-muchirahondo-guilty-of-raping-eight-women/QMEQBUR7VBGRDN53D6ZMZ7TBBY/
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September 30, 2024 3:54pm
- NothingLeft
  
  Stop noticing things and repeat after me:
  “Diversity is our strength”
  
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  September 30, 2024 4:50pm
Steve Otto(North Shore)

There is a new video on the website/blog that I can’t mention.
It is on the Youtube channel if you care to look.
“Is Gore the Guinea Pig for the rest of New Zealand?”

I wish I had more leeway to link, but the Moderators don’t seem to like this website/blog. I have been warned not to link. [ Mod : not really – just not multiple times repeated every day ]
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September 30, 2024 4:20pm
- NZer In Exile
  
  IS Kiwiblog banning linking to “stop co-governance” website? If so, why exactly?
  
  [ Mod : Steve has been told to stop quoting/linking it multiple times per day – known in the trade as “link-whoring” ]
  
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  September 30, 2024 4:26pm
  - Steve Otto(North Shore)
    
    I do admit to that Mod. I did it when the uninformed commentors got the facts wrong, especially about the Waitangi Tribunal version of the TOW.
    It is/was rife here
    
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    September 30, 2024 4:51pm
- Steve Otto(North Shore)
  
  In the post video there are links to Michael Bassett “Michael Bassett And Iwi Bandits”, and two items by Dr Muriel Newman (NZCPR):
  “Muriel Newman And The Maori Takeover Of New Zealand”
  “Muriel Newman. NZs Colossal Mistake”
  
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  September 30, 2024 4:38pm
Ghost

Government announces four new laws

Gangs Legislation Amendment Bill – to give Police tough powers to go after gangs by restricting their ability to associate and banning gang patches in public.

Firearms Prohibition Orders Legislation Amendment Bill – to give Police more power to get guns out of the hands of criminals.

Corrections Amendment Bill – to increase access to effective rehabilitation for prisoners on remand.

Courts (Remote Participation) Amendment Bill – to improve efficiency in the courts and increase access to justice.

Article
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September 30, 2024 4:43pm
- Ghost
  
  Government has released its final quarter plan
  
  The Government’s Quarter Four (Q4) Action Plan will be focused on making it easier and faster to build infrastructure in New Zealand as part of its wider plan to rebuild the economy, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says.
  
  Press release
  
  It will be interesting to see what the stronger consequences for youth will be. But it needs to be stronger for all youth offending, not just serious. Also hope this means an end to Xbox holidays for teenage rapists.
  
  “By the end of this year, we plan to introduce legislation to enable stronger consequences for serious youth offending, begin the phased rollout of free breast cancer screening for women to age 74, and release the final curriculum for English and Maths for use in primary schools in 2025.
  
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  September 30, 2024 4:51pm
- cmm
  
  We already have heaps of perfectly adequate laws that are not being enforced.
  
  What’s the point in new laws that won’t be enforced either?
  
  “[G]ive Police tough powers to go after gangs by restricting their ability to associate and banning gang patches in public”
  
  Well, yes, but they already have many ways to get in the gangs’ faces but don’t. Instead of stopping bad behaviour and gang parades, the cops stop legitimate road users to let the gangs pass etc etc.
  
  ” to give Police more power to get guns out of the hands of criminals.”
  
  Again, the cops already have all sorts of powers, yet seldom apply them.
  
  “increase access to effective rehabilitation for prisoners on remand.”
  
  That could help, but rather cycle the courts quicker so they spend less time in remand.
  
  “to improve efficiency in the courts and increase access to justice.”
  
  Sounds good, but the devil is in the details. Night courts maybe?
  
  All this “get tough on gangs” stuff seems to be tub-thumping. I will take is seriously when we see a lot of sustained effort being put into pursuing the largest gangs we have: Mongrel Mob.
  
  Until we see that it looks like the police are playing alongside the Mob to eliminate their competition.
  
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  September 30, 2024 4:57pm
  - peterwn
    
    Seems even more shady than Du Val.
    
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    September 30, 2024 5:16pm
Inandout

When Maori is used in advertising and the ‘bank’ is not really one.
https://www.fma.govt.nz/library/warnings-and-alerts/sovereign-bank-of-aotearoa/
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September 30, 2024 4:51pm
Tom Hunter

I recall there a handful of hardline Leftists and atheists here on KB who were all over this Canadian story and not very perturbed about the result where 85 churches were burned in retaliation for the church’s role in “all of these horrid deaths.”:

“When in a hole, stop digging,” the saying goes. They dug a lot of holes at Kamloops Indian Residential school but, as described in 2022 by Professor Jacques Rouillard, professor emeritus in the Department of History at the Université de Montréal, they have not found a single one of the 215 bodies allegedly buried there. Nor have they found any since.

They did not stop digging, though. They simply announced that “their investigation was proceeding but would remain confidential to preserve its integrity.”

To make matters worse some Canadian MP has tabled a bill to criminalise downplaying, denying or condoning the harms of residential schools in Canada.
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September 30, 2024 4:59pm
- NZer In Exile
  
  Canada sounds about as screwed up as the UK as far as this Orwellian nutbaggery goes.
  
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  September 30, 2024 6:26pm

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