Jacinda’s incredible leadership – the politics of a 4, 5 & 6 week lockdown

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April 9, 2020

Today’s incredible results of only 29 cases is testament to the bold tenacity of Jacinda to go early and go hard on this virus.

There are certainly areas where we can be critical in terms of when border restrictions were put in place and the use of self isolation, but the numbers speak for themselves and we have Jacinda’s leadership to thank for that.

I’ve been a proponent of a 6 week lock down based on the math…

Incubation time of the virus is 14 days, but there are cases where it has been 19 days and 27 days, so we went into lockdown on Wednesday 25th meaning the majority of infections will appear by April 8th in the second week of the 4 week lockdown, but we need to KNOW the damned virus has been completely eradicated, so that takes us out to April 21st for the last possible incubation date and we would need at least 2 weeks of no new infections to know the sacrifice had been worth it.

…but the remarkable numbers we are seeing today could rejig that math and we might be free of this plague by the end of the 4th week.

While the decision to lift the lockdown must be directed by public health concerns and the science, there are political ramifications as well.

If the numbers continue to decline, here are the possible political considerations.

Week 4:

If the rate has slumped to nothing, the Government can claim success and regain the trust of the electorate. It will be seen as a huge public health victory but will need to be tightly managed with closed borders, mass testing, mass tracing and strict quarantine measures until a vaccine is available.

Possible danger is that if the virus flairs up again, Government will be blamed for coming out too soon.

Week 5:

To be on the safe side, the Government extends lock down to gain extra time to put into place the larger infrastructure needed for closed borders, mass testing, mass tracing and strict quarantine measures. Faces criticism from Business groups as the pressures of the economic consequences of this start becoming apparent.

Week 6:

Stamps the disease out completely but faces enormous criticism from the Right on the economic damage caused. Could derail election and lose sight of the public health protections.

IF the numbers keep declining 5 weeks would be the smart money, but whether it’s 4, 5 or 6 weeks of lockdown, the economy we go back to will be truncated and forever in a sense of immediate retraction if the virus flairs up anywhere.

We won’t get anywhere near normal until a vaccine is ready, and that is 12-18months away.

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Why 100% of Parliament needs to agree to postponing the election

By

Martyn Bradbury

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April 9, 2020

22

The issues around the Election date has come to the forefront by Winston going public with statements about postponing the September 19th election date to November 21st.

Graeme Edgeler has done the hard yards on the technicalities of the law and what they allow over at Public Address.

I think that while the technical parameters are a super majority of 75%, it would be good to have every political party currently in Parliament on board with a decision to move the stated election date of September 19th.

Personally I think the threat of the pandemic is enough of a reason to postpone the election until November 21st.

It has public health implications and mental health ramifications and allows the political parties to actually catch their breath and put together a political response to what has been an unprecedented and unplanned national emergency.

It is unfair to the small parties to have so little oxygen, it is extremely unfair to the Opposition who have been starved of the ability to hold the Government to account, and it is incredibly difficult to a Government who are actively managing the crisis to participate in something as intensive as an election campaign.

BUT

We should work to get every political party in Parliament on board, that’s Labour, NZ First, Green, National and ACT, so that it carries total political solidarity.

As it is, there are enough frightened and vocal voices on social media claiming this pandemic is a bioweapon spread by 5G, postponing the election while we have a functioning Police State in effect will be like putting out the fire with gasoline.

Getting all Parties on board matters and if it takes time to to talk them around, that time should be spent.

If all else fails, gain it with the super majority, but solidarity to postpone an election is crucial to avoid fuelling social media conspiracy.

This matters because the moment you start being able to question the legitimacy of a Government, the easier to is to ferment violent radicalism as a response.

This stuff matters.

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2pm today on MagicTalk Radio THE THUNDERDOME OF TALKBACK

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The Daily Blog

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April 9, 2020

0

2pm today on @MagicTalkRadio
THUNDERDOME OF TALKBACK
3 enter 1 leaves
Sean Plunket vs Damien Grant vs Bomber

This show was the first to call the severity of this pandemic – find out where we believe things go now.

TODAY:

– The David Clark situation.

– The community roadblock situation.

– Who will deliver us from COVID-10 lockdown – government or business?

– Will there be an election delay?

– Nicest thing that happened to you this week?

