What the bloody hell???
Coronavirus: Police admit to not tracking every Kiwi that’s come home from overseas
The police have made the stunning admission they haven’t been able to track every Kiwi who has come home.
They’ve now resorted to texting people and tracking their location – but Police Commissioner Mike Bush wouldn’t say how far those powers go.
Cops out on the street were sending families home from Wellington’s Oriental Pde. One family, who don’t want to be shown, drove two minutes from home so the kids could ride their bikes.
But while police are monitoring our beaches, they’ve failed to keep proper track of the biggest risk: Kiwis coming home across our borders.
This is madness!
We know it is the wealthy class of NZers who are jet setting around the world who are the vector for contamination of this pandemic in our country. The irony that the poor will suffer most from a virus they haven’t had a hand bringing to this country won’t seem funny once the death toll starts mounting.
Astoundingly the excuse the Police are using to not use phone numbers to track newly returned NZers is a privacy issue. I don’t remember the NZ Police giving two shits about my privacy when they breached my civil rights in their political witch hunt against Nicky Hager, but somehow returning Kiwis possibly carrying the plague deserve more privacy protection than Journalists exposing dirty politics.
What kind of Police State is this?
As for David Clark and his bloody bike ride. Jesus wept, you can’t make this shit up.
We are asking everyone to stay local and this clown is off doing mountain bike riding. Look, I’m sure being Minister of Health right now is VERY stressful and I cut the guy some slack so don’t believe this is the greatest crime against humanity that many partisan hacks are claiming it is because he operated within the parameters, but equally, everyone is being asked to sacrifice and not following that same advice utterly undermines credibility.
So while Clark deserves an open handed smack, Kris Faafoi on the other hand deserves a punch with barbed wire wrapped around the knuckles.
His appalling handling of the Bauer fiasco should see him sacked at any other time.
He has made his incompetent handling of the TVNZ-RNZ merger look like the graceful policy of an artisan Politician.
Now let’s be clear, this is a failure of transnational capitalism owning media, not Jacinda stopping magazine publications during a 4 week pandemic lockdown, but Faafoi’s reading of Bauer’s outreach was that they didn’t want short term support – fair enough – B-U-T they offered a huge treasure trove of NZ culture for 1 fucking dollar!
To ignore that offer and simply tell the PM Bauer wasn’t interested in the wage subsidy is a disingenuous retelling of the story to such an extent, they are barely the same bloody story!
Imagine what we could have gained for a mere $1 here.
Admittedly the price tag of $1 meant it was outside of Kris’s paygrade, but this is another shocking example of how shallow the talent pool Labour are operating with right now.
The Government aren’t to blame for Bauer amputating a large chunk of NZ Journalism, they have been attempting to do so for months and are currently trying to spend $40m buying Australian magazines, but Faafoi’s lack of imagination cost us greatly and he shouldn’t be Minister of Broadcasting.
As for the CTU. Where the bloody hell are they?
At no time in the 34 year neoliberal experiment of NZ has the argument for Unionism and the rejection of free market values been more obvious than during this pandemic!
This is the time for true leadership for the Union cause, a time to denounce the failed market dynamics that have left so much of our public service dysfunctional and underfunded and demand full Unionism for every worker during the coping phase and rebuild phase of this pandemic so that they are protected AND respected with conditions as essential as the roles they now perform.
So what has the CTU done? It’s set up an Ok Karen narc line for bad bosses and promised they won’t forget those bad bosses.
How revolutionary.
It’s like the CTU sell ship insurance, lifeboats and lifejackets while on the Titanic and after hitting the iceberg seem to have no idea what to do next.
If the Left lose Jacinda, we are doomed because there is no one and nothing else who could lead within the Caucus or wider movement.
Thankfully the same right wing trolls screaming at Jacinda for shutting down the country this week were last month screaming at her for not shutting down the country. Their criticism is sophistry masquerading as commentary and should be rejected with the force of projectile vomit.
NOT ALL KIWIS ARE RICH WHO ARE TRAPPED OVERSEAS MARTYN,
I SHOULD KNOW THIS!!!!!; BECAUSE MY SON IS ONE OF THOSE (NOT RICH) WHO IS STILL TRAPPED IN GERMANY, AS HE WAS PHSICALLY FORCED BY THIS GOVERNMENT TO GO THERE TO RESIDE WITH HIS PARTNER FOR A YEAR; – TO FULLFILL NZ IMIGRATION RULES TO ALLOW HIS PARTNER TO COME TO NZ TO OBTAIN A WORK PERMIT.
PLEASE CORRECT THIS STATEMENT YOU MADE BELOW; AS IT IS NOT 100% TRUE.
