The Daily Blog Open Mic – Tuesday – 20th April 2021

1. Government just can’t wait to get more people into NZ!

   “We have to balance the capacity of managed isolation and the health risk of allowing a relatively large number of more people to come in from overseas,” Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi said on Monday.

   The three new border exemptions are for:

   families offshore who had visas but didn’t make it in before the borders shut – about 450 people
   highly-skilled, specialist workers who earn over $107,000 – just dozens eligible
   critical healthcare workers – the exact figure’s unknown, hundreds will likely qualify
   But far more split migrant families remain separated. The Immigration Minister said he doesn’t know the exact figure, but he estimates it could be thousands.

   Note health workers are often people like the lady below who is a health support worker (which is a very low skilled entry health job that should be easy to get local workers in to do if the pay and conditions were acceptable). She was able to bring in her spouse, 2 children, while having another child in NZ all on temp visas…. so in terms of helping our health system, we seem to be getting NZ residency to 1 very low skilled foreign health worker, while needing health care for for 5 people and some very highly skilled health care such as maternity that they need. Doesn’t really work out for the rest of the country that is trying to access health care in NZ, but can’t due to the high demand. It is a Ponzi and keeps getting worse.

   “Zara’s mother, Aileen, a nursing support worker, came to New Zealand first on a student visa in 2014. She was joined by her machine operator husband, Arnold, 41, two years later after she got her work visa.

   They have another daughter, Zia, 8, and a son, Aaron, 15, who have also come as dependent children of worker visitor visa holders.

   “We didn’t think Zara needed a visa at birth to remain with us because she’s born in New Zealand … she didn’t have a passport and wasn’t travelling anywhere,” Aileen said.”

   Meanwhile NZ mothers are giving birth in car parks and our maternity shortages are critical. Does not seem to be much thought from government how bringing in migrant families and expanding their families in NZ, is probably not helping critical health workers or our housing, but expanding the demand.

   • The more consumers there are the better Business NZ likes it.

     They don’t care about anything but profit. Fuck the environment, the poverty, the rough sleeping and growing mental illness.

2. “The productivity of leading companies in New Zealand is on average less than half of that found in the top companies in other small advanced economies.” from the productivity commissioner.

   Gosh, could it be that NZ’s biggest companies are more used to networking central and local government to get creamy subsidies and contracts and no longer need to be competitive as a luncheon with key people and a promise of a cushy post government job is easier.

   Hmmm

   The model of contracting out most of the work of Auckland Council has fed about $10b of ratepayers’ money to 20 companies since the inception of the Super City in 2010.
   https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/the-super-rich-and-the-super-city-the-companies-pocketing-10b-of-ratepayers-money/HLHL57VVYQKW5GNJTCXBCEKSQU/

   List: The 20 Kiwi companies that have claimed the most in Covid-19 wage subsidies
   https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/list-20-kiwi-companies-have-claimed-most-in-covid-19-wage-subsidies

   Meanwhile the tier 2 companies who probably hold the “kiwi’ labour are going into liquidation, squeezed between the top tier companies getting massive government subsidisation and contracts while importing in foreign labour, and the new kids of the block with cash labour on visa schemes that seem invisible to NZ rules aka ACC, IRD, Labour inspectorate, Police, worksafe don’t feel the need to prosecute https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/illegally-working-overstayer-dies-on-the-job-acc-payment-made-to-widow-in-china/OWADEJMGCUYM36WLF6YNKUA2SE/.

3. UK has put India on the ‘No travel’ list:
   All travel from India banned in UK

4. Here is how the UK is dealing with the Covid-India problem:
   India has been added to England’s red list as the government seeks to protect the country against a new variant of Covid-19. The decision means, from 04:00 on Friday, international visitors who have departed from or transited through India in the previous ten days will be refused entry into England.
   Only British and Irish citizens, or those with residence rights in the UK (including long-term visa holders), will be allowed to enter. However, they will be required to stay in a government-approved quarantine facility for ten days. They will also be required to arrive into a designated port. From travel news

5. I see Shane Reti is aware that people who test negative 2-3 days earlier are getting infected by the time they get onboard planes – so is now proposing the prick and 15 minute later result tests before they leave.

   It’s no surprise, not that he is admitting the frankly obvious – that people are getting infected when they get the pre flight tests (it’s often only those with symptoms who are there for a test). It could be argued that many only got infected because National demanded they take the risk of queueing with those with symptoms, just to get the soon out of date negative test result, so they could place our border bubble at risk.

   And having led the government astray, he is now proferring a band aid solution (the logistics of this at the very last minute at an airport for only passengers going onto Enzed can only be wondered at).

   It would, if doable, help.

   But the need for it is because of the risk we are placing on those getting the pre flight tests at centres for those with symptoms. We should be moving to specialised outward bound testing centres (airport/airport hotel) for a safer process. Two days before flight (result before onboard) and day of flight (so the result is in Auckland before their plane arrives).

6. The inbedded are outing themselves with their promotion of quad plus 1.

   There has been nothing as truly stupid as this since the attempt to label New Zealanders who criticised American foreign policy, anti-American and a threat to the lives of Americans …. and (seriously) therefore natural suspects in the case of threat to a visiting American called Tiger Woods back in 2002. That was a precursor to silencing those who might well oppose the drum beat for regime change in Iraq. Of course over in the USA at the time they were puting people on no fly lists for questioning the PNAC agenda. Such was the War Against Terrorism – before the millions died in Iraq, Libya and Syria civil wars to enable the conditions for Islamic State to emerge ….

   And how exactly did starting all that help manage with terrorism out of Afghanistan? Biden has followed Trump’s amoral instincts and is withdrawing (rememebr Biden is of the time when the Senate “heroically” backed the mujahadeen takeover in Kabul). Al Qaeda is still there or Pakistan, so is Islamic State (an offshoot now with its own brand) and the Taleban is poised to return to power.

   The woman of Afghanistan abandoned because they are not worth sustained continuing effort by the forces of freedom and liberty. Secular women in South Iraq are dying everyday murdered by militias with kill lists, Biden’s White House says nothing because he wants nuclear talks with the sponsors. Yet we are supposed to take direction to protest about “cultural” genocide in NW China from these double speak phonies.

   There is nothing moral or intellgient in the leadership of the quad that would instruct the wise to support, let alone be complicit in.

   PS The Americans are looking to have enough supply to vaccinate every American twice (not two does for one vaccination, but enough for a complete second vaccination) – and despite the high numbers there who do not want to be vaccinated they are not offering a single does of vaccine to anyone not American. America First to the point of stupidity – if a new strain develops in an out of control spread elsewhere where there is no effective vaccination programme their spare vaccines may end up being useless.

   • America doesn’t worry about its people. The drug companies will aim for maximum sales. The politicians worry about creating division.

     Deaths per million
     China 3.5
     NZ 5.3
     USA 1600 and climbing
     No excuses bring back the dead nor allay the misery caused.
     The US had warning from China but China had none.

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