– Plans for Easter?

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GUEST BLOG: President of NZ Nurses Union – OUR LIVES have changed, utterly.

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The Daily Blog

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April 9, 2020

11

I write this column half way through the historic COVID-19 lockdown. Given the daily rate of change, I can hardly imagine what our professional and personal lives will look like when it ends.

But I know this. We have the potential to create lasting, transformational change beyond this crisis – a different future for our profession and our society is possible.

The top priority for the country right now is to unite against COVID-19. Collectively and individually we’re stepping up. And as we step up, the Government is mobilising the country’s resources behind us.

Health Minister David Clark said he’s been given a blank cheque to maintain New Zealanders’ wellbeing. “As a Health Minister, it’s not often you get that mandate”, he observed, “that actually resource should not be your constraint.”

For as long as any of us can remember, NZNO has been fighting for a fully-funded health system. Now, at last, the focus is on the value of our work, not the cost. We are being recognised for what we are – “essential”.

These first days of lockdown have seen seismic shifts in practical support for our essential work.

Some cities made public transport free for us. Our need to get to work became the focus for hastily re-designed timetables. Staff parking became free for most, too.

Provision of free childcare began. Discretionary sick leave was suddenly available when we needed it. Constrained budgets for clinical supplies, like those which regularly forced the indignity of rationed continence pads, were gone over night. 640,000 PPE masks were shipped to district health boards in a day.

None of this made the health system perfect. Parts of the sector were completely overlooked. Many inequities remained. But such resourcing was almost unthinkable just weeks earlier.

This transformation extends far beyond health. As a society, we are now embracing new values and ideas. From the Prime Minister down, the message is, “Be kind”. We’re working together so the needs of the community are prioritised above individualism. New “caremongering” groups are springing up in communities, to help more vulnerable members.

We have returned to more socialist ways of thinking – “from each according to their ability, to each according to their needs”.

The same thing’s happening internationally, too. Countries less affected by, or recovering from the pandemic are helping those suffering more – because until there’s a vaccine, the only way any of us will be safe from future outbreaks is through global control.

As World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says: “The bottom line is solidarity, solidarity, solidarity”.

We’re all in this together. He waka eke noa. As the weeks go on, we must intensify this focus on community, solidarity and kotahitanga. This is the way to keep us united against COVID-19, support essential health workers and fix the inequities still in our health system.

But let’s not shelve this approach once the virus is under control.

All around the world, countries are comparing the fight against COVID-19 to a war. And like in a war, when the battle against COVID-19 is over, we will have to rebuild.

There may be hard times ahead. But with our new priorities and values, the world we rebuild can be better than before.

As World War Two was drawing to a close, the British Government contemplated a radical vision of post-war reconstruction. It knew the people who’d sacrificed so much for the country – especially the troops on the front line – wouldn’t settle for going back to how things were before.

So, despite the war rationing and scarcity, they drew up plans to massively expand workers’ rights, social housing and the welfare safety net. Out of this came what was then the world’s best health system, the National Health Service.

I believe Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern when she says, “we will get through this”. And when we do, today’s frontline will be insisting on a better future. •

First published (lightly edited) in Kai Tiaki Nursing New Zealand, April 2020

Grant Brookes is the President at New Zealand Nurses Organisation.

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“Lord, give us Democratic Socialism – but not yet!”

By

Chris Trotter

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April 9, 2020

79

IT PAINS ME to ignore the Prime Minister’s advice, but it’s time to kick some Labour Party butt. As the saying goes: “Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind.” And, no, I’m not talking about putting another boot into the tragic posterior of the Minister of Health. My beef is with the junior officers of Labour’s army. These are the folk who should be the most aggressive in the fight for social justice. The ones willing to take the risks necessary for victory. The ones with their eyes firmly fixed on the democratic-socialist prize. Unfortunately – and frustratingly – this is not what we’ve got.

On display is the sort of military prowess that saw a gaggle of chinless, baggy-panted British toffs hand over Singapore to a near-exhausted, numerically inferior and utterly astonished Japanese army in February 1942. Rather than delighting Labour’s allies and supporters with bold and imaginative contributions to the debate on how best to wrestle down the looming Covid-19 recession, Labour’s junior officers are offering nothing but orthodoxy and caution. Even worse, they are expending what little energy they can summon-up on upending buckets of cold water on every radical idea that comes forward.