MARTN SAID; QUOTE; – “We know it is the wealthy class of NZers who are jet setting around the world who are the vector for contamination of this pandemic in our country.”
MY SON HAS SPENT 13YRS GETTING A NZ MASTER TRADE CERFICICATE AS AN ELECTRICIAN AND IS NOT RICH AND ONLY JUST A BLUE COLLAR WORKER AND REGARDED AMONG US AS THE AVERAGE WORKER AS I WAS, HE IS JUST 33YRS OLD..
Ohhh shouting Cleangreen! And here was me believing you were a Martyn ass kisser
Earning over $100k a year as a master electrician is NOT blue collar, but white collar!
Your son was gaming the immigration system Cleangreen and has been unfortunately caught in the the Chinese flu pandemic. Hope he and his partner get through ok, but it’s not something that’s NZ’s problem, he was not forced to go to Germany but did voluntary.
Ohhh little ‘ImaRightWingSmallTimeTroll’,
I know it’s a lot to ask, but how abouts you search your miserable little soul for a kindness cell? CleanGreen is in the vulnerable group for the damned virus. That means, in cold, dark terms, if he/she/they were to get it, they could be gone from the planet before their son returns. They just want to have him around should that situation eventuate. Who else is going to help them through it, and wrap things up for them?
Most Kiwis are finding that kindness part of themselves, and activating it. This is a test for the right wing trolls. Can they do the same for the duration? It remains to be seen.
CleanGreen, Stay strong mate. Keep yourself healthy as you can, get your supplies sorted for winter ahead, stay in your ‘bubble’ and and you’ll be there for your son when he does return.
Personally I think Clark’s case is the one more deserving of sacking (although they both are) because he is the health minister who is telling us not to drive to activities and yet is doing it himself.
When the lock down started, my wife wanted to drive to the beach and I convinced her no.
Agreed Faafoi is a waste of space.His airhead approach to well everything really is typical of the mediocre indolent twats who have never had to put out in life. The ‘Yes” men the arse coverers and bootlickers who have done so well for so long in the neoliberal workplace that competence has become a unheard of quality these days . It’s absence in this government sticks out like dogs cojones.
No surprises about police they don’t have the ffn time to be going house to house checking up on people ffs, and as for David Clark giving everyone the middle finger I can do whatever the fuck I want health minister and the only person I need to apologise to is the PM. What a prize piece of shit oh and setting a really good example ….NOT!
Exactly – as the police ‘crack down’ on ordinary Kiwis who are supposed to be allowed to walk around within their local area and are not transmitting the virus aka 1% community transmission, most of the virus carriers are from overseas and clusters from that, and the police are not monitoring them!
Coronavirus: 49 new confirmed, 22 new probable cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand, Ministry of Health confirms
“There continues to be a strong link to overseas travel (49 percent of cases) and confirmed cases in New Zealand (33 percent). Community transmission is recorded at 1 percent. ”
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2020/04/coronavirus-49-new-confirmed-20-new-probable-cases-of-covid-19-in-new-zealand-ministry-of-health-confirms.html
A friend of mine, before the lock down said they had people from the UK coming to NZ and the local dairy owner arrived from India and back in his dairy serving customers the next day. That was when overseas people were supposed to be lockdown for 14 days! My friend rang police, and they said there was nothing they could do.
So pretty easy for the police to prove and prosecute a person arriving from overseas and then serving a large number in the community the next day when there was the lockdown for overseas people only! Open and shut case. Meanwhile in OZ apparently a man eating a kebab on picnic bench as fined over $1000….
Wonder what is more of a transmission risk, someone arriving from another country, serving a constant stream of customers in NZ within the 14 day lockdown, or someone eating a kebab by themselves???
Seems pretty easy to work out, but obviously not for the governments and police officers where to put their resources into to stop the virus????
Coronavirus: No sign of tighter border controls despite police admitting checking not up to scratch
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2020/04/coronavirus-no-sign-of-tighter-border-controls-despite-police-admitting-checking-not-up-to-scratch.html
I’m keeping my trap shut on this one Martyn, except to say that just because some people might be extremely nice blokes or blokesses and come equipped with a knowledge of the necessary buzz, doesn’t actually mean they have a handle on things. And that goes for ministers of the Crown and certain public servants alike.
JA is great – in fact if she’d learn the difference between ‘bought’ and ‘brought’ and realised ‘something’ doesn’t end in a ‘k’, she’d be bloody perfect.
But we are actually 2.2 years in with a lot of political capital already burned.
