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Clark’s calamity

Written By: - Date published: 7:48 am, April 7th, 2020 - 131 comments

Health Minister David Clark has been demoted but has kept his Health portfolio after he revealed that he had driven 20 kilometers with his family to visit a beach during the lock down.

Beyond mere rescue

Written By: - Date published: 8:49 am, April 6th, 2020 - 78 comments

It’s time to plan the re-launch the very idea of New Zealand.

What not to do in a pandemic

Written By: - Date published: 8:51 am, April 5th, 2020 - 100 comments

The Trump regime has this week plunged new depths in the handling of the Covid-19 Pandemic in the United States

It’s the end of main stream media as we know it …

Written By: - Date published: 8:57 am, April 3rd, 2020 - 63 comments

The Covid-19 lock down has and will tip media companies already struggling to survive into closure.

Cabin Fever.

Written By: - Date published: 12:32 pm, April 1st, 2020 - 38 comments

The Government did exactly the right thing, telling everyone they can take outdoor exercise locally within the necessary physical distancing rules.
Trusting people to be sensible about the possibilities of virus spread. To trust that most people will , given the information and criteria, will make the right decisions for themselves and others.

What about Climate Change then?

Written By: - Date published: 9:49 am, March 31st, 2020 - 26 comments

Shouldn’t this global shock from this COVID-19 virus make us all wake up to the power of collective global action on climate change?

CTU launches online tool for reporting bad employers

Written By: - Date published: 9:24 am, March 30th, 2020 - 27 comments

The Council of Trade Unions has launched an online tool allowing employees to log complaints against ill treatment by employers during the Covid-19 lockdown.

New Zealand Tourism after 2020

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, March 30th, 2020 - 48 comments

Post Covid-2019 what is going to happen to New Zealand’s tourism market?

Please don’t have to bring out your dead.

Written By: - Date published: 12:27 pm, March 29th, 2020 - 45 comments

scene from monty python - bring out your dead - black plague and black humour

Anyone who has read even briefly into written human history is going to be aware that it is as much defined by our epidemics and pandemics as by any of our technical and societal achievements. This post is essentially a quick range over the history of pandemics and epidemics with links and some focus on COVID-19.

How this may play out

Written By: - Date published: 11:01 am, March 29th, 2020 - 212 comments

Developments on Covid-19 are happening at pace as we enter the make or break stage concerning the virus’s spread.

One Virus to Rule Them All

Written By: - Date published: 2:33 pm, March 28th, 2020 - 37 comments

Trying to make sense of what’s happening is mindboggling.

The Big Chill

Written By: - Date published: 7:05 am, March 27th, 2020 - 56 comments

A post for the duration: what’s inspiring us or helping us get through? Music, film, books, games, or just sharing what’s keeping us occupied as we hunker down.

No politics, no aggro, no politics.

We are all socialists now

Written By: - Date published: 1:38 pm, March 26th, 2020 - 131 comments

It seems that the pure free market approach is ill equipped to provide the world with the leadership and guidance it requires.

Roll out the plans

Written By: - Date published: 1:59 pm, March 25th, 2020 - 10 comments

Fairly soon every group and their dog are going to come out with recovery plans for New Zealand. First off the block – even before we went into lockdown – is the ten point plan from Infrastructure New Zealand.

This changes everything

Written By: - Date published: 6:34 am, March 24th, 2020 - 182 comments

What will our future now look like?

This is not the revolution

Written By: - Date published: 6:50 am, March 21st, 2020 - 61 comments

The Corvid-19 virus is turning us all into cautious conservatives.

On Mike the Moron and handling infectious diseases

Written By: - Date published: 11:40 am, March 20th, 2020 - 14 comments

Five days ago Mike Hosking was representing his paymasters with his reflection of their basic ignorance of history.  Then demanding caution in dealing with covid-19. Yesterday he panicked for immediate action to close the borders which government did anyway later that day. It is just dangerous to give a public platform to a dithering moron who be at home in 1918. Perhaps he should read the pandemic plan

No disconnections or evictions

Written By: - Date published: 7:26 am, March 20th, 2020 - 20 comments

Unite’s Joe Carolan has called for a rent, mortgage and bill freeze.

Burning Bridges

Written By: - Date published: 9:05 pm, March 18th, 2020 - 23 comments

One of Simon Bridges’ caucus supporters has raised the possibility of a leadership coup. Let’s hope not, people!

Relentless negativity

Written By: - Date published: 8:22 am, March 18th, 2020 - 57 comments

Simon Bridges has been criticised for his relentless negativity towards the Government’s urgent Covid-19 budget response and for playing politics as usual at a time when unity is required.

Is this the next GFC?

Written By: - Date published: 4:27 pm, March 17th, 2020 - 24 comments

The Minister of Finance says that we are facing the worst of any of the scenarios that they had been preparing for. In response the government’s rescue package is bigger than anything New Zealand has ever seen.

The right become socialists as Covid-19 bites

Written By: - Date published: 7:52 am, March 17th, 2020 - 38 comments

The right, elements of which have thought the best thing to do to the state is weaken it that badly that they could then drown it in a bathtub, are rethinking and now realise that a well resourced, active and engaged State is actually a life saver.

Different responses to the Covid virus pandemic

Written By: - Date published: 10:11 am, March 16th, 2020 - 105 comments

It has been disclosed that Donald Trump has attempted to buy exclusive rights to a German vaccine in development. But only for the use of the American people. Meanwhile in New Zealand there is agreat anticipation about the Government’s announced package due to be released tomorrow.

Covid-19 and a digital democracy

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 pm, March 15th, 2020 - 20 comments

Government has for the last decade been pushing for as many government services as possible to be primarily accessed digitally rather than face-to face. Funnily enough, the one public service they forgot to push to digital is themselves. Now’s the time Trevor.

How does the government handle a pandemic induced world recession?

Written By: - Date published: 8:54 am, March 13th, 2020 - 152 comments

With the world’s economy in turmoil and infection rates continuing to surge the responses of different countries to the crisis shows markedly different results. And the issue could be the determining issue of this year’s election.

It’s time for Auckland to work

Written By: - Date published: 8:44 am, March 12th, 2020 - 12 comments

2020 will now be the year that New Zealand will now rely on Auckland to get its shit together.

Before the massacre the State was warned

Written By: - Date published: 7:43 am, March 10th, 2020 - 27 comments

Through a series of meetings that led all the way to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, and the Head of the State Services Commission Peter Hughes, and the Police, the Islamic Women’s Council repeatedly warned the highest levels of our civil service that their community was under imminent threat. They were ignored.

Red tape bonfire of the vanities

Written By: - Date published: 2:19 pm, March 9th, 2020 - 19 comments

National has promised a bonfire of regulations. Just like conservatives in Australia, the United Kingdom, America and previous National administrations.

The politics of gun control

Written By: - Date published: 7:47 am, March 9th, 2020 - 180 comments

National and NZ First are frustrating the passage of the Arms Legislation Bill by raising issues that may appeal to extremists but will not make the country a safer place after the Christchurch massacre.

What the Government has done for beneficiaries

Written By: - Date published: 9:22 am, March 7th, 2020 - 43 comments

In Parliament this week Carmel Sepuloni outlined action being taken by the Government to implement the recommendations of the Welfare Expert Advisory Group designed to improve the plight of beneficiaries.

The politics of hand washing

Written By: - Date published: 1:35 pm, March 6th, 2020 - 25 comments

Simon Bridges thinks that getting people to wash their hands and removing unemployment stand down periods is tinkering but that National’s still unreleased economic policy will solve the crisis.