Why do they always do this? How did dreary pragmatism become Labour’s default-setting? A full explanation would require a book-length answer. Suffice to say that once a party embraces the fundamental tenets of neoliberalism, anything other than orthodox and cautious policy responses will be treated as the political equivalent of upending a can of petrol over your head and striking a match. To be considered a credible contender for bigger things (an electorate seat or a high position on the Party List) requires constant proof that one’s hands are nothing if not “safe”.

Hence the following snippy little comment from lawyer, Greg Presland (The Standard’s “Mickey Savage”) responding to my criticism of his casual dismissal of the suggestion that Kris Faafoi should’ve rescued the best of New Zealand’s magazines by accepting Bauer Media’s offer to sell its entire stable to the Crown for $1.00:

“Gee Chris. In the middle of a pandemic when the country’s collective health and economy are under major threat and possibly a third of businesses are going to the wall do you really think the Government should be sweating about saving the Listener?”

Yeah, Greg, I do. I really do. Because even Blind Freddie (and The Spinoff’s Duncan Grieve) can see that Bauer’s ruthless cutting of its losses is about to be replicated across the entire media industry, and that only the Crown has the resources (not to mention the responsibility) to keep our news media alive and kicking against the pricks. Unless, of course, Greg’s desired outcome is actually the more-or-less complete collapse of this country’s independent media – with an absolute state media monopoly the last man standing. That there is absolutely nothing “social” or “democratic” about such a “solution” should surprise no one.

And lest any reader feel tempted to nod in agreement with Greg’s heartfelt concern for “possibly a third of businesses” poised to go “to the wall”: please, just stop and think it through. Is he suggesting that while the Government cannot afford to “sweat” about saving this country’s magazine publishing industry, it can afford to – and fully intends to – save all the others? Can the nation’s small and medium-sized enterprises now breathe a huge sigh of relief, secure in the knowledge that the same ministers who refused to lift a finger to shore-up the foundations of our democracy will nevertheless work like Trojans to rescue their little businesses?

Isn’t it more likely that the only New Zealand businesses with any reasonable hope of being bailed-out by the Crown will be the ones which are, in that memorable phrase from the Global Financial Crisis of 2008-09, “too big to fail”. Remember that Newsweek cover proclaiming “We are all socialists now”? Published the same week Barack Obama nationalised the auto industry.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Obama was right to take over General Motors. Nationalisation is what you do in a crisis – especially when the industry your saving is vital to the future of your country. And that’s the amazing thing, Greg. That you simply don’t get that. Still, don’t feel too bad, because no one in a position to make a difference in the Labour Party has had an intelligent thought about the New Zealand media since the government of Norman Kirk.

So, if the Government is not going to be in a position to rescue every small business in New Zealand, and if up to a third of those small businesses could “go to the wall”, in Greg’s none-too-felicitous phrase, then wouldn’t this be the very best time to introduce a Universal Basic Income? Especially when the ability of the MSD to process and monitor tens-of-thousands of additional beneficiaries promptly, efficiently and sympathetically is just a teeny bit questionable?

Nope. Wrong again. According to Andrew Little’s former Chief-of-Staff, Neale Jones:

“I cannot think of a worse time to implement a UBI than in the middle of this economic crisis. Some of us are doing fine. Others need unprecedented government support just to stay afloat. UBI would spread that support thinner, or quickly spend 10s of billions we may need later.”

Meaning Neale has no grasp at all of Keynesian economics. No understanding of the crucial importance of keeping up the level of aggregate demand. No historical grasp of the crucial role spending plays in lifting a nation out of an economic slump. Nor does he understand the practical and moral efficiency of universal, as opposed to means-tested, state support. The massively positive effect of telling every Kiwi: ‘You are important in your own right, not because you’re in need of charity but because you are a citizen of New Zealand.’ Everyone keeps telling us that “we’re all in this together” – a UBI would prove it.

But, no. Neale says that being in the middle of a once-in-a-lifetime economic crisis is actually the worst time to consider a payment to every citizen to keep them and the economy afloat. The worst time.