Things remain a fuckup in so many areas (Immigration, Social Welfare, Housing, Health) – and SUDDENLY ….COVID19
Let’s hope before the next election they behave as if they expect to win (or form a decent sort of coalition – if only because the alternative is going to be so much worse).
Let’s also hope that they actually have a prioritised plan of action, whether or not it is completely public – but a plan that does something about the things that have enabled a lot of the administration to carry on as they always have in the past, and that have hampered progress (and “transformation and kindness”).
Also, JA’s inability to pronounce ‘t’, it’s always ‘d’. Shared by a lot of young people. No wonder she bonds with them, speaking their language!
OMG appalling blunders, unfortunately you are doing a national service blasting off about all these mistakes.
I can’t imagine doing without the Listener. I started reading it when I was a precocious 10, 67 years ago
Jacinda should be saying on ya bike David
Just like Key said on ya bike Gerry for security breach at airport or on ya bike Judith for corruption at border.
Oh that’s right on ya bike for riding a bike, geez Trev your a drop kick left, right and centre,minus the left and centre
Whatabouts…whataboutsl
There seem to be a number of comments on this thread who are not happy with how thinks are being run. Jacinda is doing as good as job as is possible but she is surrounded by drop kick ministers. I notice Winston is very quite and where are the Greens . She must feel very lonely
Winston’s doing the media rounds. Not sure about James Shaw. James and Seemore seem to be as quiet as any other minister working on there portfolios.
I think that is due to American influence. Rugby commentator Grant Nisbett and other sports’ reporters drop the t sound as well. It’s not English!
The bizarre sight of dozens if not hundreds lining up to buy liquor in West Auckland, close together, reportedly some from miles away is concerning. Its certainly not safe.
Car volumes starting to creep up seemingly knowing there is no enforcement another concern. And why wouldn’t you, you want to stick with the lockdown but every one else is getting away with it so to hell with it, so will I.
Old dudes arrogantly going to the front of the mindlessly long queues at supermarkets whilst ordinary people queue for an eternity, everyday, suggests this lockdown is going to implode ordinary people’s good will in no time.
David Clark legitimately went for a drive to do exercise and he seemed to know no one could do a thing about it. What does he know the rest of us don’t? But man, what a thick bastard.
This one off chance lockdown is going to fail unless the government shows some backbone and actually employs the means to enforce it because there is little point participating if no one else is!
The government should have banned the sale of liquor during the lockdown, as those compulsory living with alcoholics is not fun for the rest of their ‘bubble’. Family violence will ensue. Money for food for kids who used to rely on the schools breakfast schemes will be hungry. I just hope the social workers were considered an essential service and checking up on the kids welfare.
It’s crazy what MBIE considered essential like cigarette factory staying open to provide more smokes to kill the community instead of nicotine patches etc to use the opportunity to wean them off smokes.
Agreed SaveNZ
“It’s all about the money” so of course as (my son trapped in Germany) would say about this is that “smokes and booze reaps big tax take for the Government coffers”
I love my Son and our family miss him badly, and all of us feel abandoned by Labour over their lack of showing any importance of saving our son and many others, trapped members of Kiwi families comming home at this “extrordinary time”
Very sad indeed.
savenz – This is actually an insoluble and nightmare problem which I’ve thought about a lot – your rightly citing hungry children is another horrific dimension.
We all know that desperate druggies needing fixes are the most likely looters, which is why I’ve pondered govt providing their fix, and worrying about the niceties later, and support utilising the NZDF more. SFA that social workers can do about abused kids – they’re not miracle workers, and their work takes a toll on them too.
Not only can women’s refuges not always cope with all the women who need their help, but some victims are far too battered and intimidated to seek it; the best scenario is if the virus can be contained, and we support the nurses, doctors, police etc who are on the front line, and pray that they stay safe. We support them, for a start, by not doing a Dave Clark, but by doing the right thing.
The nicotine patches solution isn’t necessarily a simple one, and the Quit Line is yet another health service which has deteriorated since it was privatised by the previous National govt: all these things are profit motivated, not people centred – the PHO’s wouldn’t be running that scheme if there wasn’t good money in it for them.
Women and children at risk need some inventive thinking on, right now – like the solutions which Te Puea Marae came up with for the homeless, when Paula Bennett failed them.
Since my comment it appears all items have been addressed, so good on you Cindy, et al.
Martyn
Love that article.
Would you have fired David Clarke? I would, for arrogantly flipping the bird at the law, just to show the nation that I’m in charge. But hey…JA is just a PR front. She’s not REALLY in charge…is she?
“She’s not REALLY in charge…is she?”
At this time we need John Key,a man in charge, a man making decisions,a liar, a dictator!
Which dictatorship made law abiding citizens into criminals because they wanted to hold onto their guns but left he gangs alone. Which government allowed the police to carry side arms when there was not a state oof emergency.
“law abiding citizens into criminals because they wanted to hold onto their guns but left he gangs alone. ”
None of that is true Trevor and you know it. There was an amnesty, those that chose to defy that have something to hide. Remember your mate Key say nothing to hide, nothing to fear. But I feel my intelligence is wasted on you Trev. Think laterally, it will help.
The initial amount allowed for buy back was $2 billion they spent $64million.
The estimate was 150000 guns out there they got 64 000. Not a great success or am I missing something
I did tell you yesterday about the “porous” borders……but you lefties would rather ignore actual facts and focus on hassling,….sorry harassing & slandering Mike. I’m surprised he hasn’t sued quite frankly. I would sue in a heartbeat.
For the record, the NZSIS track every single phone in this country so the NZ Police are only playing dumb here as not to give away national security. Even our GCSB keep tabs on every communication device here. Police have access to this data IF they want it bad enough. So do NZ Customs if they ask for it.
Edward taught you guys nothing I guess.
ohh, P.S. I see last year in the US alone there were 34,200 deaths from Flu, 35.5 million got sick from the….Flu…16.5 million went to a healthcare provider….and 460,600 were hospitalised…..
Some food for thought.
Mike the moron ,,, like Sir kiddy Killer Key ,,, use the rich mans bluster ,,, ” I’ll sue the pants of you”.
The problem for them is ,,,, there is lots of evidence of them being morons ,,, or in Keys instance ,,, being the trigger man involved in the killing of children and others.
anyway Ross M ,,, are all flu’s created equal ?? https://thestandard.org.nz/on-mike-the-moron-and-handling-infectious-diseases/
https://www.hitandrunnz.com/home
Sued us, get a grip man. Sued us for what, for being right!
As well as beginning a massive online recruiting drive. It is time for the Unions to start flexing their muscles.
The demands on working people have never been harder, working people have never felt more insecure. On the flip side working people has never been in a potentially more powerful position. The need for unions has never been greater.
Suggested union Demands:
1/ A government ordered nationwide moratorium on all mortgages and rents until the official declaration of the end of the crisis.
2/ No sackings, no dismissals, no forced redundancies.
(Excepting negotiated redundancies with job loss compensation to the satisfaction of the workers and their representatives).
3/ A union chair on the committee that discusses the return to work and the end of Lock-down.
4/ Danger pay for all essential workers to be negotiated with their representatives.
5/ Closure of the Supermarkets on week ends to give these essential workers a break.
Failure to agree to these demands may entail workers being called to stay at home for their health and safety.
First step. A CTU (and non-affiliates) all up on-line leaders strategy planning conference.
First order of business agreeing to a massive coordinated on-line recruiting drive across all media platforms.
Second order of business to present the Prime Minister the united union movement’s minimum list of agreed demands.
(not necessarily the ones I have suggested above, but I would suggest the inclusion of at least 1/ and 5/)
Hear, here brotha. But thats what happens when unions sign up to a political party. They become impotent and subservient.
Just wait, it doesnt get any better, its about to be hijacked by the ‘Woke’ generation of triggered happy little bitches.
The opportunity for a reset within the union organisation may be missed with this kind of misdirected fuckwittedness?
Lol, love your work Denny
Wait for more incompetence to show up. Wait for the silent majority’s fury once their businesses, their careerist jobs, their properties have vanished or seriously depreciated.
The economy is being destroyed in the process of potentially saving the lives of perhaps up to one percent of the population.
People have only so much patience, especially the ones that have wealth and assets to lose, they will lose their patience soon.
So there could be a very serious backlash soon, when it may show that mistakes were made, miscalculations were made, that negligence and incompetence happened.
What we see happen re David Clark and Mr Faafoi is just the beginning.
The Nats and their ACT clown friends are waiting, to shoot a barrage of attacks, come election time, which may be postponed until 2021.
Jacinda will become a one term PM, goes into hiding and quietly settles to be a good mum from then on, caring for Neve first of all, once she is old enough, she may aspire a senior job at the UN, picking up the pieces after the greatest economic crisis modern humanity will have seen.
Personally feel the guidelines to police with people who are not high probability for transmission, should be taken with a gentle but not authoritarian approach. aka the powers they have are correct…
“Police are given four steps: engage, educate, encourage, and enforcement such as warnings or arrests, with the latter only to happen if “absolutely necessary”.”
No surprises Simon Bridges braying for the police to be more authoritarian.