The problem is, Neale, there is never a best time for you guys. Never. You and Greg remind me of Saint Augustine who prayed to the Almighty: “Lord, give me chastity and self-control – but not yet.” In the case of you two junior Labour officers, however, the prayer is a little different:

“Lord, let the Labour Party give New Zealand democratic socialism – but not yet.”

Not yet.

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Te Ao with MOANA – It is up to communities to police themselves during the pandemic

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The Daily Blog

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April 9, 2020

1

#WATCH Mike Smith (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu) from the Iwi Chairs Forum talks about how agile Māori have been in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Te Ao with MOANA screens on Māori TV 8pm Mondays

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Life in Lock Down: Day 13

By

Frank Macskasy

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April 9, 2020

7

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April 7: Day 13 of living in lock-down… and unlucky for those who are superstitious. A day when there was a ray of sunshine from an otherwise bleak day of worrying signs.

Today, as RNZ reported;

Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield reported 54 new confirmed and probable cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand today, bringing the total number of cases to 1160. Twelve people are in hospital and four are in intensive care, including one person who is in a critical condition.

Today’s new figure is down from the 67 new cases reported yesterday.

If that downward slip – from 67 new cases yesterday to 54 today – becomes a solid downward trajectory, then god knows it’s been worth it. The damage to our economy; the closure of businesses (some permanently); the loss of jobs; the billions borrowed to keep this country afloat; the likely crippling of our tourism industry; and the effort made by so many people to do the right thing during the four week lock-down…

It is a little thing, but something to hold on to.

Our heroic Prime Minister warned us;

“Now is not the time to change any of our behaviours.” – Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister, 7 April 2020

Because only after two weeks, irresponsible and supposedly mature adults, are calling for a relaxation of the lock-down.Many of those clamouring voices are from the business sector for whom – apparently – the Dollar trumps people’s lives.

Even while National Party Leader Simon Bridges was calling for tough quarantine measures of travellers arriving in our country, so as not to re-introduce the contagion into our community, his economic development spokesperson, MP Todd McClay, was calling for relaxation of our already porous lock-down shield;

“New Zealanders are doing there bit here, largely across the board the vast, the vast majority of people are respecting these rules. I think if the government says they trust people around self-isolation, that there will be ways for businesses to open up.

I think if you’re a clothing manufacturer, or a small business that’s working from home it can be contactless, you will show that you will adhere to and respect all of the Covid-19 health and safety rules, but we need to be doing everything you can to keep these businesses running.”

National’s inconsistancy of tough border controls and relaxed domestic lock-down will only achieve one thing: breathing life back into the contagion and giving the virus a second chance.

It would undo the last two weeks of sacrifice, for immediate gain.

It must not be allowed to happen. The government must be allowed to stay the course and the mainstream media must stop amplifying the steady stream of hystrionics from self-interested businesspeople like “Mad Butcher” group chief executive, Michael Morton. When interviewed by RNZ Morning Report’s Susie Ferguson on 7 April, he was unashamedly blunt;

“If you open up and doing 20% of your trade, well, you’re going to lose a significant amount of money.”

Anyone who thinks that businesses could open “and respect all of the Covid-19 health and safety rules” is delusional or feeble-minded. Even in supermarkets like Pak N Save, where aisles are wider than smaller retailers, there are still significant numbers of shoppers who pay little heed to the two-metre social-distancing rule.

Or joggers like this clown, today (7 April) who ran past two women on Oriental Parade – within elbow-touching proximity;

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— despite the fact that Oriental Parade has a ridiculously wide footpath for pedestrians, joggers, and even bicyclists;

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He just couldn’t be bothered maintaining a safe space between himself and the two women. And he’s not alone. This blogger has seen too many other people for whom maintaining safe “social distancing” is just not a priority. Even Simon Bridges “forgets” to keep to the two-metre rule;

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People not keeping their distance is dangerously common at the supermarkets.

Add to that all the other retailers Todd McClay wants re-opened with added foot-traffic; people not respecting; safe “social distancing” etiquette and we have a recipe for disaster.

You can be assured of one, simple inalienable fact: if Jacinda Ardern and the government were to follow Todd McClay’s and the business community’s demands to re-open businesses, the results would be predictable: a resurgence in infection. People would get sick. People would die.

And people like Todd McClay would blame Jacinda Ardern.

Stay staunch, Ms Ardern. Lives depend on your steadfastness.