Where the policing policy went wrong was not closing NZ borders to non residents soon enough (aka the tourists who were caught on their helicopter flight 1 day into their self isolation) which like the Pacific Islands NZ should have closed borders immediately as soon as it was clear people were dying around the world, not just in the country of origin (aka international transmission occurring).
Our government should have allowed NZ citizens back only, and then the police used to take them and enforce the 14 day stay in isolation. It would have been easier as less people to manage for the police to supervise lockdown.
That way we might have been able to keep the majority of NZ at level 2 or 3, not level 4, lockdown.
Personally feel proud how well NZ is doing, as far as I see the majority of people are complying with lockdown here. And the police who stopped me, were very pleasant and not creating an authoritarian feel to the country.
Police should target ‘high risk’ people aka those who have come from overseas recently with their limited resources. Also Maori and PI should isolate as much as they can – they are high risk groups because statistically their health is worse than others, they are more likely to be in overcrowded accomodation in NZ so if they come into contact with the disease, it could be devastating.
Totally agree with Hone Hawawira’s approach to stop tourists coming through their town prior to the lockdown.
Kris Faafoi needs to be replaced asap, as Minister for Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media. When he landed the portfolio (in 2018, following Clare Curran) that position was not of frontline importance. Now, with the pandemic and with the population going digital, it is a most significant role. People’s futures, and people’s lives will depend on the professional approach of whoever is holding that role.
Kris has stumbled before, several times. It was one thing back then, now it is altogether a different matter – far more serious. AO/NZ needs someone there, at the top of all our communications, who is absolutely on the ball, with speed-of-light understanding and response as crises continue to unfold through the approaching winter. There will be such a person – That person needs to be appointed now.
@ Kheala If only they could bring back Russel Norman or David Cunliffe… a lot of talent has been lost from COL over the years.
Kris has been in hot water before…. communications might not be his expertise and nobody likes nepotism…
‘I’m on it bro’: Messages show Kris Faafoi offering help to friend Jason Kerrison over immigration case
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/12/i-m-on-it-bro-messages-show-kris-faafoi-offering-help-to-friend-jason-kerrison-over-immigration-case.html
You get the feeling that RNZ that got 10 million from the government and was making redundancies after that and pissing off their viewership. are just playing the government with their woke to Natz mission….
Cindy can’t sack Clark and Faafoi FFS we’re down to the last dregs at the bottom of the barrel of “talent” that the Labour Party has as it is. I wonder if she realised when she appointed Dr Clark as Minister of Health that his Doctorate was in Theology? Simpler mistakes have been made.
Or when Key,English and Bridges appointed Brownlee they didn’t know his Doctorate was eating and smashing through airports.
I agree with you Martyn. I agree that Faafoi must go from the portfolios that he stuffed up. However David Clark deserves some sympathy. Who would be a Minister of Health in these times? Look how badly his UK counterpart Matt Hancock is doing with the Covid19 testing? All promises and no delivery. So MSM lay off David Clark! Particularly you Heather du Plessis-Allan and your cohorts in the press gallery who behave like the Tory rabble they are. At least UK press conferences are better organised – one at a time. The good news is that there is some high powered talent waiting in the wings of the Labour caucus – Dr Deborah Russell, Dr Duncan Webb, Kiri Allan, Michael Wood and Willow-Jean Prime come to mind.
MSM lay off David Clark!
Seconded!
They’re simply politicking, to the max. Mean spirited little beggars.
“Get some perspective, for pity’s sake!”
cohorts in the press gallery who behave like the Tory rabble they are.
They absolutely do!! They sound like a disgusting bunch of school children!! Barely an adult among them. We need a new crop of media – Real jounos, real people, who have half a brain cell between them, that has not been eaten alive by the greed-ambition-politics virus, which is far more prevalent in NZ than the Covid one.
As for Clark. There is a need for him to stay on as he’s a focal point of contact with the Ministry and health professionals. Putting in another minister to run the portfolio at this point in time would make matters worse.
Once the crisis is over, the PM should look at a full caucus re-shuffle and Clark shuffled off to the back benches. Sorry, but zero tolerance for idiots (as Ardern called them), whether a dickhead in the supermarket or dickhead on a mountain bike.
Re Police not tracking NZers returning from overseas… FFS!
And people wondered why I was being critical of Police in my Lockdown Diary?! (Though for slightly different aspect of this crisis.)
Not tracking returning NZers at a time during the worst pandemic since 1918?! So what the f**k do we track people for? Maori activism? Green activism? General leftwing activism? For writing a blog?
It doesn’t get any dumber than this.
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