Meanwhile, my work day started with my usual drive past the Park’N’Ride on my street. There were just three cars present. A good start I thought.

Then getting on to the main road and onto the highway, I observed the commercial vehicles on the road around me; a “CMS” van; 5 ambulances; a flat deck light truck carrying stacks of beehives; a skip bin truck; 2 vans bearing the “ZAP!” logo (the driver of one van visibly in uniform, obviously working); a Kiwirail van; 2 “Downer” vans; a “Jina’s” fruit and vege van; a green “Toll” truck; a pest-control van (company name not visible); 3 police cars; an “AA” Road Service ute; “New World” delivery van; a “Rangitikei” free-range chicken van; “Nilfisk” van; a “Kiwi Green” marked van; a “Laser” plumbing van; a “Fulton Hogan” roadworks truck; a “OS” marked van; a “L.G. Anderson truck; a van marked “BBC” (bathroom company); a gravel hauling truck; 2 “JETS” covered trucks; a Mainfreight” truck; a “McAuley’s” container-truck; a “Strait NZ” van; an “Absolute Control” marked van; a white “Caffe L’affare” van; Wellington Regional Council ute; et al.

There were definitely more police cars visible and – worryingly – more ambulances.

The traffic north of Melling Interchange was once again light; three or four cars ahead or to my rear at any given time. Around Kelson, traffic increased to approximately a dozen cars in my immediate vicinity. By the Melling Interchange traffic was the heaviest I’ve seen it in two weeks with around two dozen vehicles around me. By Ngauranga, the “numbers continued to be “heavy” (heavy compared to the last two weeks). By the time I reached the Terrace Tunnel, traffic had thinned considera=bly to about half of what I had observed further north.

Courtney Place looked “dead”; nil traffic.

At Oriental Bay, people were cautioned not to stay on the beach with lit messages;

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The weather was chilly with a blustery wind so it was unlike anyone would be sunning themselves on the sandy beaches today. A quick glance confirmed my thoughts: no one lounging on the sand.

But there were still plenty of joggers and like the fellow above, not all were showing courtesy by respecting the 2 metre distancing rule.

More worryingly; the Evans Bay Marina Carpark appeared to have even fewer freedom campers’ vehicles than the previous day;

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The campers had clearly “up sticks” and moved on. Aside from international air travel, it is hard to think of a more efficient vector for viral transmission than freedom campers driving around New Zealand; stopping in small towns and larger cities; and passing on their infection.

To paraphrase Peter, Paul and Mary, Where Have All The Freedom Campers Gone? And should anyone be making enquiries? Do the rental companies install GPS trackers in their vehicles? If so, the information gleaned from those devices could be troubling.

Perhaps it is time for “freedom camping” – aka the “low end” of tourism – to be curtailed.

On the way to Miramar, the fifth police car in a day was parked on the center median strip on Cobham Drive (main route to Wellington Airport). Reassuring to see the Police around. Perhaps they could look into the mysterious Case of The Missing Campers?

Meanwhile, if we thought that Todd McClay; “Mad Butcher” group chief executive, Michael Morton; and other money-hungry nuts were bad enough, the Award for the most insanely irresponsible Person in Aotearoa New Zealand has to go to this prize fool:

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The virus has not yet been eradicated; new infections are still happening; and Seymour wants the lock down lifted before the four weeks is up?! Is this man deranged?

Worse still is this comment from him;

“Every day that we are locked down people are losing money, they’re losing businesses, they’ve got mental health issues that are going to arise.”

Not only is he valuing money over people’s lives – but he is exploiting mental health as a cloak to give legitimacy to his despicable suggestion. In effect he’s saying, “Never mind the risk to others; we want to make money; or else we’ll blame our supposed poor mental health on this government and the PM.”

Cue: sob story on RNZ, Newshub, TVNZ, et al about “depressed” businessman who can’t make money.

Congratulation to Seymour for hitting rock-bottom. This is about as bad as it gets for a sleazy, opportunistic politician desperate for publicity and votes.

I’m not sure which is worse to be afraid off – the virus or a psycopath masquerading as a Member of Parliament. Maybe they’re related.

.

Current covid19 cases: 1,160

Cases in ICU: 4 (1 critical)

Number of deaths: 1

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References

RNZ: Covid-19 – What happened on 7 April

TVNZ: Simon Bridges calls on Government to quarantine, test everyone still arriving into NZ

RNZ: More industry and small businesses could reopen – National

RNZ: Coronavirus – Mad Butcher CEO claims government decisions hurt butchers

Mediaworks/Newshub: Simon Bridges admits he ‘should have been further apart’ from supermarket staff in photo shared online

Mediaworks/Newshub: Coronavirus – New Zealand should consider quitting lockdown early, David Seymour says

Must Read

Elemental: Hold the Line

Democracy Now: Madrid’s Ice Rink Turned to Morgue as Spain Exceeds China in Coronavirus Deaths

Additional

RNZ: Covid-19 Pandemic Timeline

Previous related blogposts

The Warehouse – where everyone gets a virus

Life in Lock Down: Day 1

Life in Lock Down: Day 2

Life in Lock Down: Day 3

Life in Lock Down: Day 4

Life in Lock Down: Day 5

Life in Lock Down: Day 6

Life in Lock Down: Day 7

Life in Lock Down: Day 7 (sanitised version)

Life in Lock Down: Day 8

Life in Lock Down: Day 8 (sanitised version)

Life in Lock Down: Day 9

Life in Lock Down: Day 10

Life in Lock Down: Day 11

Life in Lock Down: Day 12

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Acknowledgement: Rod Emmerson

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This blogpost will be re-published on “Frankly Speaking“. Reader’s comments may be left here (The Daily Blog) or there (Frankly Speaking).

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= fs =

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Malcolm Evans – Then and Now

By

Malcolm Evans

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April 9, 2020

4

Malcolm Evans – Then and Now

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Political Caption Competition

By

The Daily Blog

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April 9, 2020

0

The motto on Jacinda’s desk right now.

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TDB lockdown tips & hacks – Thursday 9th April

By

The Daily Blog

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April 9, 2020

3

Have a Lockdown tip or hack you would like to share with others?

Please post them here for readers.

Todays gratitude – Shout out Thursday to the Journalists who are holding the powerful to account and bringing us the information we need in a disinformation age of conspiracy and lies.

For the latest official advice – please go to Government website here.

Increasingly having independent opinion in a mainstream media environment which mostly echo one another has become more important than ever, so if you value having an independent voice going into this pandemic and 2020 election – please donate here.

If you can’t contribute but want to help, please always feel free to share our blogs on social media.

TDB Team 2020.

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The Daily Blog Open Mic – Thursday – 9th April 2020

By

The Daily Blog

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April 9, 2020

1

Announce protest actions, general chit chat or give your opinion on issues we haven’t covered for the day.

Moderation rules are more lenient for this section, but try and play nicely.

EDITORS NOTE: – By the way, here’s a list of shit that will get your comment dumped. Sexist language, homophobic language, racist language, anti-muslim hate, transphobic language, Chemtrails, 9/11 truthers, climate deniers, anti-fluoride fanatics, anti-vaxxer lunatics and ANYONE that links to fucking infowar.

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Week 2 NZ Pandemic Lockdown – TDB Winners & Losers

By

Martyn Bradbury

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April 8, 2020

10

With a Health Minister who liked walkies and an army of Ok Karen narcs, New Zealand weathered our second week in lockdown. Here are the winners & losers of Week 2 under Pandemic Lockdown…

WINNERS:

JACINDA: Her cool, calm leadership of going hard and going early has been such a decisive move, it is seeing our infection curve not only flatten, but start to fall. We can be safe in the knowledge that it was her boldness that has put us in a position where we could actually come out of this far better than most of our fellow countries. Boss moves with Boss attitude. If we honestly don’t re-elect her as Prime Minister for all that she’s done, we are a nation of dicks.

SIMON BRIDGES: In the online death scramble trying to establish a ‘But-what-about’ narrative to shift focus off David Clark’s recreational biking habits, Labour supporters managed to remind everyone that Simon Bridges was politically relevant by screaming his weekly commute from Tauranga to Wellington was evidence that Bridges himself was half man-half walking bubonic plague, and as such was 10 000 times worse than David Clark (not that David did anything wrong).

Reminding everyone that Simon is overseeing the Police State that is now NZ, Labour activists managed to give him oxygen when the nation is hanging on every word by the Prime Minister and studiously ignoring anything Simon Bridges is doing or saying.

Could the Left please stop giving Simon political relevance.

LOSERS:

Ok Karen Narks: In the land of the wrong white crowd, we like our fascism casual. We prefer to burn books over a backyard BBQ with beers rather than goose-steps and uniforms. This new narc line dobbing in those who are breaching the rules is the exact sort of passive aggressive suburban authoritarianism that ZB listeners, Listener readers and TVNZ viewers love. A nation of petty ‘Ok Karens’ weaponised with smug self righteousness.

Left Wing policy responses to neoliberalism shitting itself & having a seizure on world markets: 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.

“Happy Pandemic! And may the odds be ever in your favor”

Death Cult Capitalists: Watching neoliberal devotees panic that this pandemic threatens their free market dogma is bringing out their blood lust of desperation to sacrifice the sick on their altar to Milton Friedman.

Hooton’s revolting Herald column, Gareth Morgan’s gruesome Morning Report interview and Hosking’s ghoulish Herald column last week all scream at the Government that 30 000 dead is fine as long as their sacred neoliberal economy is allowed to live.

They are Vichy-Chamberlain cowards who demand Jacinda should surrender to the virus so that their death Cult capitalism can continue.

No one in NZ (other than Damien Grant) is crying out for Ayn Rand, Chicago School of Economics, or Adam Smith’s ungloved invisible hand, the frightened masses are begging the State to save them from this plague and that is what is terrifying neoliberal acolytes like Hooton, Hosking and Morgan. It’s not ‘Socialism by stealth’ if the country is crying out for it.

David Clark: Had difficulty understanding that as the Minister of Health, the rules applied to him. Not sure what exactly was difficult to comprehend about that to be honest.

Bauer Media: The madness of allowing so much of our media to be owned by overseas interests is coming home to bite. Who would have thought selling vast chunks of NZ media to a foreign German company could end badly?‬

Increasingly having independent opinion in a mainstream media environment which mostly echo one another has become more important than ever, so if you value having an independent voice going into this pandemic and 2020 election – please donate here.

If you can’t contribute but want to help, please always feel free to share our blogs on social media.

TDB Team 2020.

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6.40pm tonight on Radio Hauraki – The respectful wrapping of the week in politics

By

The Daily Blog

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April 8, 2020

1

I’m on Radio Hauraki 6.40pm tonight respectfully wrapping the week in politics with Professor Thane Kirby.

Featuring the Radio Hauraki Pandemic Dancers.

This week: Murky rules about leaving the house, David Seymour on finishing quickly and does Trump own a vaccine production company?

Elbow patch corduroy blazers and smoking pipes are mandatory.

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Waatea News Column: It’s not good enough that our spies are tracking the pandemic – when were they told it was serious?

By

Martyn Bradbury

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April 8, 2020

28

Over the weekend, Fairfax NZ officially asked our spy agencies, the GCSB and SIS, if they were monitoring Covid19 intelligence globally to know how bad the pandemic might get.

The GCSB and SIS told Fairfax that they had “access to a significant amount of intelligence, including from our international partners. We are providing information and assessments to Government regarding the international context of Covid-19 in accordance with the National Security and Intelligence Priorities”

Ok, but that doesn’t really answer the question because we found out on March 21st that the American Intelligence Agencies were briefing the White House in January that China was minimising what was actually happening and warned of a global pandemic.

Seeing as NZ is part of the 5 Eyes Mass Surveillance Spying program, were we warned in January that a pandemic was coming and if we were, when did the GCSB and SIS warn Jacinda?

If we weren’t warned, why are we in the 5 Eyes program at all?

This matters because the GCSB and SIS previously have focused on Māori, Greenpeace, MANA, Green Party and Muslims as possible threats to NZ, yet seem to have missed a global pandemic erupting around the globe.

What is the point of sinking hundreds of millions each year into a mass surveillance state if it can’t see real threats and not the ones they imagine?

Once we have successfully navigated our way through this pandemic, questions must be asked as to what our Intelligence Services knew, when they knew it and who did they inform inside the Government.

First published on Waatea News.

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Political Caption Competition

By

The Daily Blog

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April 8, 2020

3

Mike Hosking & Matthew Hooton hosting their own new TV show promoting death cult capitalism over public health

“Happy Pandemic! And may the odds be ever in your favor”

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